Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

The importance of preserving biological diversity throughout the world has come to the forefront of modern wildlife law. The Endangered Species Act1 marked the beginning of the United States effort to protect species from extinction, whatever the cost.2 The United States has recognized the need to consider the effects that developmental projects undertaken by United States federal agencies in foreign countries have on threatened and endangered species around the world. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Defenders of Wildlife v. Lujan,* reaffirmed the United States' commitment to worldwide protection of endangered species, holding that federal agencies must consult with the Interior Secretary to insure that their projects in foreign nations will not adversely affect endangered wildlife. Such consultation is consistent with the purpose of the Endangered Species Act and brings the international community closer to solving the problem of species depletion.

This Note presents a brief overview of United States endangered species wildlife law from the early 1900s to the enactment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 4 It then traces the evolution of section 7 of the Act, including the Interior Secretary's regulations implementing section 7. A brief history of the concept of sovereignty is presented next. Finally, this Note analyzes the section 7 consultation requirement in terms of sovereignty, extraterritoriality, foreign relations, and global environmental concerns, concluding that the requirement as applied to government agency action abroad is a permissible and desirable exercise of United States jurisdiction.

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