1. What it Takes to Make Environmentalism Work
— A Swath of People, a Spectrum of Skills,
& Big Thoughts from a Small Fish
Mass
Green
Careers
Conference
2014
Zygmunt Plater, Boston College

2. [Earth,
water
+
air]

3. !

5. “Fringe lunatics” Sean Hannity
“…anti-Biblical, anti-Torah, anti-Christian…” Ann Coulter
“Homosocialism, communism!…” Rush Limbaugh
“The same people who struggle to save the snail darter bless the Pill…and
defend abortion.” Allan Bloom
They are worried about the snail darters and the bark on the tree and the ozone.
They go crazy…. Roger Ailes, Fox News
“It’s time to take America back: It seems everybody’s got a right to their habitat
-- from the snail darter to the spotted owl to the fairy shrimp… except the habitat
of U.S. citizens. Their property, their homes, their dwellings, their ‘eco-systems’
are up for grabs by any and every government agency and bureaucrat for any
and every reason.” National Review
“The Snail Darter has sort of became the shorthand for overregulation in this
country.” Rep. Devin Nunes, (R), California

10.
PHOTOS
©
ROGER
SIMPSON,
SMOKYMOUNTAINSNATUREPHOTOS.COM

11. ....

15. Source: Tennessee Valley Authority, Tellico Project Environmental Impact Statement, vol. I, 1972, 1– 49
(available on book’s website). (Both the General Accounting Office review [1977] and the God Committee
review [1979] concluded that all figures in this ratio were inaccurate.)

