Loggers’ Revenge: The Endangered Species Act
Hits Seattle, Nina Shapiro, Seattle Weekly
Revenge may finally come for the loggers of the Northwest, who for
years, branded as Neanderthals by urban environmentalists who
couldn’t hear rural concerns about lost livelihoods caused by
federal protections for the spotted owl. Now, with the listing of
Puget Sound Chinook as one of 14 endangered salmon and steelhead
species, the feds are looking at imposing restrictions on the
activities of city residents. ‘Application of the ESA is testing
Seattle’s environmental principles as never before. And some people
feel that the city is failing the test,’ writes Nina Shapiro in the
Seattle Weekly. ‘At the least, Seattle’s concern with
economic impact and regulatory bureaucracy are an ironic echo of
arguments formerly given little credence here when heard in the
context of species listings in what was viewed as the sticks’ —
LU
