Welcome to Gaia! ::

Unfortunately I can't read the original article, as it seems to have been moved. sad For threads like these it's best to quote the entire article in the opening post- along with the link to the original- so that if the host removes the article from its original location it will still be accessible for us to read and discuss. 3nodding

But from what I've read in other folks' responses this definitely seems like a problem. I really appreciate Lupinus' detailed and well-informed, well thought out counter-point as well! I don't entirely agree with him, but it is refreshing to see some solid information and some critical thinking. As environmentalists and concerned citizens, we do need to question and constantly re-evaluate the performance of our laws and their enforcement. There is certainly room for abuse in the application of the Endangered Species Act- and I would not be surprised to see advantage being taken of that fact. However, I think there will be a similar weakness in any act giving any group any amount of power necessary to protect endangered species and habitats.

Therefore the problem- where there is a problem- does not lie with the act itself, but with the people who are responsible for its enforcement. We need people who are ethical and accountable- who believe in what they're doing enough to do more than a half-assed job at it. And we need to support those people, through good times and bad. confused I know it's a tall order, but I think that ultimately it all comes down to this- we won't be able to do very much of anything until we have men and women in office whom we would trust to apply these acts for the good of all.

As for the introduction of species into areas where they are not currently found- correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the places where species are being reintroduced are places where those species used to live, therefore they are already a part of the local ecosystem- a system whose functioning was unbalanced by their loss. Therefore, the reintroduction of the animal is not a destruction of the local ecosystem, but a restoration of a part which the local human population had already destroyed.

It is not a perfect system- and clearly, the best thing would have been to never have removed a link from the ecosystem to begin with. But we can not undo the past- all we can do is to try to make amends in the present. We are only recently begining to understand how complex ecosystems are- and I think that this realization was the motivation behind acts such as these. We do not know what sort of effects the removal of one species may have, although from our studies we can guess that it may seem trivial or devastating- and that we very well may not know the difference between the two until it's too late. It's like taking a gear out of a mechanism- the system may appear to function on the surface, but inside how many other functions are being affected? Who knows how long the mechanism will continue to function, before it grinds to a halt or goes screaching off course? What if the part which was removed was an essential safe guard whose absense will only be revealed when it's too late? It's safer to re-establish ecosystems to well-balanced and time-proven proportions, with all parts in place. No, we haven't learned how to do that perfectly yet- but species reintroductions such as these represent our first efforts at learning how such a thing can be done. wink

As for the protection of species who are scarce in one area, even though they are abundant in another, there are sub-species variations which are important to the overall biodiversity of this planet. It is not enough to say, "Oh, we have this monkey over here- that meets our monkey quota for the entire world." Even if they are the same species of monkey, the sub-group in one part of the world will represent a different gene pool, with different adaptations and different behaviors. And they occupy a niche in their local ecosystem which can not be filled by their relatives halfway around the world.

So I agree with Riku that these acts are addressing a real concern, and I reiterate that the important issue is to find people whom we can trust to implement the act appropriately. But I am really glad to see this sort of conversation happening here! And I appreciate your being so thorough!