The Nation: Dammed Lousewort

When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, it never dreamed that an obscure northern Maine wild flower might some day block the construction of a $668 million hydroelectric project. But it reckoned without the mighty Furbish lousewort, a plant thought extinct until some 30 specimens were discovered last year in an area destined for flooding by the proposed Dickey-Lincoln dam project. The lousewort is expected to become one of the first plants included in the Interior Department's endangered-species list, and if environmental concerns prevail, Dickey-Lincoln may have to be redesigned or...

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