Thanks, Rep. Pearce, for championing commonsense government

This letter is intended to commend the work Congressman Steve Pearce has done to try to prevent thousands of acres of productive ranch and energy producing land from becoming unproductive by allowing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare the area “critical habitat” for the Sand Dune Lizard. This action would take place under the guidelines of the Endangered Species Act.

While in Congress, Mr. Peace has become a valid champion of commonsense government, protector of Second Amendment rights, and a solid voice for meaningful change to the Endangered Species Act.

He has proven himself to be a true conservationist! There is a distinct difference between conservation and preservation. Conservation is the wise, sustainable use of a renewable resource, meaning that if our renewable resources are properly managed, they will last forever. Good examples of this are timber and wildlife.

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Preservation is the non-use of a renewable resource. Preservationists believe that forests should be left alone and not managed. They also believe that wildlife is smart enough to manage itself. This kind of management inevitably leads to overgrown, nonproductive forests, and wildlife that starves to death because it has over bred, leading to over population, and destruction of their habitat.

There could not be a better time in the history of our nation for meaningful change to be made to the well-intended Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, it has become the “constitution” of the environmental extremists. Thousands of fish, rodents, bugs, butterflies, tweedy birds, and many other species have been placed on the endangered list. Billions of dollars have been spent on “recovery,” but the truth is that only a fraction of 1 percent have actually been recovered.

In the meantime, farm and ranch land has been laid fallow, much-needed oil and gas reserves have been placed off limits, and complete industries have been waylaid. More destruction of American commerce has occurred than protecting of species. In an effort to “protect” many species, the funds needed to give them an economic value so they can exist have dried up.

Let’s face the facts: These “environmentalists” who have fueled these species listings are not at all interested in the species, but very interested in a utopian world where no oil is pumped, no timber cut, no wildlife species harvested for the meat and to control the population, no livestock raised, and no coal dug and burned. We would all be riding bicycles, living in sod houses, and all land outside the city limits would be federally owned wilderness land.

I am very grateful that we have a man like Congressman Pearce to “stand in the gate” against those who would destroy American life, industry, and continue to swell an already blotted federal government.

Atkinson is the Safari Club International Region 10 representative.

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