Birds Are More Important Than People

Current Events Environmentalism
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A bird called the ivory-billed woodpecker has been thought to be extinct for decades, yet a few years ago there was evidence found that it existed today in Arkansas. Our government’s reaction to this news?

In east Arkansas alone, the federal government and its partners have spent more than $5 million on searches, land acquisition and conservation work related to the woodpecker. And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently set forth a $27 million recovery plan aimed at securing the bird’s long-term survival.

At the same time, concerns about the woodpecker have delayed a major irrigation project, adding as much as $54million to its cost.

That’s from here. From the same article, the story continues: apparently, the bird might still be extinct.

"Many officials remain convinced of the bird’s existence, but as far as skeptics are concerned, the searchers might as well be looking for Bigfoot.

“This is a big bird. They haven’t found a feather, they haven’t found a pile of dung,” said Dennis Carman, chief engineer and director of the White River Irrigation District; the district’s Grand Prairie irrigation project costs have soared during a delay for environmental studies of possible impacts on the woodpecker.

But it’s not just area officials who doubt the bird’s existence. Some leading ornithologists believe the sightings, recordings and brief video that led to the rediscovery announcement might involve the similarly colored but more common pileated woodpecker instead of the ivory-billed."

I find this pretty appalling. The government oversteps its bound with programs to spend taxpayer money on helping a bird that may or may not exist, while simultaneously costing million dollars by forcing a delay of an irrigation project which may cost many farmers their livelihood. The philosophical errors are outstanding: their assumed premise is that the intrinsic value of the bird (irrespective of any value man may find in it) justifies the government initiating force against its citizenry to help the bird through taxes and regulation.

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That is typical of government’s today. The most recent one like that in NZ was a law to protect the Maui and Hector dolphins, which are biological cousins unique to the North and South Islands of NZ respectively. However, these really do exist and instead of being funded via taxes the law will instead cost the fishing industry an estimated 300 jobs and $80 million over 5 years. I think the real costs will be much higher. I doubt the direct effects will be that low and to add to that there is also the flow on effects to take into account.