Protect America's Wildlife
Late last year the House of Representatives approved legislation which would, if it becomes law, eliminate the requirement to protect "critical habitat" for endangered species - delivering a potentially fatal blow to the recovery of wildlife facing extinction. Now the Senate is taking up the issue, which will vote on it in Spring 2006.
S.2110 is tied up in the Finance Committee (3/17/06). However, Senator Inhofe (R-OK) is reportedly developing a more moderate bill that will come out of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee. Senators who compare it to the radical Pombo-Peterson bill should not make the mistake of supporting a more moderate proposal because the bad provisions can be added back in during negotiations with the House.
The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Pombo of California and Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota pushed the deceptively titled “Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act” through the House. The bad provisions include:
- Habitat Protection Elimination
- Protections Against Hazardous Pesticides Repealed
- Politicization of Scientific Decision-Making
- Elimination of the Vital Check and Balance of Consultation
- Requirement of Taxpayers to Pay Developers, Oil & Gas Companies, and other Industries for Complying with the Law
If any one of these provisions is approved by the Senate, endangered species protection will be severely threatened. Please call Senator Coleman and Senator Dayton to urge them not to weaken the Endangered Species Act.