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If You Hear a Hoot, Then This Site is Kaput
Should the Endangered Species Act of 1973 be left alone so the legal system is left to decide the toughest cases? Should the Endangered Species Act of 1973 be revised in order to increase economic growth without endangering listed species? Can this even happen? In this lesson, you will learn about which species are covered under the 1973 Endangered Species Act, the different organizations and their philosophies on how to protect these species, and how each group's policies are driven by self interest as you weigh each group's costs and benefits.
Go to the web site:
Endangered Species and read the summary of The Endangered Species Act of 1973 from the Encyclopedia of Public Health and the Law Encyclopedia. Answer the following questions:
Now have the students visit Earth's Endangered Creatures site, to view a list of the species in North America that are endangered. By looking at those in North America the students will be able to apply the lesson to their own society.
Pick a species from this list to research. Find a picture and write a description of the species in a word document. Make sure you pick a species with sufficient information to answer the questions as some species have more information available than others. This is a very brief summary of the species, as we will be using the species later on in the core part of the lesson.
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What conservation efforts are being undertaken?
- How long has it been listed as endangered?
- What threatens it?
- Is it a vertebrate or invertebrate?
- If it is an animal, list items in its diet.
As you will read in the next web site, an urban-sprawling town of Tucson, Arizona has a school district on the northwest side of town with a high school that can operate effectively with just over 2,000 students. It now has over 3,000 students. The district bought a 40-acre parcel a few years ago to build a new high school to alleviate the overcrowding problem at the one high school; however, an endangered species might be living on the property.
Go to the website, and read the story, "Owl Play."www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/05-07-98/curr5.htm Select a group from the list below to represent in an arbitration hearing.
- Students at the overcrowded high school
- Parents of students at the overcrowded high school
- Residents in the neighborhood who are opposed to the high school
- Residents in the neighborhood who are in favor of the high school being built
- School board members
- Defenders of Wildlife
- The Arbitrator
Instead of examining the impact of the endangered owl that is the subject of the "Owl Play" article, imagine that the endangered species that you researched above is the one resident on school property. Come up with a list of costs and benefits for building the school from your group's point of view. For each item in your list, identify the timing of each. For instance, does a particular benefit occur immediately, or does it lie in the distant future? Be prepared to argue the case in front of an arbitrator.
