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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mysticete" data-source="post: 3574257" data-attributes="member: 67784">Yeah the issue has already sort of been addressed via using stock concepts (in salmon and similar critters) or ESUs, which have been used across a broader group of taxa.I did find a couple of different points amusing. One the antelope example, if applied to birds and birders, works in reverse. If you recognize a bunch of subspecies as distinct species, that makes them more desirable to see to birders and can help fuel local ecotourism.I also don't really see this resolving issues such as those concerning animals like Red Wolves or Florida Panthers, whose taxonomy is disputed. There might be strong evidence to suggest that these are not valid taxa (the former a hybrid swarm between coyotes and wolves, the latter simply a population isolated by people killing off the species throughout the rest of its Eastern range). But people are going to be attached to those species, and they are going to get conservation dollars and interest no matter the taxonomy.</blockquote>