Community Voices / Rep. Bill Thomas: Species act needs sensible reform
Thursday June 06, 2002, 04:25:04 PM


When the Endangered Species Act was enacted almost 30 years ago, it was intended to be used to protect animal and plant species whose continued existence was endangered or threatened.

As a result of accurate applications of the ESA, 11 species have recovered to the point where they been removed from the list because protection was no longer needed. Some of these species include the American alligator, peregrine falcon, Aleutian Canadian goose, eastern Pacific gray whale and brown pelicans.

The ESA's protections begin when a plant or animal species is "listed" as either endangered or threatened according to assessments of the risk of their extinction. Once a species is listed, the ESA provides powerful tools to aid the recovery of the species and to protect its habitat.

However, radical environmentalists also use these same tools in their efforts to further restrict and deny Americans access to public lands.

Recently, it was revealed that U.S. Department of Interior employees engaged in a bizarre attempt to misuse our nation's desire to protect endangered species by planting fur from the endangered Canadian Lynx in public lands in the state of Washington.

Issues related to the ESA have also recently risen locally. The Buena Vista Lake Ornate Shrew, found near Mettler, was recently listed as an endangered species. This concerns me because when the listing of the shrew was first proposed, studies conducted by Cal State-Stanislaus scientists questioned whether the shrew is endangered, and indeed whether it is a distinct species. While included in the official agency record, it is clear that these studies were ignored.

This case is a prime example of why the ESA listing process needs to be reformed. To address this problem, last year I introduced legislation, the Endangered Species Fair Regulatory Process Reform Act, which would provide much-needed transparency to the listing process.

One of the key things this legislation would do is require an independent scientific peer review before the implementation of a finding that any species is endangered or threatened. To achieve balance, it would also require such a review before the removal of any currently listed species.

While federal agencies, such as Department of Interior and BLM, have not signaled a willingness to change the way they apply the ESA, I will continue to work hard to reform the ESA so that decisions made under it are made in accordance with sound science and common sense.

Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, represents the 21st Congressional District and is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/s...-1332384c.html

Copyright © 2002, The Bakersfield Californian

 

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E-mail: bill.thomas@mail.house.gov

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