Dear Editor,
Rick Attig's sentimental paean to the Endangered Species Act and Bald Eagles
is misplaced and inaccurate.
Bald Eagles recovered because of the DDT ban pure and simple, period.
Bald eagles were under Federal jurisdiction and protection since the passage
of the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940. The Endangered Species Act did
NOTHING to speed up or improve the recovery of that species. Protecting
nest trees was simply "feel-good" window dressing. Eagles will
build other
nests and even use tall structures quite readily. Anything else done in line
with our Constitution for eagles was achievable under the Bald Eagle
Protection Act.
For Mr. Attig to use this hokey biology to then say the Endangered Species
Act works (it doesn't), and that the government TAKING PRIVATE PROPERTY
WITHOUT COMPENSATION is a good thing, and finally that Congressman Pombo's brave
attempt to reform this harmful Act THAT HAS GONE UNAUTHORIZED FOR 20+ YEARS
(when Federal law requires that it be reauthorized every 5 years) is rivaled
only by the lies of totalitarian dictatorships in the dustbin of history.
For you to publish such propaganda is disappointing to say the least.
Jim Beers
Retired Wildlife Biologist, Refuge Manager, Special Agent
US Fish and Wildlife Service