Don, Don! Watch your blood pressure! I think most, if not all, of us know
that it's *all* about Politics, not Science. The Administration was
originally snookered because they were timid & Clinton hadn't gotten the
feel of the veto or realized that voters really cared about the
environment. (He, himself, is *not* an environmentalist; remember
Whitewater was a real estate deal. The guy has a developer and deal-maker
mentality.) There will still be trade-offs but, fortunately, the zealots
have over-reached themselves, as usual, again. Unfortunately, most people
don't know, or care, about Marbled Murrelets, per se. And you're
absolutely right; the standards of proof for Marbled Murrelet presence will
continue to be raised so that it's always a no-win situation. (Slade and
his minions are no dummies.) Moreover, it's the wrong issue to raise with
the electorate, although it interests us alot, as birders and
environmentalists. The message to hammer home is that woods jobs have been
lost by automation; trees in the round are being shipped overseas,
affecting jobs; Slade et al. take big money from the timber companies who
have done nothing for the woods workers except lay them off; cutting down
the remaining old growth and shifting to doug-fir monoculture produces
forests no one will want to visit; irresponsible forestry affects
*everything* and *everyone* downstream, including homeowners, commercial &
sports fishermen and taxpayers who end up paying for flood damage;
environmentalists support local economies as tourists; "salvage" logging is
a scam. Etc., etc, etc.

Herb Curl

h.curl at hazmat.noaa.gov "You may be only young once but you can be
Hazmat/NOAA, 7600 Sand Pt. Wy., NE immature the rest of your life."
Seattle, WA 98115-0070
(206) 526-6272