19. PHOTO: COURTESY OF FRAN SCHEIDT

20. PHOTOS: JOEL SARTORE, FRAN SCHEIDT, TVA

27. hereafter.
ction 4 of the Endan-
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
stablishes the following
mining whether a spe-
isted as an endangered
or threatened destruc-
or curtailment of its
ion for commercial,
c or educational pur-
predation:
quacy of existing regu-
s; or
al or manmade factors
inued existence.
with regard to the snail
evidence suggests that
(11 is pertinent. Major
this condition include,
ed to, the following:
or threatened destruc-
or curtailment of its
. The snail darter Per-
sp. is known only from
vel shoals in the main
pecies Range
4. The inadequacy of existing regula-
tory mechanisms. Not applicable.
5. Other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence. Not
applicable.
For the reasons stated above, it is
hereby determined that the snail darter
(Percina Umostoma) sp.) is an en-
dangered species within the meaning of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531-1543).
Accord.ingly, Part 17 of Chapter I, Title
50, Code of Federal Regulations, is
amended as set forth below, and will be
effective on November 10, 1975.
Dated: October 6, 1975.
LYNN A. GREENWALT,
Director,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
1. Amend Section 17.11(i) by adding
the following to the list of “Fishes,” after
the entry for “Darter, Okaloosa; Etheos-
toma, okaloosae” :
§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened
wildlife.
l l t l .
(i) * l *
basis since the
has not been determined, there
nublicatlon of its descriotion. and it has
.~
never been classiiied as 2 new’ and distinct
species.
Title !50-Wildlife and Fisheries
CHAPTER I-UNITED STATES FISH AND
WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF
THE INTERIOR
SUBCHAPTER. B-TAKING.
POSSESSION.
TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BAR-
TER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF
WILDLIFE
PART 17-ENDANGERED
AND
THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS
Amendment Listing the Snail Darter as an
Endangered Species
Background. On January 20, 1973, JO-
seph P. Congleton, Zygmunt J. B. Plater,
and Hiram G. Hill, Jr., petitioned the
Department of the Interior to list the
snail darter (Percina Umostoma) sp.)
from the Little Tennessee River, as an
endangered species according to the ex-
pedited emergency procedures of section
4(f) (2) (B) (ii) of the Endangered Spe-
cies Act of 1973. This petition, and ac-
companying supportive data, were ex-
amined by the Fish and Wildlife Service
which determined that suf3cient evi-
dence existed to warrant a review of the
status of these species. A notice to that
effect was placed in the FEDERAL REGISTER
on March 10, 1975 (40 FR 11618). Si-
multaneously, the Governor of Tennessee
was notified of the review, and w&s re-
quested to supply data on the status of
the species in his State.
As a result of this review, the Director
of the Fish and Wildlife Service found
that there are sufacient data to warrant
a proposed rulemaking that the snail
darter be listed as an endangered species.
This proposed rulemaking was published
in the FEDERAL REGISTER on June 17, 1975
(40 FR 25597). Interested persons were
invited to submit written comments on
the proposal to the Director no later
than August 16, 1975.
Summary of Comments. Sixteen com-
ments were received. Portions relevant
to the biological status of the snail darter
are summarized as follows :
2. Clearly, no present threat exists to the
snail darter which would justify shortcutting
the customary scientific procedures. There
has been no systematic or adequate study of
the range of this Ash. There is. however,
scientific opinion that the Ash undoubtedly
exists elsewhere in the Tennessee River sys-
tem, unaffected by the Tellico project. In
light of this, the stabement in the notice that
impoundment of Telllco “would result in
total destruction of the snail darter’s
habitat” is in error.
3. Listing the snail darter would not en-
hance the likelihood that this Ash would sur-
vive and therefore would not further the
purposes of the Endangered Species Act. As
a part of the Telllco project, TVA and others
already are undertaking a scientifically
recognized program to conserve the snail
darter.
4. For the foregoing reasons, it is clear
that the Endangered Species Act does not re-
quire, nor indeed does it even permit, the
Secretary’s proposed listing. In light of this
we do not believe that the Msh and Wlld-
life Service should inject itself into the long-
standing controversy surrounding the wis-
dom of the Tellico project. Tellico 1s a law-
fully authorized federal project which has
been under construction since March 1967.
It has been repeatedly funded by Congress,
over objections of opponents, and impound-
ment is presently scheduled for January 1977.
Its environmental consequences, including
specifically its effect on undescribed species
of darters which were thought to be rare
and endangered. were fully described and
considered In TVA’s Environmental Impact
Statement for the project. The sufficiency of
thst statement and the reasonableness of the
TVA Boards decision to proceed after en-
actment of the National Environmental
Policy Act ha6 been litigated and upheld by
both the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Tennessee and the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequent
to such litigation, Congress, with full knowl-
edge of the project’s environmental impacts,
has continued to aonrouriate monev for com-
pletion. In light oi ‘this exhaustive” review of
the project, including specificaily a COnSid-
eration of its effect on possibly rare and en-
dangered species of fish, no worthwhile pur-
pose could possibly be served by listing the
snail darter as “endangered” solely because
“The proposed impoundment of water behind
the proposed Tellico Dam would result in
12, 1975,
cies, in no way suggested o
provided additional evidence to warrant
a proposed rulemaking. Subsequent to
the proposed rulemaking, we received
additional data in the form of an unpub-
lished manuscript, in which the species
was described, further substantiating the
validity of the snail darter as a distinct
species. The manuscript has been re-
viewed and accepted by a panel of ich-
thyologists at the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, and approved by them for publica-
tion in the Proceedi?rgs of the Biologicat
Society in Washington. The expected
publication date of the description of the
snail darter is December 1975, or Janu-
ary 1976.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is pro-
ceeding with the formal listing of the
snail darter, Percina Umostoma) sp., as
an endangered species because biological
evidence indicates that it is a valid spe-
cies in danger of extinction. The Service
acknowledges the lack of a published for -
ma1 description of the snail darter with
the designation of a name-bearing holo-
type at this time. The Service also recog-
nizes the fact that the snail darter is a
living entity which is genetically distinct
and reproductively isolated from other
fishes. Section 3 (11) of that Act states
that “the term ‘species’ includes any Sub-
species of fish or wildlife or plants and
any other group of Ash or wildlife of the
same species or smaller taxa in common
spatial arrangement that interbreed
when mature”. The weight of scientific
opinion recognizes the snail darter as a
distinct species. To delay its listing as
endangered until the forrrmlities of a spe-
cies description and its publication are
completed would thwart the purpose of
the Endangered Species Act.
2. More than 1,000 collections in re-
cent years and additional earlier collec-
tions from central and east Tennessee
have not revealed the presence of the
snail darter outside the Little Tennessee
River. The TVA has conducted numerous
fish population studies throughout the
Tennessee River Basin since the 1930’s,
and none of these studies apparently
NO. 197-THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1975
s discussed hereafter.
ussion, Section 4 of the Endan-
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
(a) (i) 1 establishes the following
for determining whether a spe-
hould be listed as an endangered
s:
The present or threatened destruc-
modification, or curtailment of its
or range;
Overutilization for commercial,
g, scientific or educational pur-
;
Disease or predation:
The inadequacy of existing regu-
mechanisms; or
Other natural or manmade factors
ng its continued existence.
cifically, with regard to the snail
present evidence suggests that
condition (11 is pertinent. Major
affecting this condition include,
re not limited to, the following:
The present or threatened destruc-
modification, or curtailment of its
or range. The snail darter Per-
Umostoma) sp. is known only from
ns of gravel shoals in the main
species Range
4. The inadequacy of existing regula-
tory mechanisms. Not applicable.
5. Other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence. Not
applicable.
For the reasons stated above, it is
hereby determined that the snail darter
(Percina Umostoma) sp.) is an en-
dangered species within the meaning of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531-1543).
Accord.ingly, Part 17 of Chapter I, Title
50, Code of Federal Regulations, is
amended as set forth below, and will be
effective on November 10, 1975.
Dated: October 6, 1975.
LYNN A. GREENWALT,
Director,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
1. Amend Section 17.11(i) by adding
the following to the list of “Fishes,” after
the entry for “Darter, Okaloosa; Etheos-
toma, okaloosae” :
§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened
wildlife.
l l t l .
(i) * l *

