More US congressional interference in legislation intended to protect an endangered resource (Matthew Brown, Congress measure against wolves seen as precedent, AP 15th April 2010): The endangered [species] act has long been reviled by conservatives who see it as a hindrance to economic development. Now, the administration's support for the wolf provision signals that protections for even the most imperiled animals, fish and plants are negotiable given enough political pressure, experts said. Officials in Montana and Idaho already are planning public hunts for the predators this fall, [...]. "The president could have used some political capital to influence this and he didn't," said Patrick Parenteau, a professor of environmental law from the Vermont Law School. "The message to the environmental community is, don't count on the administration to be there" for the protection of endangered species.How much have they ever been really "there" for the preservation of the archaeological heritage, both in their own country and that abroad endangered by the activities of unprincipled US dealers and collectors?
Vignette: Perhaps there are some US lawmaker just itching to get an invitation to get their guns out and take part in those public hunts to slay some wolves. They'd be the ones who support those who collect dugup coins buying them from dealers who don't care too much for paperwork documenting legal export from the source countries, I guess.