I've always considered a listing under ESA as a message that we really screwed up. Once we've gone down the path to the point a critter won't survive without intervention, there has to be some regulatory mechinism to create change. Without it, people would continue on their merry way and nothing would change. I know it's not popular with a lot of folks, but ESA is a way of putting critters first and us second.

With salmon for example: if we continued to put people first, it would just be a matter of time before salmon were gone. I know there are those that will argue that we can have both, but I don't believe it for a minute. As long as the human population continues to grow unchecked, we'll continue to convert fish habitat to people habitat. We obviously can continue to pump out hatchery fish, but wild fish just can't survive if they don't have a place to live.