28. =

30. ....

32. PHOTO ROGER SIMPSON, SMOKYMOUNTAINSNATUREPHOTOS.COM

33. PHOTO ROGER SIMPSON, SMOKYMOUNTAINSNATUREPHOTOS.COM

35. JUSTICE POWELL: “Mr. Plater? May I interrupt you
right here? Apart from the biological interest—which
we do not challenge—what purpose is served, if
any, by these little darters? Are they used for food?
…are they suitable for bait? I’m a bass fisherman.”

36. JUSTICE POWELL: “Mr. Plater? May I interrupt you
right here? Apart from the biological interest—which
we do not challenge—what purpose is served, if
any, by these little darters? Are they used for food?
…are they suitable for bait? I’m a bass fisherman.”

37. TVA v. Hill, et al.,
437 U.S. 153
— We have no expert knowledge on
the subject of endangered species, much less do we have a
mandate from the people to strike a balance of equities on the
side of Tellico Dam. Congress has spoken in the plainest of
words, making it abundantly clear that the balance has been
struck in favor of...endangered species... thereby adopting a
policy which it described as “institutionalized caution.”

39. The God Committee
(The Endangered Species Committee, 16 U.S.C. §1536(h), created by the ESA Amendments of 1978,
is a Cabinet-level review board comprised of the Secretaries of Army, Agriculture, Interior, and
Transportation, the Administrators of EPA and NOAA, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors,
and a state representative….
16 U.S.C. §1536(h) — Section 7 (h)
...The Committee shall grant an exemption...if, by a vote of not less than five of its [seven] members
voting in person —
(A) it determines on the record [after a full hearing] that —
(i) there are no reasonable and prudent alternatives to the agency action;
(ii) the benefits of such action clearly outweigh the benefits of alternative courses of
action consistent with conserving the species or its critical habitat, and such action is in the public interest;
(iii) the action is of regional or national significance; and
(B) it establishes...reasonable mitigation and enhancement measures, including, but not limited to,
live propagation, transplantation, and habitat acquisition and improvement....

40. f
–––

41. —Geo. Schultze (Chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors), in God Committee deliberations:
January 23, 1979: “Here is a project that is 95% complete, and if one takes just the cost
of finishing it, against the total project benefits, and does it properly, it still doesn’t pay,
…which says something about the original design!” [laughter]
the
“God
Commi(ee”
— the Cabinet-level
Endangered Species Committee
created by the 1978
Endangered Species Act Amendments

44. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FRAN SCHEIDT

46. PHOTOS
-­‐-­‐
ROGER
SIMPSON,
SMOKYMOUNTAINSNATUREPHOTOS.COM

48.
Transplant,
on
life
support…
River
bubble-­‐aeraDon
oxygen
required
each
summer
for
snail
darter
life
support.

51. “A popular government, without popular information or the means of
acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy….
and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves
with the power which knowledge gives.”
James Madison .

53. *American Farm Bureau Federation
Washington, D.C.
American Forest and Paper Association
Washington, D.C.
*American Petroleum Institute
Washington, D.C.
*American Public Power Association
Washington, D.C.
*America’s Natural Gas Alliance
Washington, D.C.
*Association of California Water Agencies
Sacramento, California
Coalition of Counties for Stable Econ. Growth
Glenwood, New Mexico
*Colorado River Energy Distributors Assoc.
Tempe, Arizona
Colorado River Water Conservation District
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Colorado Rural Electric Association
Denver, Colorado
*CropLife America
Washington, D.C.
*Edison Electric Institute
Washington, D.C.
Garrison Diversion Conservancy District
Carrington, North Dakota …
Idaho Mining Association
Boise, Idaho
*Independent Petroleum Assoc. of America
Washington, D.C.
National Association of Conservation Districts
Washington, D.C.
*National Association of Counties
Washington, D.C.
*National Association of Home Builders
Washington, D.C.
National Grange
Washington, DC
*National Mining Association
Washington, D.C.
*National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc.
Washington, D.C.
*National Water Resources Association
Arlington, Virginia
Public Lands Council
Washington, D.C.
Southwestern Power Resources Association
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Washington State Potato Commission
Moses Lake, Washington
Western Energy Alliance
Denver, Colorado
Western Business Roundtable, Colorado …
NESARC
—
The
Nat’l
Endangered
Species
Act
Reform
CoaliDon
http://www.nesarc.org

