House Set to Act on Overhaul of Endangered Species Act

[Lochloosa]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB705L97EE.html

House Set to Act on Overhaul of Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's most prominent and contentious environmental law, the 1973 Endangered Species Act, could be in line for a major overhaul that would limit habitat protections while giving new rights to property owners.

Legislation by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo would eliminate "critical habitat" protection for plants and animals where development is limited; would allow political appointees to make some scientific determinations; and would require the federal government to compensate property owners whose development plans are blocked to protect species.

The fast-moving bill was approved by the Resources Committee last week and was set for a House vote Thursday.

(snip)

The White House issued a statement Thursday supporting the bill to "improve and update" the act but also noting that payments to private property owners "could result in a significant budgetary impact."

Since when it the WH worried about the environment or the budget?

[OneBlueSky]

1. Defenders of Wildlife had a full-page ad in my local Gannet rag . . .

this morning urging people to call Rep. Sue Kelly and demand that she vote against this atrocity . . .

http://www.saveESa.org

[rene moon]

2. This bill is so bad

The ultimate goal of Endangered Species Act was to bring species back from the brink of extinction to the point where they no longer need the Act’s protection. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 99% of the species listed as endangered has been saved from extinction and more than two-thirds of listed species with known trends are stable.

This bill would create a massive new entitlement program that would fleece the American taxpayer and make enforcement of protections for species like the bald eagle, manatee and Northern jaguar impossible.

Pombo’s bill will also change the definition of endangered species to a less scientific term. It allows legal appeals at every step of the endangered species conservation process. The bill also sets an expiration date for the Endangered Species Act for 2015 and calls for all efforts towards federal endangered species conservation to end that year.

[Deep13]

3. We would rather eat our seed corn than conserve.

Compensate developers? Since when is there a right to make money in development? We need to be thinking of ways to restore natural areas and build less, not ruining the few remained places.

[Lorien]

4. Related thread with several action links:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4924038&mesg_id=4924038

[AZBlue]

5. This is SICKENING!

Thanks to others for the action links - gotta go make some calls....

[rodeodance]

6. kick and call your rep NOW!

[AZBlue]

7. Kicked

[Lorien]

8. Kick

:kick:

[Lorien]

9. Some of our own are still clueless:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4924038&mesg_id=4926595

[Lochloosa]

10. Yes they are...thanks for the link. I missed that one.

[tex-wyo-dem]

11. This makes me sick...

The ESA is just the latest in the RW attempts of dismantelling all of the environmental protection efforts since the '60s...and it all comes down to bloating the corporate bottom line as much as possible.

Each and every one of these Rethuglican assholes need to be kicked out of Washington as soon as possible.

[tilsammans]

12. Kick!

:kick: