Examining impacts of the Endangered Species Act on Southern California's inland empire: oversight field hearing before the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, Friday, September 10, 2004, in Fontana, California |
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agencies California Desert City of Colton City of Fontana CONG CONGRES CONGRESS TH CONGRESS THE LIBRARY Congressman cost critical habitat designations delay Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Delhi Sands Fly Denner Desert Tortoise designate critical habitat designation of critical economic impacts Endangered Species Act environmental Federal lands Fish and Wildlife flies funding gnatcatcher going Gonzales habi Habitat Conservation Plan hearing ical habitat immediate area implement Inland Empire issues Joe Baca Julie MacDonald landowners lawsuits legislation LIBRARY OF CONGRESS listed species litigation look MACDONALD Milk Vetch million acres mitigation multiple species NCCP prepare a Habitat problem property owners proposed protection public lands RADANOVICH recovery plan Richard Pombo Riverside County San Bernardino County Sands Flower-Loving Fly Santa Ana winds SBNF Service staff south Fontana Southern California species recovery statement talk testimony Thornton threatened tion U.S. Fish Vargas Wildlife Service
Popular passages
Page 1 - The CHAIRMAN. The Committee on Resources will come to order. The Committee is meeting today to hear testimony on the issue of Minimum Internal Control Standards for Indian Gaming.
Page 70 - critical habitat" for a threatened or endangered species means-- (i) the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species, at the time it is listed in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of this Act, on which are found those physical or biological features (I) essential to the conservation of the species...
Page 68 - In the late 1990s, some critics began challenging these "not prudent" findings in court; those successes led to a flood of additional suits which continue to this day. These lawsuits have subjected the Service to an ever-increasing series of court orders and court-approved settlement agreements, compliance with which now consumes nearly the entire listing program budget. This leaves the Service with little ability to prioritize its activities to direct resources to listing program actions that would...
Page 69 - Struggling to keep up with these court orders, the Fish and Wildlife Service has diverted its best scientists and much of its budget for the Endangered Species Act away from more important tasks like evaluating candidates for listing and providing other protections for species on the brink of extinction.
Page 69 - Congress must work together to determine how to get the most value for species conservation out of the federal resources devoted to the endangered species listing program.
Page 59 - Secretary is caught in a quandary" in trying to "fulfill the myriad of mandatory [ESA] duties." The judge opined that "[m]ore lawsuits will inevitably follow" unless, among other things, the Service regains its discretion to prioritize its workload. The judge suggested that a legislative solution is necessary; otherwise "tax dollars will be spent not on protecting species, but on fighting losing battle after losing battle in court." Other courts have agreed with this assessment. Simply put, the listing...
Page 68 - The Department of Justice has defended these lawsuits and sought to secure relief from the courts to allow the Service to regain the ability to prioritize the listing program according to biological need. Almost universally, the courts have declined to grant that relief. 42 in trying to "fulfill the myriad of mandatory [ESA] duties.
Page 68 - Federal resources from imperiled,, but unlisted, species which do not yet benefit from the protections of the ESA. The accelerated schedules of court-ordered designations have left the Service with limited ability to take additional time for review of comments and information to ensure the rule has addressed all the pertinent issues before making decisions on listing and critical habitat proposals, due to the risks associated with 11 on compliance with judicially imposed deadlines.
Page 69 - Times pp-ed piece in April 2001 that, in its struggle to keep up with court orders, the Service has diverted its best scientists and much of its budget for the ESA away from more important tasks like evaluating candidates for listing and providing other protections for species on the brink of extinction. We also believe that available resources should be spent focusing on actions that directly benefit species such as improving the consultation process, development and implementation of recovery plans,...