My latest issue of “Outdoor Alabama” arrived late last week with an illustrated article about the wood stork, which is one strange-looking bird, although the baby birds, like most baby animals, are rather cute.
The article explained how the wood stork is another success story for the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service down-listed the wood stork from endangered to “threatened.”
When it was first listed, its breeding ground was primarily in central and south Florida. Today its breeding ground has expanded considerably, and now includes Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama.
If the stork continues to gain, it could be taken off the list entirely. Extinction has been prevented in 99 percent of the species listed as threatened or endangered since 1973, and 27 species have been delisted completely, including the bald eagle, American alligator, and peregrine falcon. Thirty species have been down-listed from endangered to threatened.
These laws work. Why would the Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature want to take away the power to decide the listing of species from scientists and give it to the legislature? I heard Rep. Heffley defend this as a way to give more input from our state legislators into the listing process.
Why would they want to do that? Think Marcellus Shale. Think campaign contributions. Think like a Republican legislator. You can figure it out.
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