The Panama City Crayfish

Combine the enviro-governmental complex with less-than-ethical motivations, add a lot of junk science and collusion among scientists propping up each others' careers and what do you get? A crayfish (think fish bait) that thrives off man-made development being listed as an endangered species. This crayfish is so similar to other widespread species of crayfish that only a scientist could tell you if you had a 'common' one or one of these 'special' ones. Watch out, Panama City. You are about to be mugged by the government and its evironmentalist parasites.

The State of Florida is moving to upgrade the Panama City Crayfish to the "Threatened" level. This will, in the words of one scientist, "complicate, hold up, and make more expensive every project in Panama City that has areas that hold water from time to time". He says listing the crayfish as endangered is an "unwanted, unneeded and unpopular government decision".

He conducted his own scientific studies and authored a petition to delist the crayfish. The petition cited multiple fact-based reasons that the crayfish did not need to be listed.

His petition was ignored.

Instead, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission went forward with a separate petition to upgrade the level of protection instead! The upgrade petition was submitted by a local researcher who will be awarded lucrative consulting contracts for himself and for his wife if it is approved. If the crayfish is upgraded (FWCC Commissioners vote on whether to upgrade it this summer) area citizens will be saddled with onerous regulations on public and private property in the Panam City area. This will drive up the already high cost of housing in the area, delay needed projects to accomodate growth, and impose a riduculous tax burden on area citizens, since every road and utility project will be impacted.

The City of Panama City has already incurred $500,000 of expenses to put in a necessary pipline. They had to hire biologists to stand in the ditches and fish for these things with nets, then do expensive drilling so they wouldn't disturb 'habitat'. Here's a local news video about a recent meeting to gather public input (unfortunately, because the general public doesn't understand the real impact this will have on them, this meeting was attended mostly by local environmentalists and Audubon Society members).

A local news article from June 2006 says "the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is priming the homely crustacean to join the ranks of the beloved loggerhead sea turtle and Florida black bear". They have pushed us too far.

Endangered Liberties - What We're About

Welcome to Endangered Liberties. This blog was established to expose the rampant proliferation of Endangered Species Act abuses that are stripping Americans of our personal liberties and property rights.

We all want to preserve beautiful natural areas of America that we can enjoy. Most of us have a deep appreciation for the wild animals and plants that thrive in these areas. We are avid nature lovers ourselves, so it's devastating to realize how Americans' love for nature is being exploited and used against us. How? Extremists have hijacked our government organizations at the State and Federal level, piling regulation upon regulation, effectively transferring control of our public and private land away from the American people, to the government.

This movement is destroying the fabric of our democracy. It is a denouncement of the rugged individualism and single-minded pursuit of liberty that inspired America's founders. It is a trend towards communism and centralized state control that will suck the life and spirit out of our country and our citizens.