The Endangered Species Act Comes to New York City
by Tom Buchanan

August 27, 2001 New York, NY

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with The Endangered Species Act today released a proposed recovery plan for the Shortnose and Lost River sucker fish that have been the center of controversy in Klamath, Oregon. The proposal would include relocating some of the remaining sucker fish to Kensico Reservoir in New York.

A Wildlife Service spokesperson William Catfish said extensive research has concluded that Kensico Reservoir is environmentally equivalent to the Klamath Basin area of Oregon where recently area farmers have had their irrigation water shut off in an attempt to save the sucker fish. Many farmers have lost their livelihood in the massive effort.

Loss of the sucker fish would be a national crisis and as such the effort to save the sucker fish should be shared among all Americans not just those in rural areas. "It is easy for folks living in large cities on the east coast to be nonchalant to the plight of farmers and ranchers out west when it comes to saving an endangered species", William said "Animals and plants listed as endangered species should be the concern of all Americans and the burden to save them should be shared as well. People living in the big cities who contribute the most to environmental organizations are going to have to sacrifice much more than writing a check. There are going to be strict controls on water consumption put in place throughout New York city in an effort to save the fish.

Kensico Reservoir is critical in supplying fresh water to New York City. On any given day, 1.2 billion gallons of water from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds flow into the Croton system's Kensico Reservoir.The water then continues on to consumers in New York City. That number may have to be reduced to 500 million gallons, less than half of today's demand. Eight million City residents, plus a few more million residents of neighboring counties and millions of tourist and commuters use the New York City water supply system. Saving the two species of sucker fish will be worth the effort. Hundreds of New York citizens have already begun sounding the alarm of what cutting the supply of water in half would do to the residents. "This is insane," cried Matt Benson who owns five car washes in the city. "If I can't get water I'll be ruined!" All residents will have to cut back to one shower a week and watering gardens will be out of the question. Water will have to be reserved for critical services such as the fire department.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is continuing the effort to find other suitable locations to introduce the sucker fish to. Right now the Fish and Wildlife Service is looking into other metropolitan areas. Most metro areas were formed by people using basically the same natural formula for survival that the sucker fish use. Both need a large supply of fresh running water to survive and preserve the species. We must share with the fish and everyone has to sacrifice. Other areas that look promising are Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. They all have great reservoir systems that would support the proliferation of both the Shortnose and Lost River sucker fish.

Unnamed spokespersons from several environmental groups, faced with the opportunity to become personally responsible in enforcing draconian ESA laws have begun to show their outrage. They claim that it is not right to upset their manicured lifestyles to save some stupid sucker fish.

Responsibility for enforcement of The Endangered Species Act should not be shouldered by farmers and ranchers in the western states alone. If we as a nation believe that ESA is worth the effort we must all share the responsibility of it's enforcement.

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