House Committee Guts Endangered Species Act Protections: Strips Habitat Protections and Dismisses Data by Scientists
Statement of Jamie Rappaport Clark, Executive Vice President of Defenders of Wildlife
(07/20/2004) - Washington , DC – The two bills passed by the House Resources Committee today undercut the very premise of the Endangered Species Act – to provide a safety net for fish and wildlife on the brink of extinction. H.R. 2933, the so-called “Critical Habitat Reform Act of 2003,” sponsored by Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), and H.R.1662, the so-called “Sound Science for Endangered Species Planning Act of 2003,” sponsored by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), work in tandem to roll back vital protections for the nation’s most vulnerable wildlife by undermining habitat protections and restructuring how scientific data is interpreted. Make no mistake about it, despite efforts by Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) and the proponents of these bills to portray their actions as needed reform or improvements, today they took the first step in dismantling the Endangered Species Act.H.R. 2933 has two fatal flaws that would render habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act virtually meaningless. First, it changes the focus of critical habitat designation under the Endangered Species Act from requiring enough habitat protection so that the species can one day recover to merely protecting enough habitat to keep the species hovering in limbo at the brink of extinction. Second, it would give the Secretary of the Interior almost complete discretion in deciding whether to ever designate critical habitat. Loss of habitat is the number one threat to endangered species and it hardly matters what else is done for endangered species if the places where they live are not protected.
Equally damaging to the Act and its underlying principles is H.R. 1662. The bill takes science out of the hands of science professionals and puts it in the hands of political appointees, replacing sound science with political science. H.R. 1662 attempts to dictate the kinds of science that can be used and layers on ever increasing amounts of red tape that will slow down badly needed actions to protect species. This bill is a clear attempt to thwart the Act’s long-standing reliance on the “best available scientific and commercial data.”
Committee members had an opportunity to truly improve the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act by accepting a substitute offered by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV). Rep. Rahall’s bill would have made clear that the focus of critical habitat under the Act is recovery of the species, and made recovery of endangered fish and wildlife more likely by setting deadlines for recovery plans. Rep. Rahall’s valiant attempt to effectively improve the Endangered Species Act lost out to attempts to worsen it.
Instead of working to strengthen the landmark conservation law that has helped save hundreds of species from extinction, the House Resources Committee is gutting it. The Endangered Species Act has long been a reflection of what’s right with our government – it exemplifies a concerted effort of shared responsibility to provide a safe, healthy and diverse environment for future generations to enjoy. That shared responsibility was tossed aside by today’s committee vote. I call upon members in the full House to restore that shared vision by defeating these two bills.
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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 480,000 members and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. To learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit www.defenders.org.
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