A federal agency responsible for natural resources within the sandhills and elsewhere is doing its best to diminish conservation and important refuges valued by residents of Nebraska and elsewhere in our great nation.
This has happened several times lately. This is the reality associated with the deplorable U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Consider first, supposed approval of the R-Project industrial powerline. At least this action was subsequently revoked by a knowledgeable federal judge due to failures of consideration by the applicant. The FWS decision said okay to ruination in multiple ways.
Then there is the very recent approval of increased shooting on national wildlife refuges within the so special sandhills. For example, hunting will be allowed on Seier NWR, donated by a ranch family to establish a legacy to conserve wildlife, while bird-watching and even taking a hike to enjoy nature continue to be illegal. What lunacy.
At other important refuges, including Fort Niobrara, Valentine and Crescent Lake, rare birds can now be killed by whomever. Just pay for a license that gets money into the coffers of a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Other resident animals will be subjected to new seasonal threats.
The "federales" obviously do not truly realize the meaning of the word refuge.
Some self-proclaimed conservation groups and their minions applauded imposition of the decision because it increases places where they can shoot and kill. And the response from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission was a sordid effort and indication of idiocy by state bureaucrats.
Then the least is not the last but is dramatically prominent. To downgrade the status of the American Burying Beetle from endangered to threatened is completely deplorable. Bureaucrats of the "Federal Whatever Service" twist and turn reality, science and opinion to suit their chosen decisions. Public comments were vaguely considered.
The Fish and Wildlife Service should instead be called the "Federal Conversion Service." They do not promote conservation.
A preferable option is to defund the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service whose bureaucrats issue rulings that damage natural lands and features. Let states' reesidents of states decide through effective local discussions and consensus. Especially keep the federales away from the great Sandhills.