Arguments presented Aug. 8 before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could determine the future welfare of a flock of whooping cranes. They might also determine the outcome of a constitutional debate regarding when a federal law — such as the Endangered Species Act — permits a federal court to order a state agency how to act.
At the hearing, James "Jim" Blackburn, Jr. represented a non-profit coalition that seeks to protect water rights for a flock of those 4-foot-tall, spindly legged, white birds. The whooping cranes fly each year from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast for winter refuge and the federal government identifies them as an endangered species.
