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As someone who has spent a lifetime studying, writing about and painting America's wildlife, I am deeply troubled by the steady erosion of conservation protections taking place across our nation.
Perhaps most concerning is the recent rollback of a long-standing Endangered Species Act regulation that recognized habitat destruction as a form of "harm" to endangered wildlife. While species remain legally protected from direct killing, narrowing this definition weakens one of the most effective conservation principles we have ever embraced: protecting the places wildlife depends upon to survive.
We cannot save an endangered bird while allowing its nesting forest to disappear. We cannot recover a rare mussel while degrading the stream it inhabits. Wildlife does not exist apart from habitat. The two are inseparable.
For generations, Americans of every political persuasion have supported conservation. Hunters purchased Duck Stamps. Anglers restored streams. Farmers enrolled land in voluntary conservation programs. Birdwatchers, outdoor enthusiasts, and taxpayers invested in protecting the natural heritage we all share. These efforts helped recover species such as the bald eagle, Peregrine falcon, and American alligator, proving that thoughtful conservation works.
This should never be a partisan issue. Clean water, healthy forests, thriving wetlands and abundant wildlife benefit every American.
History will not remember us for how many regulations we eliminated. It will remember whether we had the wisdom to leave our children a country where wild places still exist and endangered species still have a chance to recover.
Our conservation legacy deserves to be strengthened, not dismantled.
Michael Kensinger
Publicity chair, Juniata Valley Audubon Society