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September 20, 2005
House Resources Committee
Office of Chairman Richard Pombo
1334 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Rep. Pombo:
The National Grange would like to ask you to support H.R. 3824, the Threatened and Endangered Species Act of 2005 (TESRA), legislation that will revise the unsuccessful ESA and decrease the tremendous amount of conflict with landowners and local communities, stemming from implementation. H.R. 3824 updates and modernizes the ESA so that federal agencies use the best available science in decision-making, incentives exist to encourage landowners to participate in recovery efforts, and local, state and tribal governments are directly involved in the recovery process.
The National Grange is the nation’s oldest general farm and rural public interest organization. Founded in 1867, today the National Grange has more than 2,800 local, county and State Grange chapters in 37 states. As part of this year’s National Grange priority legislative issues document, Blueprint for Rural America 2005 the National Grange made the following policy statement under the heading Conservation and Natural Resources: Wildlife Management:
| “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 ESA 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 ESA. 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 or their property 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 ESA so that it shall no longer take total precedence over property rights, energy development, and fire suppression.” |
It has been 31 years since the Endangered Species Act became law and it is time to take a critical look at its effectiveness. Only 10 species in North America have been recovered out of more than 1,300 species listed in the last 31 years. This rate is unacceptable, and is confronted in TESRA by emphasizing the recovery process through specific science regulations and the creation of Recovery Teams. The ESA also created an unintended adversarial relationship between government regulators and the people most critical to the goal of saving endangered species: America’s farmers, ranchers and private property owners. Nearly 90 percent of endangered species in the US have habitat on private land, and the only way to improve the success rate of the ESA is to find a common ground between regulations and property rights. TESRA acknowledges the role of landowners in the recovery process, and insures a solid working relationship between government regulators and property owners by providing incentives such as: compensating property owners for the fair market value of land that is lost to providing certainty for private property owners by allowing landowners to request a written determination as to whether their land use activities will violate the prohibitions of Section 9. These incentives foster a better working relationship between both sides, and will help fulfill TESRA’s goal of protecting endangered species.
The Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 is critical reform that will help save countless endangered species, while strengthening the rights of those most directly affected by the act, landowners. TESRA clearly addresses the goal of our Conservation and Natural Resources Policy Statement by acknowledging the rights of property owners and the Grange’s dedication to the conservation of America’s wildlife. We look forward to working with you to ensure this legislation becomes law in the 109th Congress.
Sincerely,
Leroy Watson, Legislative Director
National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry
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