Calif. Town’s Economy ‘Hostage’ to Fly

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This city lives in the shadow of a 1-inch fly that that slurps nectar and zooms around like a hummingbird, BusinessWeek.com reports.


The Delhi Sands flower-loving fly is the only fly on the federal endangered species list. Recent counts have yielded no more than two dozen of the flies at any time, and their best hope of survival is pinned on prime breeding habitat in Colton, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.


But that prime habitat is considered prime real estate by Colton officials. They say restrictions on building on the habitat have limited commercial growth and cost tens of millions of dollars in economic development. So city leaders have fought to get the fly off the endangered list since it was placed there in 1993.


“It’s absurd that an economy and a community should be held hostage by a fly,” said Daryl Parrish, the city manager.


Now, after a lengthy stalemate, Colton leaders are ready to negotiate. The city is offering a proposal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that could relax the insect’s economic clout: hassle-free development in one neighborhood in exchange for a pristine preserve nearby.


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