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To put it another way:

Remember a few years ago a University was trying to expand the Mt. Polamar facility to put in a big steerable array? Astronomists from all over the world were in favor of the plan, but the project was keeboshed by the Endangered Species Act.

It seems that there was a specific species of squirrel that lived on the ridge where they wanted to build. So the locals, who were opposed to the construction of the facility for their own reasons, sued under the ESA. They did not really care about the squirrel, of course. It was just a tool they used to stop the project that they opposed for whatever selfish reasons they had.

I don't know which side ultimately prevailed, but the misuse of the ESA wound up delaying the project for years, at least, and led to a lot of wasted money and aggravation. The astronomers railed endlessly about how unfair it all was.

Now the boot is on the other foot, and the astronomers are kicking for all they're worth. Ironic, isn't it?