Decision Between Business and Biodiversity

By Abigail Fisher

I consider myself an activist and an environmentalist in Silver County, yet I have learned a great deal about forest planning, endangered species and politics in recent months.

As many of you will know, the Yellow-breasted Toad, which is unique to this region in North America, has virtually disappeared from Silver County in recent years. The last time the Toad population was surveyed, their numbers had dropped by an alarming 80%!

The reason for the Toad’s disappearance is most likely because we have ruined its habitat with air, water and ground pollution in the Forest, however because studies have been meagerly funded, information is still officially considered “inconclusive.”

We need to know more about the Toad’s disappearance, and we need the federal government to recognize that the Toad is in fact endangered. The state has done its part in designating that the Yellow-breasted Toad is an endangered species however it is yet to be classified as an endangered species on the federal list.

Federal designation would mean that the Toad’s natural habitat and breeding grounds would receive legal protection against destruction, and the future of the Toad population would be preserved. The Silver County Planning Team has it in their make this happen.

By strongly advocating for a federal designation in their planning process, funding additional research, and protecting the Toad’s habitat, the Planning Team can influence the federal government to save the Toad’s future.

Unfortunately, one-dimensional business interests and free-marketeers that only care about making money and property rights are working hard to influence the Planning Team in the other direction. They see their desires as far more important than the rights of God-given beings. They only see the immediate future, and don’t care about the long-term impacts of their selfishness.

Regrettably, because these business interests have large checkbooks, they also have an influential voice in this planning process. However, I urge you not to leave the future of the Yellow-breasted Toad in their hands. This forest belongs to the animals that depend on it for their existence, not the businessmen that want to make a buck.

Please, be vocal in this planning process and let the Planning Team know that biodiversity is more important than big business.

Abigail Fisher, Silver Area Network for the Environment