Lords of the Flies

WHEN President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, he inadvertently codified Aldo Leopold’s stylish but stupid aphorism, “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Should we lament the extinction of smallpox, or expand the ESA to protect unique life forms such as various viruses for future generations? Before we “Save the fungus among us!” as Gary Larson once quipped, we might want to reconsider what we are already trying to save—and, more importantly, how we are going about it.

At present, the ESA protects 33 species of insect. While most Americans might not think twice about stepping on a bug, the federal penalty if the bug turns out to be a rare one can amount to $200,000 in fines and one year in jail. And the same goes for modifying the habitat of such a species-even if the critters in question do not actually live on the land in question. In short, the ESA authorizes the Federal Government to prohibit anything that might encroach on or disturb species that are classified as “threatened” or “endangered.”

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Ike C. Sugg

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Endangered Species Act

WHEN President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, he inadvertently codified Aldo Leopold’s stylish but stupid aphorism, “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Should we lament the extinction of smallpox, or expand the ESA to protect unique life forms such as various viruses for future generations? Before we “Save the fungus among us!” as Gary Larson once quipped, we might want to reconsider what we are already trying to save—and, more importantly, how we are going about it.

At present, the ESA protects 33 species of insect. While most Americans might not think twice about stepping on a bug, the federal penalty if the bug turns out to be a rare one can amount to $200,000 in fines and one year in jail. And the same goes for modifying the habitat of such a species-even if the critters in question do not actually live on the land in question. In short, the ESA authorizes the Federal Government to prohibit anything that might encroach on or disturb species that are classified as “threatened” or “endangered.”