PEOPLE VERSUS PANTHERS: THE POLITICS OF DEATH

IS THIS CAT IS WORTH $5,000,000?

Enacted by Congress in 1973, the Endangered Species Act places an absolute value on privileged animals, a value enjoyed by no other beings, even human children. Though many would conclude the value of a child's life is infinite, we don't conduct ourselves as if that were true. All societies have to make choices between investing in children and in other areas of life, but if you can find a way to get on the American "Endangered Species" list, you have been granted the absolute right to exist. This has been confirmed by the Supreme Court, which stated in their ruling, "The Act shows clearly that Congress viewed the value of endangered species as 'incalculable' or in practical terms infinite." We don't question the desire or quarrel with the need to preserve the lives of some of these magnificent creatures. And we know passions often run deep when the subject comes up, we are simply wondering if we shouldn't review a few of the rules during these difficult times.

Saving animals like grizzly bears, California condors and whooping cranes isn't free, and while the list of endangered species is long, 50% of the money is spent on eight of them and none on some of the others, indicating politics might be involved in at least one or two cases. Until recently, I thought Florida panthers were a professional football team. I didn't know that $5 million is set aside per year for their protection. Why are they more valuable to us than the bald eagle? That's because in 2007, we removed our national bird from the list, but while it was on it we spent $9 million per year to protect it. More importantly, is the life of a cat worth more than the life of a child? What happens if one of these cats attacks your child and you kill it to save your child's life? Perhaps nothing, but you'll likely have to prove it, and what if they don't believe you?

MORE ENDANGERED SPECIES FOR YOUR REVIEW

In recent years, the Chinook salmon was by far the most expensive species, raking in a cool $165 million. Meanwhile, a few of its close relatives—the chum, Coho and sockeye—received another $78 million. A more distant relative, the steelhead trout, received $128 million. The Stellar sea lion garnered $53 million, but the Saimaa seal got nothing, even though it is also on the list.

Chinook Salmon is #1 $165 million +	Steelhead Trout $128 million	Stellar Sea Lion $53 million

The gray Wolf, a personal favorite until I discovered the Florida panther, got a paltry $4.3 million, while the mighty Indiana bat received $6.3 million. But the classic for those of us who live in "wild and wooly" Northern California is the infamous delta smelt, which received $4,788,873, and another $1,220,534 in habitat and other conservation spending, plus restricted access to irrigation water for a bunch of farmers.

Proud Gray Wolf $4.3 million	Mighty Indiana Bat $6.3 Million	California Delta Smelt $4.8 Million +

We spend $1.5 Billion conserving threatened species, plus $150 Million or so purchasing land for habitat preservation. That is a lot of money during these difficult economic times. Perhaps it is well worth it and perhaps it is a tad too much, but this is peanuts compared to the other expenditures that go with it. In fact, when you add in what the Federal Highway Association, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration spend, the numbers get much higher, and that doesn't count the contributions of NGOs and private funding.

My problem at the moment is my new love affair with the Florida panther. There are only 100 of them left. I wonder if the good people of Florida would consider letting us take 50 of them off their hands in return for a couple million of our cute little California delta smelt. Tom LeDuc