Endangered Species Act: Fix It, Don’t Fix it

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer caps off a silly editorial about Rep. Richard Pombo’s plans to strengthen/weaken (depending on whom you ask) the Endangered Species Act with this concluding paragraph:

As critics point out, the [Endangered Species] act hasn’t restored many threatened species to robust health. If consensus can be found, it’s possible that Congress could craft better ways of restoring endangered species. But the starting point must be to prevent extinction. On that basic responsibility, Congress must not mess with the Endangered Species Act’s great success.

In other words, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer simultaneously believes the following:

  • The Endangered Species Act is not working very well.
  • Congress may be able to craft an Endangered Species Act that would do a better job.
  • The Endangered Species Act is a great success.
  • Congress should not mess with the Endangered Species Act.

Make up your minds, folks.



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.