Environmentalists Cry Wolf - or Rather ‘Cat’

Discuss this on our boards!

Environmentalists Cry Wolf – or Rather ‘Cat’
by Tim Loughner

December 19, 2001

CO-COLUMN OF THE DAY!!

Columnist and TAP Founder Tim Loughner SEATTLE – Call it a case of crying wolf and outright lying by the State of Washington and the Federal Government.

Recently it was revealed that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was involved in a scam involving the planting of false evidence approximately a year ago in two of Washington State’s forests. Reportedly seven state and federal biologists admitted to adding fur from a rare Canadian lynx to samples taken from the Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee national forests. Results of this act gave extra protections to the forests from outdoor recreationalists – most notably those who use snowmobiles.

Their excuse: “They wanted only to assure the accuracy of DNA analysis by a laboratory,” said Joel Holtrop, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman in Washington, D.C.

"We recognize the inappropriate behavior of these individuals, and we don't want to see it happen again," Holtrop said. "This was unnecessary and inappropriate activity, and we don't support it in any way."

Credibility in the environmental movement, of which I largely support, has now been severely damaged as future requests of protection for endangered species may come under closer scrutiny. The lynx has been on 16 states endangered lists from Maine to Washington State for nearly two years now.

By reporting the lynx to inhabit new lands, protections for the forests would have been put in place. The results would have taken land away from loggers such as Weyerhaeuser and closed sno-parks for snowmobiles. The snowmobiles create drifts that aid the snowshoe hare, the lynx’s main prey.

Former Vice President Al Gore Washington State has had a long history of creating environmental hype. In the early 1990’s, the spotted-owl made headlines, as several thousand logging jobs were lost due to the rarity of the bird. Environmental kingpin Al Gore (pictured, left) even made an appearance to speak up for the owl and against the logging industry.

Another popular animal of favor is the salmon that has cost the fishing and hydroelectric power industries millions of dollars. Dams, which block the path for salmon returning to their homes to spawn, have been forced to build fish ladders, alternate river patterns, and even dismantling of their facilities.

Protecting endangered species from the destructive power of man is a noble cause and certainly a just one. Many species of animals have been made extinct from man’s overindulgences in hunting, logging, or other reasons. Some animals, such as the bald eagle have thrived and returned back to safer numbers under government protections.

Unfortunately, stupid moves such as this one only hurt the environmental movement. There are plenty of ways to spread your message without lying to the public. Chaining yourself to trees, rowing your canoe into an oil tanker or dressing up like turtles in WTO protests don’t further a cause, they only nullify it.

Environmental extremists have damaged their movement much in the same way Jim Bakker damaged televangelism. It seems that anyone can take something meaningful and constructive then twist it into something ridiculous and disparaging. Why do we even bother? ***

Image of US Forest Service courtesy of their Official Web Site
Photo of Al Gore courtesy of the Associated Press
With files from FOX News Channel Web Site