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The 1973 Endangered Species Act made into legal policy the concept that endangered species of wildlife are precious as part of a natural ecosystem. The nearly unanimous passage of this act in the United States Congress, reflecting the rising national popularity of environmentalism, masked a bitter debate. Affectedindustries clung to the former wildlife policy of valuing individual species according to their economic usefulness. They fought to minimize the law's impactby limiting definitions of key terms, but they lost on nearly every issue. The act defined "wildlife" as almost all kinds of animals-from large mammals to invertebrates-and plants. "Taking" wildlife was defined broadly as any action that threatened an endangered species; areas vital to a species' survival could be federally protected as “critical habitats” Though these definitions legislated strong environ- mentalist goals, political compromises made in the enforcement of the act were to determine just what economic interests would be set aside for the sake of ecological stabilization.
According to the passage, which of the following does the Endangered Species Act define as a "critical habitat" ?
A.A natural ecosystem that is threatened by imminent development
B.An industrial or urban area in which wildlife species have almost ceased to live among humans
C.A natural area that is crucial to the survival of a species and thus eligible for federal protection
D.A wilderness area in which the "taking" of wildlife species is permitted rarely and only under strict federal regulation
E.A natural environment that is protected under law because its wildlife has a high economic value
According to the passage, which of the following is an explanation for the degree of support that the Endangered Species Act received in Congress?
A.Concern for the environment had gained increasing national popularity.
B.Ecological research had created new economic opportunities dependent on the survival of certain species.
C.Congress had long wanted to change the existing wildlife policy.
D.The growth of industry had endangered increasing numbers of wildlife species.
E.Legislators did not anticipate that the act could be effectively enforced.
It can be inferred from the passage that if business interests had won the debate on provisions of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which of the following would have resulted?
A.Environmentalist concepts would not have become widely popular.
B.The definitions of key terms of the act would have been more restricted.
C.Enforcement of the act would have been more difficult.
D.The act would have had stronger support from Congressional leaders.
E.The public would have boycotted the industries that had the greatest impact in defining the act.
The author refers to the terms "wildlife" (line 11), "taking" (line 13), and "critical habitats" (line 16) most likely in order to
A.illustrate the misuse of scientific language and concepts in political processes
B.emphasize the importance of selecting precise language in transforming scientific concepts into law
C.represent terminology whose definition was crucial in writing environmentalist goals into law
D.demonstrate the triviality of the issues debated by industries before Congress passed the Endangered Species Act
E.show that broad definitions of key terms in many types of laws resulted in ambiguity and thus left room for disagreement about how the law should be enforced
