The following is from the NWRA Daily Report,
May 30, 2003
Congressional Press Release:
Crapo agrees ESA is "broken"
Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo today
cited a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report
concerning years of backlogged litigation under
the critical habitat section of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) as evidence Congress must step
in with reform methods quickly. Crapo, who
chairs the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction
over the ESA, agreed with statements by
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and
Wildlife and Parks, Craig Manson. Manson said
time and money are being lost under the practice
of declaring critical habitat while trying to
save threatened and endangered species.
Crapo, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife and Water, said while he
feels critical habitat designations are
secondary to collaboration with landowners in
saving species, he found merit in the report as
a way to push for reform of the ESA. "Last
month at a subcommittee hearing I held on this
issue, Fish and Wildlife officials discussed the
need for ESA reform due to this very problem,"
Crapo said. "Congress is clearly failing its
responsibility to conserve and recover listed
species by not addressing the proper timing and
management of critical habitat designation.
"Now, the Department says the critical habitat
designation process is consuming two-thirds of
the entire endangered species listing budget by
dealing with court orders and settlement
agreements requiring critical habitat
designations for species already on the
endangered list. This leaves only a small
percentage of that budget to address ongoing
efforts toward species protection and recovery
work. Taxpayers should not tolerate it," Crapo
added.
"Four years ago I introduced legislation that
would have changed the timing of determining
critical habitat to become part of species
recovery planning. This would have provided much
needed reforms at that time, and may have
alleviated the current budget crisis. Today,
Congress needs to take the lead in reforming the
ESA, and transform a system that, while well
intentioned, is proving to be self-defeating in
implementation. A system where private property
owners, conservation groups, and regulatory
agencies can work together to accomplish the
intention of the Endangered Species Act is what
we ought to be after and I will continue to push
for those reforms," said Crapo.
According to information released by the
Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service will exhaust the funds needed
to meet its obligations to designate critical
habitat under settlements and court orders for
Fiscal Year 2003. The administration has
requested that funds be moved from other
endangered species programs to cover the lack of
funds. Once an area has been designated a
critical habitat, federal agencies are required
to consult with the Fish and Wildlife service
about the impact of activities they authorize,
fund or execute on land with this designation.
According to the Department of the Interior,
this has little effect on an already endangered
species because the requirement for consultation
is already in place due to the endangered
species designation for the affected plant or
animal population.