Thursday, June 28, 2007

Delisting the Bald Eagle a Sign of ESA Success




It looks like the Bald Eagle is going to be delisted today as an endangered species. Have no fear; the bird will still be protected.

Delisting is actually a good thing; it not only means the Bald Eagle has made a substantial recovery, but it gives the lie to the folks that say animals never come off the list and the Endangered Species Act does not work. In fact, the ESA is one of the most important and successful pieces of conservation legislation ever enacted.

This is not to say that everything said about the Bald Eagle is entirely true. The thing that knocked the Bald Eagle over the edge, for example, was not DDT, but lead shot and leghold traps. For more on that, see You Gotta Break Some Eggs to Build a Movement

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1 comment:

BorderWars said...

The CBS Evening news used the word DDT no less than 3 times during their Bald Eagle story a few moments ago.

Why is it that misinformation spreads like wildfire and real information is so hard to find?

Come on "Hunter, hunter, put away your leghold traps" fits right into that Joni Mitchell song.

It seems that the theory of a small poison on the base level becoming intensified and abundant as you move up the food chain is true with lies and misinformation heading up the news ladder into the apex of the Evening News.