Beau, no I have not been to Dumont, although I am planning a sandboarding trip there this spring. I have been to other dunes nearby.
Don, I would be happy to introduce myself to you at Dumont this spring. And I am not spouting "backstabbing eco terrorist propaganda". I am merely stating the facts to correct some misconceptions I saw posted on this open internet forum.
Vicki, thanks for the welcome. However, I stand by my wording. The endangered species act specifically states that all decisions on whether to list a species as endangered, or whether a population is distinct enough to be protected as a "distinct population segment", must be based on the "best available science." Currently, the best available science strongly suggests that the Amargosa River clade is distinct - seperated from other populations for roughly half a million years. Granted, that study is based on only one gene, but it is the best available science. No one even suspected that the Amargosa River population was distinct until 2006, when that research was published.
Andy