As a child more than four decades ago, I never saw a bald eagle soaring over a northern Wisconsin lake.  Today they are common.

The vast majority of the public supports protections for rare and endangered plants and animals.  Yet, if State Senator Tom Reynolds has his way, a dangerous precedent will be set for protections to be removed to benefit political contributors.  In the future no endangered or threatened plant or animal will have a chance since they can’t make campaign donations like the developers supporting Reynolds.

Reynolds’ indifference to science and penchant for catering to the whim of a special interest group is a serious source of frustration to us outdoors folks who hike, camp, fish, or hunt, and place a high value on wildlife and natural resources.

As a member of the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules, Reynolds wants to remove ("delist") the Butlers Garter Snake from the state’s list of threatened species.  At first glance you might think, big deal, it’s only a snake.  Yet only a couple of generations ago, the bald eagle was just another scavenging bird.

The fact is that this would be the first time in the United States that a threatened or endangered species would be delisted for political reasons rather than for a scientific reason.  That’s a pretty big deal.

The bald eagle, America’s icon of freedom and liberty, was once a species almost driven to extinction and I am grateful that someone had the moral fiber to protect the eagle and allow it to recover.  Wouldn’t you rather see more critters than another ugly strip mall?

Characterizing Sen. Reynolds as a snake would be an affront to the reptile species.  He's made it quite clear that he is no friend of sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts.