By  Glen Wunderlich

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was designed to help the recovery of endangered or threatened animal species.  One of the success stories has landed home – literally – as one of the world’s rarest birds, a lone whooping crane, has been spotted recently in Shiawassee County.  In year 1941 only 23 of these birds were known to exist in the entire world, but today some 437 of North America’s tallest birds are alive.

Although there’s room to debate how taxpayer dollars are spent, who’d argue against such a noble endeavor to save one of our most magnificent species?  Certainly, no politician would risk the ire of voters by diverting funds meant to save animals from extinction, but behind the scenes, legislation to introduce transparency in accounting for such funds has stalled without ever coming to a vote in the U.S. Senate, led by Harry Reid (D-Nevada). Read more