Ganges Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle ("Chitra indica"), Indian softshell turtle ("Nilssonia gangetica"), Indian peacock softshell turtle ("N. hurum") and Cantor's giant softshell turtle ("Pelochelys cantorii"; only in the lowermost section of Ganges basin). Most of these are seriously threatened. The river's most famed fauna is the freshwater Ganges river dolphin ("Platanista gangetica gangetica"), which has been declared India's national aquatic animal. This dolphin used to exist in large schools near to urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, but is now seriously threatened by pollution and dam construction. Their numbers have now dwindled to a quarter of their numbers
Endangered Species Act of 1973 legislation, crafting a document that completely changed the direction of environmental conservation in the United States. Dr. Bertrand is credited with writing the most challenged section of the Act, the "takings" clause – Section 2. The stated purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to protect species and also "the ecosystems upon which they depend." California historian Kevin Starr was more emphatic when he said: "The Endangered Species Act of 1982 is the Magna Carta of the environmental movement." The ESA is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries