Endangered Species Act

Open Email to Congress:

Dear Representatives and Senators,
First it was the snail darter. This was followed by the spotted owl, the prairie chicken, and now the tortoise.
What do these animals have in common? They are a problem outgrowth of the Endangered Species Act, passed by Congress in 1973. Assuming that Congress had the preservation of the species at heart, they botched the job of setting up an appropriate law. As it now exists, the Endangered Species Act allows government to confiscate property rights on private land. The present contest between government's confiscation of cattle and the cattlemen in Nevada is the latest example. The issue is not whether the cattlemen have paid their grazing rights for grazing on government property. The issue is whether cattlemen can graze their cattle on their own land. The government says "no", because such grazing would interfere with the continued existence of local tortoise.
I personally don't care whether the snail darter, spotted owl, prairie chicken and tortoise continue to exist as part of our ecology. I've never seen one, had one on our property and don't care if I ever see one. However, I also understand that other people may have a different viewpoint. But, in the exercise of that viewpoint, I don't see the necessity for usurping anybody's private property rights. If my neighbor can't farm his 200 acres of cotton, because in the farming it might kill a few prarie chicken eggs, I am sympathetic to the farmer to the extent that I suggest we do something else for prairie chicken protection. I wonder if government has ever heard of zoos to protect the people from dangerous animals or to protect other animals from the people. If zoos are too restrictive in size or other conditions requiring special habitat, there's plenty of government land already available, which could be used for special reservations.
The bottom line is that the Endangered Species Act was not well thought out. It is being used by environmentalists in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife agency to unnecessarily usurp private property rights. It is up to Congress to change the law. We have congressional oversights for exactly that purpose. I also see that it may be difficult because a socialist Executive branch of government, such as we have now, wants control of all private property. This is the essence of Communist/Socialist doctrine. The question is whether Congress is part of that scheme. If not, push revision of the law!