Endangered species protection has long been favored by many Americans, who watched regretfully as the numbers of American eagles, buffaloes and other species dwindled toward extinction. Only recently, however, has species protection become a matter of public controversy, subsumed in the more general "development v. environment" debate. In this Article, Professor Rosenberg surveys the federal government's role in species protection, with a special focus on the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Prompted by the much-publicized Supreme Court decision in the "snail darter case"--TVA v. Hill-Congress extensively amended the Act in 1978. After a detailed analysis of these amendments, Professor Rosenberg concludes that, though Congress made some signtfcant changes in the federal system of species protection, the strong pro-species policy embodied in the 1973 Act remains intact.