Once again, we have proof that we can – when we will – make a difference for the better in our environment, thanks to science, laws and regulations.
We saw it with bald eagles, which were headed for extinction because a now-banned pesticide made their eggs so fragile they cracked long before the forming chicks became viable.
Now we see it again with a local endangered species superstar: the snail darter, Percina tanasi, which for years stalled the construction of the Tellico Dam.
On Tuesday, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift Endangered Species Act protection from snail darters – a species of fish not much longer than a golf tee that was discovered in the early 1970s in the Little Tennessee River.
The snail darter is no longer in danger of extinction, thanks to the efforts of citizens and governmental groups, according to a release from the center.