The Anti-Endangered Species Bill sponsored by Pombo is going to be expedited through the House Resources Committee next week and immediately thereafter presented to the House for a vote. This is a disastrous bill. It will eviscerate species protection in favor of development interests. This bill is the Property Rights and Developers wish list for disassembling the Endangered Species Act.
For background on this bill follow these links:
Science and the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act under fire from two directions
Pombo’s Endangered Species Bill Revealed
Bill Would Reduce Government’s Role in Protecting Species (NYTimes Article Archive, pay to view)
An Endangered Act (NYTimes Editorial Archive, pay to view)
I previously posted several dairies at DKos on ESA. Among these dairies is one that describes Pombo’s Enti-ESA talking points and a rebuttal by the Center for Biological Diversity: Pombo Endangered Species Report Flawed: Latest Anti-Endangered Species Act Report by Pombo is Erroneous, Misleading.
The report’s main contention is that the Endangered Species Act has a 99% failure rate because only 13 species have fully recovered and been delisted. This recycled soundbite is also the primary media message of a national network of anti-Endangered Species Act forces. As shown below, however, it is nonsensical.
1) Scientists Say Recovery Will Take 30-50 Years on Average; Often Over 100 Years
Over 3,000 scientists have reviewed that status of nearly every endangered species and concluded that recovery could not possibly be achieved within the 15.5 years they have averaged on the endangered list. 1,082 species have official federal recovery plan created by university, industry, and federal scientists. The plans establish recovery goals, implementation steps and estimated time to recovery. A systematic review of all those plans shows that the average length of time projected for recovery is 30-50 years. Many species will require over 100 years.
2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Report Show Most Species Are Stable or Improving When Protected for at Least Six Years
Claiming to summarize a 2004 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pombo report states that 60% of endangered species are uncertain or declining, 30% are stable, and only 6% are improving. This is voodoo statistics. It is statistical nonsense to lump known trends in with unknown trends. It is also nonsensical to lump together species which only been on the endangered list for six months and species which has been on the list for 15 years. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife report actually shows that 68% of species with a known trend which have been listed for at least six years are stable or improving. Just 32% are declining. Of those species with a known trend, 68% are stable or improving and just 32% are declining.
3) Peer-Reviewed Scientific Studies Show that the Endangered Species Act Works
In April 2005,
BioScience, a peer-review scientific journal published a study entitled “The Effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act: A Quantitative Analysis”. The study examined 1,095 species whose status was assessed multiple times by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service between 1989 and 2002. It found that:
Endangered Species Improve Over Time. The longer species were protected under the endangered species, the more likely they were to be improving and the less likely they were to be declining.
Critical Habitat Helps Recovery. Species with critical habitat for at least two years were twice as likely to be improving as species without critical habitat.
Recovery Plans Help Recovery. Species with dedicated recovery plan were more likely to be improving and less likely to be declining than species without recovery plans. Only 81% of species currently have recovery plans.
Pombo has been spreading misinformation about ESA for several months now. Another example: Gao: Endangered Species Expenditures Match Biological Priorities Unhappy With Positive Review, Representative Pombo Tries To Mislead Media With False Press Release.
The NRDC is spearheading action against Pombo’s Bill. Here’s the text of the National Resource Defense Councils Action Alert.
Early next week, the House Resources Committee is expected to consider legislation that would severely weaken, and even phase out, one of America’s most important and successful environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act. Ninety-eight percent of the species protected under the act are still alive today, and many are stable or improving. Without the Endangered Species Act, wildlife such as the bald eagle, American alligator, California condor, Florida panther and many other animals that are part of America’s natural heritage could have disappeared from the planet years ago.
The Endangered Species Act works because it safeguards the places where endangered animals and plants live. But the chair of the Resources Committee, Rep. Pombo (R-CA), is a long-time opponent of the act, and his proposed “reforms” would dilute these essential habitat protections, putting the interests of developers ahead of imperiled wildlife and plants. In fact, if the draft legislation proposed by Rep. Pombo were the law today, the bald eagle — America’s symbol of freedom – never would have been protected. The bill also seeks to phase out the Endangered Species Act entirely by 2015.
Rep. Pombo is expected to expedite consideration of his bill in the Resources Committee in the next few days and send it to the House floor for a final vote directly thereafter.
And here’s their link for sending a message to Congress – Action Center
When endangered species are properly managed, the Endangered Species Act works. It needs strengthening, not evisceration.
