Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1978 - The Snail Darter

The Snail Darter

The Snail Darter case was important for the ESA because it made Congress realize how powerful the ESA really was. In 1966, the Tennessee Valley Authority began construction on the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River. For years, environmentalists tried to shut down the project, but their actions were unsuccessful until the discovery of the snail darter, a small fish that feeds off aquatic snails. The snail darter was listed as an endangered species in 1975 and part of the Little Tennessee River was designated as critical habitat. The completion of the Tellico Dam threatened the survival of the snail darter, which was thought to be native only to the Little Tennessee River. In 1976, battle in the courts between the Tennessee Valley Authority and environmentalists began over the fate of the snail darter. Over the next three years, the decision was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. The courts sided with the environmentalists and it was decided that the Tennessee Valley Authority was not exempt from Section 7 requirements.