The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a law designed to save species from extinction. What began as an informal effort to protect several hundred North American vertebrate species in the 1960s has expanded into a program that could involve hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species throughout the world. As of May 2002, 1,816 species were listed as endangered or threatened, 1,258 in the United States and 558 in other countries. The law has become increasingly controversial as it has been viewed by commercial interests as a major impediment to economic development. This issue recently came to a head in the Pacific Northwest, where the northern spotted owl has been listed as threatened. This action has had significant affects on the regional forest products industry. The ESA was due to be re-authorized in 1992, but this was postponed due to that year's election. Although it expired on October...