Letters to the editor Sept. 17

Opinion piece is propaganda

I grow tired of political theater masquerading as journalism.

Ted Williams is certainly entitled to oppose President Trump and his administration’s changes to the Endangered Species Act (Guest opinion: Trump administration legalizes extinction of sage-grouse, Sept. 13). He is entitled to argue that narrowing the regulatory definition of “harm” could weaken certain habitat protections. That is a legitimate policy debate.

But claiming the administration has “essentially done away with the Endangered Species Act” and made it “perfectly OK to destroy all habitat formerly deemed necessary for a species’ survival” is simply not true.

The rule does not repeal the Endangered Species Act. It does not remove species from the endangered or threatened lists. It does not eliminate critical-habitat designations or recovery plans. Section 7 still requires federal agencies to avoid jeopardizing listed species or destroying or adversely modifying designated critical habitat.

Williams may believe the remaining protections are inadequate, but that does not give him license to pretend they no longer exist.

The most troubling part is that the Daily Inter Lake, a professional news organization, published these assertions without providing readers any explanation of what the rule actually does. Labeling something commentary does not excuse factual misrepresentation. Opinion should be forceful, but it should also be intellectually honest. This opinion column does nothing to encourage a constructive discussion about wildlife, habitat or the Endangered Species Act. It merely inflames readers who already dislike the president while deliberately misleading everyone else.

 That is not journalism. It is propaganda, and the Daily Inter Lake should recognize it for what it is.

— Tom Opre, Columbia Falls