This gutting of the…

This gutting of the Endangered Species Act turns species protection into a very bad joke. It is absurd to consider it adequate to protect just the burrow, nest or other home plus the "immediate surrounding area", and to think you've somehow protected that species. Where are these animals going to find food, let alone connect with other members of the species to keep the gene pool diverse?

There is a very good reason that protecting "habitat" involves uncertainty and complication: because the definition of habitat will vary dramatically according to species and context. Trying to enact a "simple" definition means enacting a "stupid" definition.

In case a business doesn't even want to protect a little square around an animal's burrow, this Act provides a handy loophole. With "harass" being removed from prohibited activities, one will be able to simply harass an animal until it deserts its burrow, and then bulldoze the tiny plot of previously protected area.

The Act could truthfully be entitled "Get the Pesky Environment Out Of The Way of Making Money Act". It is an appallingly anti-environment, anti-nature, anti-life piece of legislation that should be withdrawn.