PUBLISHED Letters to the Editor By CALIFORNIA CENTER SUPPORTERS
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"Endangered Species Act is worth keeping"
Tri-Valley Times, April 25, 2013
Our country enjoys diverse ecosystems of thriving plant and animal life, which require constant vigilance to protect in the face of rampant development and human overpopulation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) passed in 1973 gets much of the credit for helping prevent extinction of some of our iconic wildlife, such as the California condor, least tern and southern sea otter. These and other threatened species have slowly increased their numbers because of the ESA and the dedication of environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity.
Last year I photographed California condors on the Big Sur coastline. Without our 40-year-old ESA, I might never have seen a condor in flight. Wouldn't it also be nice to photograph condors free of the numbers on their 9-foot wings and toxic lead in their blood? Unencumbered Condors may not appear in my lifetime, but that's something to hope for as we defend the ESA against political attacks coming mostly from "conservatives" who often care more about conserving their own wealth than nature's awesome creatures.
Larry H. Thompson
Livermore
© 2013 Bay Area News Group.
This article originally appeared here.
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