Threatened
and Endangered Species Recovery Act, co-sponsored by Walden, advances to Senate;
House recognizes need to update ineffective, 32-year-old law
Walden
issued the following statement on TESRA's passage:
"Passing
this legislation is simply the right thing to do. Though well-intentioned,
the ESA has seen a recovery rate on listed species of less than one percent, and
since its enactment into law by President Nixon back in 1973, the law has seen
no significant changes or modernizations.
"Not
only should the health of species throughout the nation be demonstrably improved
by the ESA, but the health of communities and local economies should be
carefully addressed as well. As a result, we have a responsibility to
ensure that the law is effective and fair for all those it impacts.
"One
hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Lower Klamath
National Wildlife Refuge in the
"But
nearly a century after this visionary laid out a plan to preserve and enhance
wildlife, the government made a decision to shut off water to 1,200 farm
families under the Endangered Species Act. These decisions not only left
these families desolate and destroyed a region's economy, they were found to be
faulty during an independent peer review of the science and data.
"Bad
decisions led to even worse results, and when talking about the fate of a
species or the fate of a community, we have a responsibility to get it right.
This modernization of the Endangered Species Act, for the first time ever, will
put into law clear criteria and guidelines for science, including
requirements for empirical data and science that can stand the rigors of peer
review.
"This
legislation calls for greater accountability in the decision-making process by
opening it up to the public, requiring disclosure of information on the internet
for access by all Americans, and by giving governors and states an enhanced
ability to participate in the process and collaborate with the federal
government.
"Secondly, this bill addresses a bedrock principle of the American democracy - private property rights. When the government says they are going to put a highway though your property, our Constitution says the government has to pay you for it. Standards under the ESA should be no different. We do not open the door for speculation and egregious compensation claims, we simply require fairness by not forcing private property owners to shoulder the burden of public policy.
"I
believe in recovery. I believe in conservation. And I believe in
public-private cooperation that will bring us together for the sake of improving
the ESA so that it works for generations to come."
TESRA
was introduced by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA),
Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) and Walden at a press conference at the
California State Capitol in Sacramento earlier this month to signify the bill's
efforts to enhance state and local government participation in the development
and management of recovery plans. Walden then announced the bill's
introduction at a rally in
More
information on H.R. 3824 can be found at http://www.walden.house.gov/
by selecting "Strengthening the ESA."
Walden
has represented the people of
###