The last legislation left a lot of grey areas, Strankman says. For example, there was no discussion about where the money would come from to protect species. Once an endangered species list is in place, people will begin to petition to have more species put on the list, she says. Glenn Fox, University of Guelph agricultural economics professor, says the U.S. Endangered Species Act continues to be controversial 25 years after it was implemented. He says the U.S. law just doesn't work.
Critics there say it places the burden of protecting habitat on unlucky private landowners.
The U.S. system is flawed because the Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers it, can't regulate habitat it doesn't know exists. A private landowner faces loss in the value of his or her property if the existence or knowledge of the habitat is revealed. In Ontario, farmers already face restrictions under provincial legislation to protect wildlife. Dobson cites a Prince Edward county farmer who was ordered by the province last year to delay hay-cutting because a rare Henslow sparrow had been spotted in his field. Eventually, Dobson says, a deal was made with the local ministry of natural resources so that most of the field could be cut.