In the 1980s, there was concern regarding the endangered sea otter population in California, so Congress passed a law by which a group of otters would be relocated to an island off the coast where they might flourish. Congress was concerned, however, that the relocated otters might cause problems for the fishermen who made their living in those same waters, and so the legislation mandated that the agency in charge set up a management zone which would prevent the otters from damaging the fisheries. It also gave legal protection to well-meaning fishermen who accidentally caused the death of a sea otter—an accident which would otherwise have grave consequences under the Endangered Species Act.
The otters flourished, the fisheries were protected, and everything worked well enough for the next few decades—until some environmental groups convinced the federal government to remove the fisheries’ protections. Congress had balanced the interests at stake when crafting the legislation, but now the feds considered that balance inconvenient. The agency rescinded the fisheries’ regulation, yet left the otters in their new home. A number of groups that depend on the fisheries were nonplussed by this change, and filed a lawsuit.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/otter-travesty-administrative-state
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