Deforestation Of The United States: The Endangered Species Act Of 1973

One major public policy in this case is the deforestation of forest lands that are the home to endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker. On one side of the argument is the logging industry that makes a living off taking from the land. As a society we need an infinite stream of lumber. This also brings about two major issues on the side against logging. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 has given the government "...the power to protect U.S. species from extinction" (Metrick & Weitzman, 1996, p.1). By adding species to the endangered list this "... opens a legal avenue for development projects to be delayed or canceled and for millions of dollars in opportunity costs to be incurred" (Metrick & Weitzman, 1996, p.1). The costs