Gnatcatcher

Hugh Hewitt’s diatribe (Opinion, May 8) is predictable in its inaccuracies, only a few of which are addressed in this letter. Hewitt states that the California gnatcatcher does not deserve listing by the federal Endangered Species Act, as there are 3 million of the critters in Mexico. This data was obtained from a developer-supported study which was never embraced by the scientific community, because its methods were flawed. The “3 million birds” were extrapolated from a sample of less than 400 birds! Also, the U.S. government has never in the past assigned to the Mexican government, or any other nation, the responsibility for preserving the resources we pave over.

Hewitt then resorts to putting on the hat of a scientist (which does not fit well, of course, on an attorney) by claiming that the alleged “withheld data” in the gnatcatcher case was used to support “two contradictory conclusions.” Hewitt and other building industry attorneys wouldn’t know how to evaluate data any more than a gnatcatcher understands endangered species law!

Finally, it is apparent that Hewitt, a far-right Republican, is worried that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kathleen Brown are leading in the polls over their Republican opponents. He attempts to build a case that the gnatcatcher will be a prominent issue in the election. Hewitt knows full well that the case is one for the Interior Department to settle internally. The support or opposition by politicians is irrelevant.

CONNIE BOARDMAN

Huntington Beach