Habitat Protection

* Re “U.S. Declares 500,000 Acres Critical Habitat for 2 Species,” Oct. 18: I cannot truly express the full extent of my wholehearted support of this declaration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This decision means life, rather than certain death, not only for the California gnatcatcher bird and the San Diego fairy shrimp but also for many other endangered and threatened animals and plants that also call those areas home.

And in answer to Laer Pearce, a developer’s representative and the executive director of the Coalition for Habitat Conservation, I must say that it is greed, not need, that drives the rampant overdevelopment of Southern California and that preserving a mere half-million acres is a very low price to pay to conserve these species for future generations and to continue the quality of life we enjoy in Southern California.

CURT S. STEINDLER

Los Angeles