Follow science, not politics

If the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission follows Secretary Robin Jennison’s recommendation and takes the redbelly snake off the state’s threatened list, it will be avoiding a political fight by discounting science. It also will set a bad precedent for the next time somebody wants to ignore the scientific experts for reasons of cost or convenience. And the next.

Because state legislators have shown they don’t know or care much about science on other issues, Jennison is right to be concerned that they might take matters into their own hands in the eastern Kansas clash between developers and the rarely seen redbelly snake. That risk was averted in the past session, which saw bills that would have taken the species off the list and even revoked all of the Kansas threatened and endangered species regulation.

But the Kansas Threatened and Endangered Species task committee, whose recommendations have not been changed or overridden for 40 years, has looked at the biological evidence and suggested the snake remain listed as threatened. And if “science clearly shows the redbelly snake is clearly jeopardized in Kansas,” as Jennison told the commission in June, how could commissioners in good conscience follow his recommendation and vote Thursday to take the species off the threatened list?

They shouldn’t.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Follow science, not politics."