It's much worse than that here in California. I just got back from
touring a pretty sophisticated operation to house some speckled dace,
Santa Ana suckers, and Arroyo Chub (http://www.rcrcd.com/commpro.htm).
It took them 18 months to get a permit and they're still not allowed to
*allow* the fish to reproduce. They have to remove them-in-the beginning
of spawning season and dump them into the river. The guy was happy to
explain-in-length how reluctant anyone was to issue a permit even to
keep them, and they are a governmental agency with a few-hundred
thousand gallon system with backup generators and such. It seems that
the California officials are so paralyzed by the lack of information
about these species that they are unwilling to give anyone permits to
study them for fear of harming them. Kind of retarded.
It really is beginning to seem like a determined individual can only
take guerrilla action, or watch a species disappear due to inaction. I
have no plans to do any such thing yet or in the near future, since it
hasn't become that desperate yet. I have signed up to volunteer with
them during the Spring fish collection (but private individuals aren't
even allowed to physically participate in capturing the fish - I hate
California), and to provide any help I can around the facility.
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