Quiz Topic 14: Endangered Species Act and Wildlife Management

Please match the Agency with the species of general flora and fauna over which it has jurisdiction.

1. Marine mammals and salt water fish

2. Land mammals and fresh water fish

3. Plants (generally)

Department of Commerce, Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture

Marine mammals and saltwater fish: Department of Commerce

Land mammals and freshwater fish: Department of Interior

Plants (generally): Department of Agriculture

How does a particular species of animal or plant normally come to be listed as endangered or threatened?

Question 2Select one:

a.

Any party may petition the appropriate agency (e.g. US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service) to review factors concerning the survivability of a particular species

b.

All newly discovered species are registered for review by US Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the status of their survivability and commercial value

c.

Sir David Attenborough captures the US Fish and Wildlife Service's imagination with an extraordinary new film

Any party may petition the appropriate agency (e.g. US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service) to review factors concerning the survivability of a particular species.

When a federal agency undertakes a particular discretionary action (i.e. an action not specifically required by federal statute), the agency must consult with the appropriate wildlife agency.  If the wildlife agency determines there is a direct or indirect impact on a listed endangered or threatened species, the agency must undergo a formal consultation with the wildlife agency to determine whether the proposed agency action jeopardizes the habitat of said listed species.

Which below is not a factor in considering whether an action jeopardizes a listed species' habitat?

Question 3Select one:

a.

The modification of habitat reduces the space required for a species to breed

b.

The modification of habitat reduces the presence of a food or nutritional source for the species

c.

The modification of habitat reduces the amount of shelter required by the listed species

d.

The modification of habitat favors a more commercially valuable species over a listed species

The modification of habitat favors a more commercially valuable species over a listed species.

Which factor(s) below is sufficient to compel an agency under the Endangered Species Act to review a petition to have a species listed as endangered or threatened?

Question 4Select one:

a.

Evidence of over-utilization of a species for scientific, educational or commercial purposes

b.

Evidence of threatened or present destruction, modification or curtailment of a species habitat or range

c.

Evidence that disease or predation impacting a certain species

d.

Any one of these

all of these

Which below is considered the "taking" of a listed species?

Question 5Select one:

a.

Clearing of known wetland habitat of a listed bog turtle though no bog turtles are seen by the landowner

b.

Driving on the beach during seasonable prohibition coinciding with the nesting period of the listed piping plover

c.

Honestly mistaking a listed bog turtle for a non-listed red-eared turtle and transporting it home to your pond

d.

All of these are considered takings of listed species

all

Like many statutes discussed in this course, the Endangered Species Act has a citizen suit provision [16 USC §1540(g)].

What is a fundamental requirement of a plaintiff in an ESA citizen suit?

Question 6Select one:

a.

they must meet the standing test of Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife

b.

they may not sue the United States under the concept of sovereign immunity

c.

they must have a bank account in which to deposit the cash damages 

they must meet the standing test of Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife

The famous case of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978) concerned what listed species?

Question 7Select one:

a.

the Snail Darter (percina tanasi)

b.

the Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

c.

the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis)

d.

the Red Wolf (Canis lupus rufus)

the Snail Darter (Percina tanasi)

In the seminal case of TVA v. Hill, the US Supreme Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice Warren Burger, upheld the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, stating basically what?

Question 8Select one:

a.

The purpose of the act is clear that Congress intended to reverse a listed species' decline regardless of cost

b.

that the people along the Little Tennessee River had seen their fill of TVA's Depression-era hydropower dams

The purpose of the act is clear that Congress intended to reverse a listed species' decline regardless of cost

Which international treaty or convention below has not been signed by the United States?

Question 9Select one:

a.

The Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918

b.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)

c.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines several territorial boundaries extending from a country's coastline that grant the country certain exclusive rights to resources.

Match the zone with the rights granted to the country under UNCLOS...

full territorial sovereignty (the right to exclude vessels from other nations), plus full rights to all minerals and fish:

no right to exclude vessels from other nations, but exclusive rights to all minerals and fish:

no right to exclude vessels from other nations or exclusive right to fish, but exclusive rights to all minerals:

Is it: Territorial Sea (area 12 miles from coastline); Exclusive Economic Zone(area starting 12 miles from coastline to 200 miles from coastline) ; Outer Continental Shelf (area starting 200 miles from coastline to edge of continental shelf, or 350 miles, whichever is shorter)

full territorial sovereignty (the right to exclude vessels from other nations), plus full rights to all minerals and fish: Territorial Sea

no right to exclude vessels from other nations, but exclusive rights to all minerals and fish: Exclusive Economic Zone

no right to exclude vessels from other nations or exclusive right to fish, but exclusive rights to all minerals: Outer Continental Shelf

Which treaty below is not specifically listed by the US Endangered Species Act as an implementation purpose of the Act?

