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The Endangered Species Preservation Act was the predecessor to the modern Endangered Species Act. It was enacted in 1966. The act empowered the United States Secretary to pilot and run conservation programs for indigenous species on the brink of extinction. The Endangered Species Preservation Act was the government’s response to the declining numbers of the whooping crane, a bird species indigenous to North America. Two years later, in 1968, the government increased conservation efforts for America’s indigenous species and bought 2,300 acres in Florida. This enhanced protection for the National Key Deer through the National Key Deer Refuge. The government first established the refuge in 1957. The U.S. was on the right step in protecting its animals and plants, then saw the need to expand the law to cover international species. It all started in the 1960s with a recording of the sound made by humpback whales. Their numbers were also dwindling, so much so that the International Whaling Commission temporarily stopped whale hunting. This meant that the ban would be lifted once the whale population stabilized. Conservationists were also watching, and the United States also had to act. The Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, therefore, evolved into the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1969. The U.S. could now add international species to its endangered species list and ban imports of products made from those species.