Assault On Endangered Species Act

Press release from Defenders of Wildlife

Despite Americans Strong Support for Act that Saved the Bald Eagle, Resource Committee Chairman Crafting Loopholes that are a Developers Dream

Draft legislation prepared by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Cal.) would severely undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and punch loopholes in the law on behalf of oil companies, large-scale developers, timber companies, mining corporations, and other special interests. If these provisions were in place in recent years, recovery of animals like the bald eagle, American alligator, and peregrine falcon would have been extremely difficult if not impossible.
"We are stunned by just how bad Rep. Pombo�s draft bill is," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "The bill all but eliminates the federal effort to help endangered species and creates a whole new series of loopholes that enable oil companies, large-scale developers, timber companies, mining corporations, and other special interests to dodge the Act's protections. The bill runs counter to the very intent of the Endangered Species Act which was put in place to ensure that human activity does not cause wildlife to go extinct."
Jamie Rappaport Clark, former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and now Executive Vice President of Defenders, said, "This is a potentially disastrous bill. Given Mr. Pombo's past statements about trying to make the Act work better, its extremely disappointing to see a draft bill that does so much to eliminate opportunities for species recovery."
An analysis of the bill by Defenders of Wildlife pointed to the following key problems:
� The draft bill abandons the national commitment to bringing declining"