AUSTIN, Texas Environmentalists warn that a court fight between land developers and a federal agency could gut the federal Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. Supreme Court could announce as soon as today whether it'll hear the case brought by Austin landowners against the federal Environmental Protection Agency.A National Wildlife Federation attorney says the case could strip more than half of the almost 13-hundred U-S species of their legal protection.
Federal courts so far have upheld the law against the challenge by Austin dentist Fred Purcell and business partners.
The partnership planned to develop 216 acres they purchased in Travis County in 1983. The federal government put a halt to the project in 1988 after documenting five endangered species of bugs living in caves and sinkholes on the property. A sixth species was added later. The stop came after roads and utilities were installed on the property.
The developers contend that the federal government has no authority to protect species that don't cross state lines and live on private property.