Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Texas hornshell mussel as an endangered species. The action threatens access to water sources for ranchers in southeast New Mexico and west Texas. Landowners and businesses in the region are being asked to sign a “contract” that requires them to engage in conservation practices to protect the mussel. Those who don’t sign the “contract” are subject to additional regulations from both state and federal officials.
In other words, landowners and businesses are faced with the choice of protecting mussels or face the muscles of regulatory officials. Which means, the “contract” is really nothing more than extortion.
A legitimate contract is a voluntary agreement in which the parties acknowledge their respective responsibilities. There is nothing voluntary about the “contract.”
Certainly, landowners and businesses can refuse to sign the document. And an individual can also refuse to hand over his wallet to an armed robber. To refuse the armed robber is to put one’s life at risk. To refuse the government is to put one’s livelihood at risk.
The well-being of human beings is being sacrificed for the alleged benefit of a mollusk. To the government, mussels are more important than humans. And the government will use its muscles to impose its values on individuals and businesses.