Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking to fast track a major gutting of the Endangered Species Act. Their bill would make it more difficult for the federal government to set aside land it deems crucial to the health of endangered species. This is an egregious example of Republicans using the distraction caused by the Hurricane Katrina disaster to usher through controversial environmental legislation. Abandonment of three decades of policy which values biodiversity as a national priority deserves to be more fully considered. Biodiversity is a critical component of ecosystem stability, maintaining services we depend upon to live. And all species have intrinsic value. Shame on them.