I'll be honest, this is a 46 page thread and I haven't read all of it. That being said, this is far more nuanced than just ESA good or ESA bad. I think it's of utmost importance that we protect native species of all kinds not just limited to game animals. For some strange reason, the American dream involves bulldozing land and planting turf grasses that require daily watering and weekly mowing. I would always rather see a diverse landscape with native species than a golf course with carp in the ponds, starlings in the trees, and a monoculture of high maintenance grass. It's un-American to tell someone what to do with their land, but for America to remain beautiful we need to protect and enhance our native wildlife habitat as best as we can. If a native species is in danger of extinction, yes we need to protect it and preserve it's environment. This is one of the reasons I can't stand organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity or the humane society because they says their focus os on these issues, when in practice they blow all their money on lawsuits to end hunting of species that are not even close to endangered. They could be spending money on increasing biodiversity, but instead they line the pockets of lawyers and politicians and gridlock the hunting of species that they think are cute.
Sorry for the rant. Kill your lawn and plant natives.