It is "frighteningly clear that despite all good intentions, the Endangered Species Act is making a bad situation worse."

Author: Brandon Middleton

Looks like more and more people are waking up to the uncompromising nature of the Endangered Species Act.  Here is the Merced Sun-Star's Steve Cameron:

I have been a lifetime environmentalist, nearly always supporting regulations to save existing wildlife and protecting the ecosystems that keep our fragile planet in balance.

But here in the San Joaquin Valley, it is frighteningly clear that despite all good intentions, the Endangered Species Act is making a bad situation worse.

The brutal drought that hopefully reached its terrible peak last year has ripped through the Valley, leaving farmers without water to grow crops and producing scary ripple effects — like massive unemployment among agricultural workers and staggering losses to businesses that depend on these people for revenue.

In short, we're hurting.

We need water, and the government agencies that have the authority to allow pumping additional water into drought-stricken areas are handcuffed by the Endangered Species Act.