House Bill Would Downsize Endangered Species ActNatural Resources Defense Council |
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The House Resources Committee is poised to consider some of the most sweeping changes ever to the Endangered Species Act with legislation aimed at making it more difficult to list plants and animals and protect their habitat. Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), who has made revamping the act one of his top priorities this year, could possibly move on legislation as early as next week. A staff discussion draft of the bill, leaked to various interest groups, suggests the committee may add more requirements for listing a species, extend deadlines for critical habitat, beef up the requirements for recovery plans, require payments for property owners whose land is affected by the law, offer exemptions for invasive species and cut the entire program in 10 years. A committee spokesman noted that the draft is several weeks old and has been changing daily through staff revisions. But environmentalists tracking the process said the draft indicates the direction Pombo is headed and suggests he is prepared to go further than they had expected. "The bill is just horrendous," said John Kostyack, an attorney with National Wildlife Federation. "It is actually shocking as a starting point for discussion." Enacted in 1973 and extolled and vilified by various interest groups over the years, the Endangered Species Act provides protection for thousands of species. It has also ensnared development and recreation projects and been the target of numerous lawsuits. The law's foes characterize it as an example of good intentions gone awry, saying it has allowed the government and environmentalists' lawsuits to hold their land hostage without compensating them and providing little benefit for species. Of all protected species, they say, only 1 percent have been removed from the endangered list. Draft says listings should be made 'only sparingly' The draft calls for a clearer distinction between species listed as "threatened" and those as "endangered," lessening some protections for threatened species. It also calls for the bill to entire act to expire in 2015. It would also add some further requirements and reviews before listing species. One provision says species should be listed "only sparingly and only if determination is based on best available scientific data that are conclusive." The draft calls for the Interior secretary to issue regulations determining the "best scientific data" for ESA decisions. "His bill would remove protection for rare species while they still face a serious risk of extinction and would mire conservation efforts in a jumble of new bureaucratic red tape," said Michael Bean, wildlife chairman at the advocacy group Environmental Defense. The proposal would narrow the definition of critical habitat to include areas where the species breed, feed or take shelter. The existing definition allows for areas where a species could dwell, even if it is not found there currently. Some environmental groups consider critical habitat designations crucial for species survival, but Fish and Wildlife Service officials have maintained it is one of the most expensive and least useful parts of the law. It is also consistently the target of most lawsuits. The proposal also lays out requirements for compensating private property owners, with the government paying the difference between the fair market value of the property before it became subject to ESA restrictions and its value with the restrictions. Property owners who have not been able to use their land after restrictions have been placed on it for ESA have long called for some compensation for their losses. But Kostyack said the compensation called for in the draft bill could effectively bankrupt the Fish and Wildlife Service, making enforcement of the act impossible. The draft also lays out a more narrow definition of which invasive plants and animals should be fought against in an effort to protect endangered species, defining an "invasive species" as something "not grown for food or fiber or other human use." Invasive species have been targeted as a key threat to endangered species, but some property rights, hunters and seed industry groups have protested that efforts to eradicate non-natives could get out of control in a country that is filled with non-native, non-harmful species, like some cattle and crops. The panel's final draft bill could be introduced later this week. Those following the act have predicted a swift vote in committee and even on the floor before the August recess. House Resources Committee spokesman Brian Kennedy said no definite timeline has been set on the bill yet, but that it could be introduced by mid- to late July. The Bush administration, Western governors and Western lawmakers like Pombo have urged fast action on ESA, saying the time is ripe for revising a law that they think has done more to foster lawsuits than species conservation. Meanwhile, the Senate appears to be on a longer timeline, with Wildlife Subcommittee Chairman Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) holding introductory hearings and beginning the process of organizing a small conference where various stakeholders could try to find consensus on the contentious critical habitat issue. Chafee's panel will meet later this week to focus on one of the potentially less controversial issues of ESA, landowner incentives.
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