LETTERS: KANGAROO RAT: BUREAUCRACY AT WORK

To the editor:

I would like to respond to a comment made by Dr. Kathleen Conway in a recent letter to the editor, which said, "Since species become endangered most frequently as a consequence of habitat loss, and since the two habitat types that we have most reduced are prairies and wetlands, it is not surprising to find that many of the species on the checklist of rare and endangered species are prairie and wetland inhabitants. We also know that the best way to protect species is to manage the environment in such a way that habitats are not destroyed and populations are not reduced to the point of endangerment."

Reading this immediately raised a red flag concerning an issue I recently became aware of while reading the Federal Register. Here is what I read that really touched a sensitive nerve:

"From the Department of the Interior, emergency rule to list the San Bernardino kangaroo rat as endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exercises its emergency authority to determine the San Bernardino kangaroo rat to be an endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, a amended." The summary continues, "This subspecies occurs primarily in alluvial scrub habitats with appropriate vegetative cover and substrate composition."

This is where it really gets interesting. "The historic range of the San Bernardino kangaroo rat has been reduced by approximately 96 percent due to agricultural and urban development. All of the remaining populations of the San Bernardino kangaroo rat are threatened by habitat loss."

Does this sound familiar? When I read that passage in Conway's letter, I thought, she could just as well be talking about the San Bernardino kangaroo rat. After all, how would you feel if you had a hundred rats in your yard and lost 96 of them?

However, this no ordinary rat. It is the only species of kangaroo rat with four toes on each of its hind feet. Currently, the San Bernardino kangaroo rat occupies approximately 3,247 acres of suitable habitat divided unequally among seven locations, which are widely separated from each other.

Factors which threaten the destruction, modification or curtailment of its habitat:

1. The expansion of human population. If we are to save the rat, we need to get the word out to those people who live in the San Bernardino Valley to stop having babies.

2. Construction of levees. We must stop trying to save cities from flooding by building levees and flooding the rats.

3. Sand-mining operations. If we want sand, we can go to Iraq.

4. A large pipeline project. Come on, folks. Which is most important: a pipeline or a rat?

5. The closure of Norton Air Force Base for the proposed development of a site for the San Bernardino International Airport. The Air Force has been providing protection for these rats, and only God know why.

RON FARROW

Cape Girardeau