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Spring 2004 - V.19 N.1
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Endangered Species Act may be in Danger from Florida Today and others

News Around the Lagoon

Costly New Septic Tanks Keep Nitrogen out of Water
Water Management District Uses Grove Land to Store Excess Water
Environmentalists Urge Action on Ship Ballast Water
Supreme Court Rules EPA can Overrule State in Clean Air Case
Halting Toxic Cleanups
Water the Oil of the 21st Century
New Gates Reduce Silt from Canals in Indian River County
Key West Asks Cruise Ships to Stop Dumping
Endangered Species Act may be in Danger
Manatee Deaths Drop Here, but Rise on West Coast
Conservation Groups Sue for EPA to Regulate Water Pollution in Florida
New Tag Aims to Help Protect Coral Reefs
Politics Trump Science
Chemical Industry Seeks Approval of Pesticides at Expense of Wildlife
On the Lagoon with Captain Rodney Smith

The 30-year-old Endangered Species Act was written to protect wildlife from extinction. The problem is, it's now endangered itself. The act has been under steady assault from the White House, which has approved new listings of threatened or endangered species only when forced to by court order. Some 200 imperiled species wait in unlisted limbo because of inadequate funding for the protective mandates. The White House has also worked to relax protective regulations to benefit big business. Nearly vanished when the act was passed, sea turtles have climbed back from the abyss, with record nesting levels recorded in 2002 at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Other Florida species including the alligator, Florida panther, and peregrine falcon, would likely be extinct today if not for the Act, says the Florida Public Interest Research Group, an environmental advocacy group. These success stories show the enormous progress made since the act was passed.

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