Last week, landowners won a critical round in the ESA
debate. The much anticipated Endangered Species Act reauthorization legislation
was not filed, even though grand festivities had been planned in Washington,
D.C. for those willing to get behind Congressman Richard Pombo’s draft bill.
Once word of the contents of the draft bill began spreading through the
grassroots, the efforts inside the beltway fizzled. For the past several months,
property rights advocates determined to fight ESA proposals without meaningful
property rights protections have been mounting a campaign that helped keep the
bill from being filed. Pombo has indicated he now hopes to file the bill next
September, when Congress returns from its August recess. However, there is
little indication that Pombo will be modifying his bill to include meaningful
property rights protections. Currently, the bill calls for a 50% compensation
trigger, allowing the government to steal up to 49% of your land before the
Fifth Amendment kicks in. It also extends the acts regulatory power over
“invasive species,” which could open a floodgate of new problems for
property owners.