Posted on 07/01/2005 5:25:21 AM PDT by OESY
...Of the nearly 1,300 domestic species on the endangered list, the law has managed to "recover" a grand total of 10. That's a success rate of less than 1%.
...But even the trends don't look good. A mere 36% of listed species are considered stable or improving. And even this 36% is nothing to celebrate, given that in many cases the only reason a species is deemed on the mend is because officials overstated the problem in the first place.
When the plant, Johnston's frankenia, was first listed, it was thought to have dwindled to about 1,500 specimens. Oops, someone miscounted. There are close to nine million, which explains why Fish & Wildlife is now proposing to remove the plant from the endangered list. Of the 10 officially "recovered" species, six were subject to erroneous original data.
These errors have real financial consequences -- in particular for other species recovery. Government resources are finite, and every dollar spent on an erroneous listing is one less that could go to a species in need.
Take the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, which Fish & Wildlife also wants to de-list due to mistaken scientific data. An economic assessment that accompanied the "critical habitat" designation for this perfectly healthy animal estimated taxpayer and private costs would total $79 million to $183 million over 10 years.
Unlike other environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act doesn't require quality, peer-reviewed science in its listings....
Another problem is that the law doesn't allow for real priority setting; i.e., they are all a top priority. This makes it impossible to focus on species truly in need....
So the federal government will continue to enforce a law that costs more than it should and still doesn't protect the truly endangered.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Stop the Insanity!!!!! I read recently that the entire logging and forest industry in the west has been virtually dismantled to protect the Spotted Owl which was never really endangered. Suporters said that these birds could only survive in old growth virgin forest habitats while they are commonly spotted nesting in urban and residential areas.
Remember the story of the lady that made "dreamcatchers", and presented Hillary with one? Turns out it contained a feather of some endangered bird, and the woman got into serious trouble,even though she picked the feathers off the ground.
Ping.
Environment Ping!
Here is the AP take:
"Environmentalists and Democrats quickly criticized the report prepared for Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, as politically motivated and misleading."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7897502/
Thirty two years ahould be enough time to make some judgements. If the study had come out favorably they would be touting it not saying the evaluation was premature.
A spotted owl nest had to be relocated from a traffic circle in Evrett, WA.
BTTT!!!!!!
We had a Boy Scout (may have even made it to Eagle Scout) in Wisconsin that had his entire wild bird feather collection confiscated by our DNR because he had feathers of endangered birds in his collection. He didn't kill any of these birds, he just speant a lot of time out in Nature looking for them.
Absolutely ridiculous! And all the while elephants were poached in Africa for their Ivory tusks. Endangered monkeys were killed for their meat because people were hungry and their "tribe" had always hunted monkeys to eat.
The world-wide stupidity that goes by the name of "Environmentalism" has HAD to have reached it's zenith! Grrrr!
...and of course it has now been determined that OTHER OWLS, not Loggers, constitute the biggest problem for Spotted Owls...
"The northern spotted owl has two natural predators, the great horned owl (figure 4), and the red-tailed hawk (figure 5). Loss of available habitat will cause these predators to compete for territory and fight over prey. A good example of this is the spotted owls most recent predator, the barred owl (figure 6). Though it is not a natural predator of the spotted owl, decimation of the eastern forests has caused this bird of prey to leave its habitat and compete with the spotted owl."
"...Barred Owls will out-compete Spotted Owls for habitat, by being more aggressive, when the two species come into contact."
Source: http://www.google.com
http://www.chicoer.com/archives/ci_2828113
Report reveals cost of critical habitat designation
By HEATHER HACKING - Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that conservation for 15 vernal pool species will affect $992 million in economic activity over the next 20 years, with 97 percent of that relating to lost development opportunities.
A press release from the Fish and Wildlife Service defines "critical habitat" as "geographic areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations or protections."
The critical habitat designation covers 740,000 acres in California and one county in Oregon. Originally, the area of land would have covered about 1.2 million acres.
In 2003, Fish and Wildlife excluded land in five counties from being included in the critical habitat: Butte, Sacramento, Solano, Merced and Madera. The reason was that the Fish and Wildlife Service decided the losses of economic development outweighed the need for habitat protection....
...The Fish and Wildlife Service is under court order to publish the proposal for critical habitat designation by July 31. The draft is available at www. fws.gov/pacific/sacramento/default. htm.
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