1. I wasn't defending private industry, in fact, the REITs have created a situation that I find indefensible...I'm not going to go into that here, but REITs are going to be a long-term downer for the sporting life.
2. The ESA was written by four guys in the House cafeteria, two animal-rights types and FWS's chief of law enforcement, plus the son or grandson of FWS's first director. It was a low-key yet massive power grab and is poor law at its core. The cost of preservation is not balanced against benefits, leading to utterly irrational allocations of resources. Two million in land for one mouse? Look at what wolves eat! How much does each wolf cost in blown hunter opportunity, never mind livestock losses? One part I loathe is the restriction against captive breeding by private parties, the only exception I know of being peregrines. And guess what, the peregrines are good for the foreseeable future. Why, for God's sake, is it PROHIBITED for "Friends of the OUter Saruvian Snotwort" to breed and release all the snotworts they can?" 3. So what if it's a smaller pool of deciders if the deciders have the right motives -- motives shaped by exposure to the costs and benefits of an action?
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.
