Once thought more likely to swing on a star, or carry moonbeams home in a jar, the
Fish and Wildlife folks reverse themselves;
A tiny minnow that lives only in backwaters in
Oregon's Willamette Valley is the first fish to be formally removed from
Endangered Species Act protection because it is no longer in danger of
extinction.
The
action comes 22 years after the 3-inch-long fish was first listed as an
endangered species....
Hooray! It's safe to go back into the water for the bureaucrats;
Paul Henson,
state director for Fish and Wildlife, said the Oregon chub demonstrates
that a lot of species can be brought back from the brink of extinction,
if key needs are met, such as a safe place to live, even in an urban
landscape.
"This
doesn't mean that all of a sudden it's hands off, and we never need to
do anything for them," Henson said. "But we can at least put them back
in the group of species that need attention, but don't need to go into
the emergency room of the (Endangered Species Act)."
If that's the kind of life that you wish, you might grow up to be a fish.
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