Posted on 03/21/2005 8:07:56 AM PST by MikeEdwards
Animals and humans have suffered the menace of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for three long decades. During this span, over 1,300 species have been listed as threatened or endangered under the Acts guidelines. According the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the ESA is responsible for recovering a mere 10 of them.
That amounts to a pitiful recovery rate of less than one percent. When you take into account credible studies that show these 10 recoveries had little or nothing to do with the ESA, the "success" rate plummets to zero.
Saving zero of over 1,300 species is hard work and sacrifice under the Endangered Species Act. After all, you dont achieve a zero percent success rate without breaking a few eggs. When the Northern Spotted Owl was listed under the ESA in 1990, tens of thousands of Americans in the Pacific Northwest lost their jobs and their livelihoods. Billions of dollars were sapped from the regional economy. Private property was taken from landowners. Such is the toil and hardship associated with saving an owl that, as it turns out, isnt endangered and never needed saving.
Crucial military preparation and training operations have fallen victim to the ESAs relentless pursuit of imperfection. The Pentagon regards Camp Pendleton in Southern California as one of the best places to train U.S. marines due to its unique terrain and coastline. In fact, Camp Pendleton is the only amphibious training base on the West Coast. Alas, it is also home to the California gnatcatcher, the San Diego fairy shrimp, the tidewater goby, and more than a dozen other species listed as "endangered" or "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. As such, our men and women in uniform must tread lightly, . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
The endangered species act has been corrupted by the anti-Human enviornemtalist radicals who want all people to be destroyed.
During the construction of the BART extension from San Francisco to the airport, it was discovered that an endangered salamander breed was being squished by construction trucks. All work halted on the project for months, and proceeded only when a judge forced a 5 mph speed limit on all trucks entering and leaving the site, with police radar enforcement. The project was subsequently delayed by 24 months, resulting in an overrun of over $1 billion.
Amtrak would like to run service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, one of the most heavily travelled intercity pairs in the nation. However, in order to add the necessary track capacity, Union Pacific would have to construct a second track in the habitat of an endangered turtle. Never mind that there's a pre-existing right-of-way (and has been for over a century), the EIR came back negative.
In both of these cases, construction of environmentally - friendly transportation alternatives were thwarted by the ESA, proof that the Act is counterproductive. The cost to the US economy conservatively runs in the trillions of dollars. Meanwhile, China forges ahead with projects like the Three Gorges Dam, which will only lower their costs of production, and we're supposed to "compete" with them?
Sad to say, we'll have to wait until we get a Republican President and Congress to expect any improvements in the ESA.
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