Species Act Has Evolved Too Far Anti-Esa Some Species Should Be Allowed To Go Extinct.

Most people would agree that the original intent of the Endangered Species Act was noble: To preserve species of plants and animals from being made extinct through man’s actions.

But the act has been expanded and interpreted way beyond its initial bounds. It has evolved into a formidable weapon wielded by environmental activists to block the natural-resource industry, important public-works projects and other activities on private and public lands.

A comment by a Sierra Club official several years ago underscores this point: “The northern spotted owl is the wildlife species of choice to act as a surrogate for old growth protection, and I’ve often thought that thank goodness the spotted owl evolved in the Northwest or we would have had to genetically engineer it.”

Bureaucrats have administered the 1973 act in such a heavy-handed manner that property owners are at the mercy of any of the 955 endangered and threatened species that might claim squatter’s rights. As a result, some land holders “shoot, shovel and shut up” or destroy habitat to avoid losing the use of their property.

The Endangered Species Act must be reined in.

Now, the flawed act doesn’t allow state and local input into listing decisions, ignores economic impacts, provides no compensation for affected private property, embraces liberal definitions for the unlawful “taking” of an endangered animal and for “species,” and calls for limitless spending to save every plant and animal.

According to U.S. News & World Report, scientists now are questioning the act’s central premise that all life forms are of equal value. “We have to admit that there’s a state of triage, and we have to choose where to focus our energies,” said Melanie Stiassny of the American Museum of Natural History.

Some species should be allowed to go extinct.

Incredibly, only six species have rebounded enough to warrant delisting - despite all the money and effort expended.

The act should be changed to encourage voluntary preservation through tax incentives or land swaps - before the government declares an area off limits as habitat.

Without some injection of common sense, the Endangered Species Act will go the way of the dodo.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: Act keeps greed from growing wild

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