Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs
I saw a really nasty picture Saturday.
It showed a ranch family in South Dakota standing in an expansive field of dirt and dust, stretching as far as the eye could see. And in South Dakota, that's pretty darn far.
If the picture had been taken a couple years earlier, it would have shown green grass, good stuff for cattle herds, stretching to the horizon. A ranch family that didn't aspire for too much in the way of creature comforts could actually make a living off land like that.
The difference between then and now: the Endangered Species Act. The black-tailed prairie dog was named a candidate species, population controls replaced, and the grass disappeared.
Then they showed me another nasty picture: A map of South Dakota with a little red dot everywhere there was an acre with prairie dog farms. There were enough dots -- 411,000 of them -- to keep Clearasil in business for a decade.
The critter was a matter of considerable discussion at the Western Governors Association conference on the Endangered Species Act, where govs of 19 Western states decided to put their considerable power behind a revamp and moderation of the Act. It seems the Govs just couldn't understand why a grass-chomping rodent that was spawning all over the place on 411,000 acres could be in danger of extinction.
The Endangered Species Act is itself the most protected of protected species, the Inside the Beltway Sacred Cow. But why? Of the 1,364 species listed under the act, only two have been de-listed because their populations have recovered. The Feds claim its 14 (pathetic enough!), but 12 of those were only listed because of faulty science, and were de-listed when the science didn't stand up. Another 13 were de-listed when the Feds actually admitted the science was lousy. Eight, unfortunately, are apparently extinct.
Clearly, the Act allows lousy science. Clearly, it isn't saving species. But just as clearly, it's keeping the enviros happy. They don't really care whether a population recovers because a listing keeps the critter safe enough, and ties up land from development as litigation grinds through the courts. Litigation is the lifeblood of the environmental movement, since it generates millions of dollars in membership fees and legal settlements.
Well, that could change as President Bush seeks to cash in a little political capital, as the Western Governors join the fray, and as recent polls are beginning to show that a significant amount of the population no longer associates the Endangered Species Act with bald eagles and grizzly bears, but with job-killing green radicals.
It showed a ranch family in South Dakota standing in an expansive field of dirt and dust, stretching as far as the eye could see. And in South Dakota, that's pretty darn far.
If the picture had been taken a couple years earlier, it would have shown green grass, good stuff for cattle herds, stretching to the horizon. A ranch family that didn't aspire for too much in the way of creature comforts could actually make a living off land like that.
The difference between then and now: the Endangered Species Act. The black-tailed prairie dog was named a candidate species, population controls replaced, and the grass disappeared.
Then they showed me another nasty picture: A map of South Dakota with a little red dot everywhere there was an acre with prairie dog farms. There were enough dots -- 411,000 of them -- to keep Clearasil in business for a decade.
The critter was a matter of considerable discussion at the Western Governors Association conference on the Endangered Species Act, where govs of 19 Western states decided to put their considerable power behind a revamp and moderation of the Act. It seems the Govs just couldn't understand why a grass-chomping rodent that was spawning all over the place on 411,000 acres could be in danger of extinction.
The Endangered Species Act is itself the most protected of protected species, the Inside the Beltway Sacred Cow. But why? Of the 1,364 species listed under the act, only two have been de-listed because their populations have recovered. The Feds claim its 14 (pathetic enough!), but 12 of those were only listed because of faulty science, and were de-listed when the science didn't stand up. Another 13 were de-listed when the Feds actually admitted the science was lousy. Eight, unfortunately, are apparently extinct.
Clearly, the Act allows lousy science. Clearly, it isn't saving species. But just as clearly, it's keeping the enviros happy. They don't really care whether a population recovers because a listing keeps the critter safe enough, and ties up land from development as litigation grinds through the courts. Litigation is the lifeblood of the environmental movement, since it generates millions of dollars in membership fees and legal settlements.
Well, that could change as President Bush seeks to cash in a little political capital, as the Western Governors join the fray, and as recent polls are beginning to show that a significant amount of the population no longer associates the Endangered Species Act with bald eagles and grizzly bears, but with job-killing green radicals.
posted by Laer at 10:03 PM
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