Endangered Species in Conflict

What happens when the main enemy of an endangered species is not man, but another endangered species? I am in favor of conservation efforts, for the most part. However, this story illustrates the potential for such efforts to go overboard, or to backfire.

States seek Lethal Sea Lion Removal, Joseph B. Frazier, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Oregon and Washington are drafting a proposal for "limited selected lethal removal" of protected California sea lions in the Columbia River to ease pressure on the spring chinook salmon run.

The problem with conservation seems to come in when we fail to see it as stewardship of God's resources, and start to see it as salvation. Some conservation efforts tend to see humanity as the enemy of all nature, and seek to eliminate human interference with nature. Other efforts make it their goal to save every species of animal, failing to realize that extinction is to some degree natural and inevitable.

For a peek at a more balanced view of conservation and environmental stewardship, check out these Catholic Educator's Resource Center articles, especially the Cornwall Declaration.

Click here to listen to an excellent audio clip on the Cornwall Alliance from Janet Parshall's America.

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