55.
•

57. “The inside story, laid out with wonderful lucidity, of a long and
fascinating battle that became an icon of its era and remains
instructive today. It’s a blueprint for community action and, sadly, a
still-current roadmap of the way in which Washington works.”
• Jonathan Harr, author: A CIVIL ACTION
“Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill is one of my favorite cases.
This eminently readable account of the full history of the case is
even more interesting than the story told in Warren Burger’s
opinion for the Court (or in my memory of the oral argument and
the shifting positions of the Justices in my book FIVE CHIEFS),
especially the account of how President Carter rejected the ‘God
Committee’s’ darter verdict.”
• Hon. Justice John Paul Stevens,
Supreme Court of the United States (ret’d.)
“THE SNAIL DARTER & THE DAM is an inspiring and informative
American story of regular people fighting powerful special
interests, about how the public interest lost out to big money and
its political allies—and of failures by the local and national press
to report the story fairly, accurately, and in proper context.”
• Dan Rather, Anchor &Managing Editor, AXS.TV,
former reporter and 24-year Anchor, CBS News
“The story of the snail darter and the TVA is the Thermopylae in
the history of America's conservation movement, and this book by
Zygmunt Plater deserves to be the classic telling of it.”
• E. O. Wilson. Wilson, University Research Professor
Emeritus, #Museum of Comparative Zoology, Organismic & E
Evolutionary Biology Dept., Harvard University
Yale University Press
— www.bc.edu/snaildarter

58.
One
final
paragraph
of
advice:
do
not
burn
yourselves
out.
Be
as
I
am
-­‐-­‐
a
reluctant
enthusiast,
a
part-­‐9me
crusader,
a
half-­‐hearted
fana9c.
Save
the
other
half
of
yourselves
and
your
lives
for
pleasure
and
adventure.
It
is
not
enough
to
fight
for
the
land;
it
is
even
more
important
to
enjoy
it.
While
you
can.
While
it’s
s9ll
here.
So
get
out
there
and
hunt
and
fish
and
mess
around
with
your
friends,
ramble
out
yonder
and
explore
the
forests,
climb
the
mountains,
bag
the
peaks,
run
the
rivers,
breathe
deep
of
that
yet
sweet
and
lucid
air,
sit
quietly
for
a
while
and
contemplate
the
precious
s9llness,
the
lovely,
mysterious,
and
awesome
space.
Enjoy
yourselves,
keep
your
brain
in
your
head
and
your
head
firmly
a@ached
to
the
body,
the
body
ac9ve
and
alive,
and
I
promise
you
this
much:
I
promise
you
this
one
sweet
victory
over
our
enemies,
over
those
desk-­‐bound
men
and
women
with
their
hearts
in
a
safe
deposit
box,
and
their
eyes
hypno9zed
by
desk
calculators.
I
promise
you
this:
you
will
outlive
the
bastards.
-­‐-­‐
Edward
Abbey

60. ‘ iron triangle’

62. §7 Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 USC §1536…!
!
§7. Interagency cooperation
The [Interior] Secretary shall review other programs administered by him
and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
All other Federal departments and agencies shall in consultation with
and with the assistance of the Secretary, utilize their authorities in
furtherance of the purposes of this chapter while carrying out programs
for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species
listed pursuant to section 1533 of this title and by taking such action
necessary to insure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by
them do not jeopardize the continued existence of such endangered
species and threatened species or result in the destruction or
modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the
Secretary, after consultation as appropriate with the affected States, to
be critical.!

63. §7 Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 USC §1536…!
!
§7. Interagency cooperation
The [Interior] Secretary shall review other programs administered by him
and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
All other Federal departments and agencies shall in consultation with
and with the assistance of the Secretary, utilize their authorities in
furtherance of the purposes of this chapter while carrying out programs
for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species
listed pursuant to section 1533 of this title and by taking such action
necessary to (1) insure that actions authorized, funded, or carried
out by them do not jeopardize the continued existence of such
endangered species and threatened species or (2) result in the
destruction or modification of habitat of such species which is
determined by the Secretary, after consultation as appropriate with the
affected States, to be critical.!