THE ongoing controversy in the us
involving the Endangered Species Act
(Down To Earth, Vol 4, No 5) has taken
yet another turn. This time, the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
has lit the fuse by proposing that the
coho salmon should be listed as
"threatened" under the Act.
The geographical range of the
coho,s natural habitat is more extencive Aan that of other protected
4peciefand covers a large chunk of the
Pacific northwest coast. Approval of
the proposal will mean enforcing limits
on all development work, including setting up hydroelectric dams and logging,
along the 700-mile coastline and up
hundreds of tributaries, many of which
extend for more than 100 miles inland.
"The geographical sc;pe of this listing
is enormous," raves William Stelle,
northwest regional director, NMFS.
And this is precisely the factor that
has enraged the timber lobby. "We
would rather see a cooperative approach to restoration and enhancement
than simply stating that the coho is a
threatened species," complains Chris
West, a spokesperson for the timber
industry's Northwest Forestry Association. The group is now lobbying to
amend the Act to make it more responsive to all the concerned parties.
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