Question 11Select one:

a.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

b.

The Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere

c.

The International Convention for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

d.

The International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean

e.

All of these treaties are listed specifically by the Endangered Species Act as part of the purpose for the Act

NOT The Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere

NOT The International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean?

The "treaty clause" of the United States Constitution grants the United States (federal) government the exclusive right (as opposed to the states) to enter into treaties with other nations.  Because such treaties are not self-executing domestically, the federal Congress must pass legislation to apply such treaties domestically.  However, the US Constitution is not specific - as a grant of federal authority - on the subject matter of various treaties.

Which clause authorizes the US Congress to enact such laws?

Question 12Select one:

a.

the Necessary and Proper Clause (U.S. Const. art I, §8, cls. 10, 18)

b.

the Contracts clause (U.S. Const. art. 1, § 10, cl. 1)

c.

the Commerce Clause (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3.)

d.

the Admiralty Clause (U.S. Const. art. 3, § 2 cl. 1)

the Necessary and Proper Clause (U.S. Const. art I, §8, cls. 10, 18)

Which federal statue below was described in lecture as ushering in the era of "citizen" review of federal action (specifically, related to dam and water diversion projects)?

Question 13Select one:

a.

Federal Wildlife Control Act of 1946

b.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1908

c.

The Animal Damage Control Act of 1931

Federal Wildlife Control Act of 1946

Federal Wildlife Control Act of 1946

Introduced a revenue collection mechanism related to waterfowl hunting licensing to provide money for acquisition of waterfowl habitat:

authorized federal enforcement against individuals who transported across state lines wildlife taken illegally under the laws of the animal's origin state:

authorized the use of eminent domain (i.e. government 'physical taking' of land for public purpose with just compensation) to acquire land for national wildlife refuges:

authorized imposition of an excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment to apportion proceeds to the states for wildlife protection programs:

Required the Secretary of Commerce to report to the President knowledge of fish stock depletion perpetrated by commercial fishing by foreign nations:

Options: Lacey Act of 1990; Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1928; Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1954; Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp of 1934, Federal Aid of Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (a/k/a Pittman Robertson)

1. Introduced a revenue collection mechanism related to waterfowl hunting licensing to provide money for the acquisition of waterfowl habitat:

   • Federal statute: Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp of 1934

2. Authorized federal enforcement against individuals who transported across state lines wildlife taken illegally under the laws of the animal's origin state:

   • Federal statute: Lacey Act of 1990

3. Authorized the use of eminent domain (i.e. government 'physical taking' of land for public purpose with just compensation) to acquire land for national wildlife refuges:

   • Federal statute: Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1928

4. Authorized imposition of an excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment to apportion proceeds to the states for wildlife protection programs:

   • Federal statute: Federal Aid of Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (a/k/a Pittman Robertson)

5. Required the Secretary of Commerce to report to the President knowledge of fish stock depletion perpetrated by commercial fishing by foreign nations:

   • Federal statute: Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1954

As the English common law was applied in the continental United States (i.e. by state law), what was the legal status of wild animals?

Question 15Select one:

a.

private personal property retrievable from the lands of another

b.

belonging to the state or federal sovereign

c.

as a product of land available to the landowner

as a product of land available to the landowner

This is somewhat of a bonus question which I did not review in recorded lecture, but the answer to which may be found in North Carolina General Statutes §14-159.6 (link to statute or copy and paste into Google).  (The answer is also in the lecture titled Land Ownership, Liability and the Law uploaded to the Wildlife Management Topic in Moodle).

According to North Carolina state law, a person hunting on the lands of another is subject to arrest by an officer of the Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) for trespassing if what?

Question 16Select one:

a.

the hunter is not carrying written permission from the landowner on their person and the land has been posted "no trespassing" according to NCGS G.S. 14-159.7

b.

the hunter is not carrying written permission from the landowner regardless of whether the land is posted "no trespassing" according to NCGS G.S. 14-159.7

c.

A WRC officer does not have jurisdiction to arrest a person for trespassing

the hunter is not carrying written permission from the landowner on their person, and the land has been posted "no trespassing" according to NCGS G.S. 14-159.7.