This should start a thread .

[John Shuey]

There seem to be two issues here:

One the lowering of scientific and quality standards that could happen if new
species descriptions become commodities;

And, two, the use of "tainted" money for conservation, money generated by the
sale of a bird's name that will be used to conserve critical habitats for
birds.

Addressing only the later concern, when it comes to accepting tainted money
for conservation, it usually "taint" enough.  (Apologies to international
list-users with no command of English slang).

I myself have a name in prep that honors a family that has contributed over US
$12M of personal wealth over the last year to support conservation in the US
and Latin America. Being a humble family, they are not aware of this small
honor I'm trying to bestow upon them, and if they were aware, they would
certainly decline.  Does not a selfless action like theirs merit recognition?
Am I wrong for wanting to honor friends that have contributed so dearly to a
cause that benefits us all?

John Shuey
Dir. Conservation Science
Indiana Office of The Nature Conservancy