The first sentence, however, lists various species of animals, not breeds. More importantly, even if there were human uses for these species, human protection efforts may be ineffective. The Hawaiian honeycreepers, for example, are a good case: the feathers of a few of those species were used by the Polynesian (indigenous) Hawaiians for decorative arts and “crafts.” Kings imposed a restriction requiring catch and release, among other measures. But habitat destruction/ alteration and introduction of mosquitos that spread avian malaria are considered by most knowledgeable scientists to be the cause of the honeycreeper birds extinction. That process continues today despite new SOTA efforts to control mosquito populations.

Furthermore, “creating a market” for endangered species could, without proper regulation and enforcement, just as easily lead to extinction due to over/harvesting. Creating a market led to the now- rarity if American gingseng, and is now being blamed for reduction of ramp populations. And remember, the rural locations where many endangered species in the US exist are politically not in favor of government-esp Federal- regulation, enforcement and oversight.

IMO, we need less articles of this type, and more searching, well researched, and well thought out explorations of this topic/concept.

Overall, however, I do find Modern Farmer useful in raising the profile of various agricultural and environmental conservation efforts.