Support Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2003!

04/10/2003

• On April 7, 2003, Rep. Greg Walden introduced "Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2003" to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior to give greater weight to scientific or commercial data that is empirical or has been field-tested or peer-reviewed. The bill number is H.R. 1662 and is attached in a pdf file.
• Please urge your Representative to support Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2003.

Klamath Basin Crisis caused by "No Sound Scientific Basis"
Last year a report by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that there was no sound scientific basis for maintaining higher water levels in Upper Klamath Lake or Higher minimum flows in the Klamath River for threatened species as recommended in a biological opinion released two years ago. This biological opinion ultimately led to the dramatic irrigation water shut-off to nearly 1200 farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California in April 2001. There was no sound scientific basis for preventing water from being diverted down canals like it had for nearly 100 years to grow crops and provide water to several national wildlife refuges. Water that would normally flow through Klamath Project farmland habitat and to the national wildlife refuges was directed instead towards increasing instream water levels for the benefit of an endangered suckerfish and threatened coho salmon. The citizens of Klamath Falls saw the collapse of the local agricultural economy due to water restrictions imposed by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the benefit of those two species protected under the ESA. The vitality of over 430 other wildlife species was threatened when they were subjected to the same fate as local farmers: no water, dry watercourses, drastically altered vegetation, parched land and dust.

What would H.R. 1662 do? H.R. 1662 (Adobe Acrobat File. Click here to download Adobe Reader)
While this is not a comprehensive ESA reform bill, it does provide very important targeted improvements, which are long overdue, and promotes both the interests of species recovery and of locally impacted communities. H.R. 1662 would achieve the following improvements in the ESA:

• Improved use of peer-reviewed science in making ESA decision
• Improved public participation in the listing and recovery planning process
• Greater role given to the states and local communities
• Greater weight given to social and economic impacts
• Improved processes to enable private landowners to have certainty and take actions to protect species on private lands
• Greater financial and technical assistance to states and private citizens.

Related Legislations

S. 369, the Endangered Species Listing and Delisting Process Reform Act of 2003 -- to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to improve the processes for listing, recovery planning, and de-listing.

H.R. 1253, the Common Sense Preble's Conservation Act -- to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish special requirements for determining whether the Preble's meadow jumping mouse is an endangered species or threatened species.

H.R. 1235, the Encroachment on Military Bases Prevention Act -- to provide for the management of critical habitat of endangered species and threatened species on military installations in a manner compatible with the demands of military readiness, to ensure that the application of other resource laws on military installations is compatible with military readiness.

H.R. 1194, the Species Rescue Act -- to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to enable Federal agencies responsible for the preservation of threatened species and endangered species to rescue and relocate members of any of those species that would be taken in the course of certain reconstruction, maintenance, or repair of Federal or non-Federal manmade flood control levees.

National Grange's policy on ESA
As a member organization of the National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition, the National Grange has supported sound science for ESA for both farmers and environment. Refer to our related action alerts:

Endangered Species Act Reform Action Alert (03/20/2002)

H.R. 4840, "Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2002"
Should Be Passed in the House Floor in this Congress (08/07/2002)

The National Grange's policy on ESA is summarized in our policy book:

• The National Grange encourages Congress to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to restore proper perspective by requiring public hearings and economic impact statements on the impacts to the affected areas before a species may be listed. We support changes to the ESA to require that only a pure biological and numerical definition of an endangered species be used without being based on sub species, distinct populations, or hybridization. We believe that only those species actually threatened with extinction should be listed in the ESA, taking into consideration total populations, available habitats, and recovery areas on the North American continent. We further support a review of the Endangered Species Act with the following guidelines: focus on keystone species (organisms critical to the stable functions of entire habitats and ecosystems), not minor or reduced species; rely on public lands for preservation; encourage voluntary protection by individuals and corporations; curtail taking of private lands for ESA; balance human costs with ecological benefits; compensation for private property owners for loss of usage of their property due to the Endangered Species Act. The National Grange insists on the strictest possible interpretation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on public and private development projects in cities and urban areas. The National Grange supports legislation legally allowing people to defend themselves from an attack by any animal listed as an endangered species without concern of retribution from government authorities. The National Grange reaffirms its call for complete and comprehensive reform of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) so that it shall no longer take total precedence over property rights, energy development, and fire suppression.
• The National Grange opposes any reauthorization of the Clean Water Act that includes any provision to require that a state designate any water that supports a population of a threatened or endangered species as an Outstanding Resource Water.
• The National Grange will actively work to reverse the actions of the Ninth Circuit Court and permanently restore the flow of life-giving and life-sustaining water from Klamath Lake to the farmers and farm communities served by the irrigation systems. We urge that Congress investigate the closure of irrigation facilities for the benefit of a suckerfish in the Klamath Falls Basin and determine the consequences of the loss of irrigation water in the Klamath Falls Basin in Oregon and California.

Action Plan --- Please contact your U.S. House Representative to urge them to cosponsor H.R. 1662. If you want to find your House Representative contact information, please click the following.

House Representative

If you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.

Want to Subscribe To ? For all subscription and circulation inquiries, Contact: Jonathan Hill.