The Fight Against Extinction

Last Monday, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court’s ruling that held state and river authorities liable for the deaths of 23 whooping cranes five years ago. Despite the reversal, Jim Blackburn, attorney for the party filing suit and author of The Book of Texas Bays (2004), recognized that the court still found causality between the state’s actions and the loss of the federally protected endangered species, even if it did not find authorities to blame.

This recent reversal echoes many similar struggles that Blackburn documents in his book to preserve the fleeting beauty captured in the coastal waterways of Texas. As he aids various endangered species to fight extinction, Blackburn also aims to ensure the conservation of the irreplaceable natural resources that the Texas Gulf Coast offers to plants, animals, and people alike. More than just a work of natural and environmental history, The Book of Texas Bays illustrates one man’s profound commitment to safeguard the natural world of the Texas coast.

His legal crusade seeks to protect the last naturally migrating flock of whooping cranes that winters on the Texas coast.  

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Blackburn anticipates continuing his conservationist battle in the Colorado River basin, where water policies may be harming an endangered species of sea turtle. Extending beyond the borders of Texas, his national campaign to prevent the extinction of these animals will be closely followed.

For the full article on the whooping crane ruling reversal in the Austin American-Statesman, click here. 

For further details on Jim Blackburn’s The Book of Texas Bays, click here. 

-L.G. Miranda