04/29/05 E.S.A. reform needed, Finale

In the opinion of former Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Tom Sansonetti, in trying to take back the federal Endangered Species Act to the authority of the government agencies, specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and away from the courts which have dictated everything from critical habitat designations to biological opinions, there is only one hope. SANSONETTI: Congress' intervention into the matter of Endangered Species Act reform is the ultimate solution. It has got to happen. And the reason for Sansonetti's call is simple. Congress adopted E.S.A., and have the authority to amend and reform it. SANSONETTI: They wrote the act. Congress has had a chance now to view its implementation for over thirty years. They should now plainly see those parts of the act that are broken, and they need to fix it. And in Sansonetti's opinion, Congress, if not as a whole then as a group of leaders coming together, is ready to do something about it. Sansonetti notes last February's announcement by a coalition of Senators and Representatives, including Idaho's Mike Crapo and Oregon's Greg Walden, to develop a bipartisan yet consensus effort to reform E.S.A. & an effort that would include the environmental community as well as affected landowners and businesses. He also points to California Representative Dennis Cardoza's latest attempt to pass a bill that would change E.S.A.'s critical habitat designation rules. SANSONETTI: I, of course, applaud them, and am hoping that they will be able to come up with a bill that will reach consensus and eventually pass the Congress. I don't think anybody is necessarily expecting that that is going to happen this year or even next. But when you've got an act that has got problems, or need amendment, it does take a while for momentum to build up and for the pressure to build up before Congress has enough impetus behind it to change legislation & the Clean Water Act is a good example. But Sansonetti says as Congress continues to work on the issue, and more landowners are affected, the momentum to push for Endangered Species Act reform will grow. SANSONETTI: I think as the Endangered Species Act's good intentions are not seen as being met, and the E.S.A. becomes a tool for those that are anti-growth and anti-development to hold projects back, pressure is going to build in different areas of the country. Those folks will visit with their Congressmen and their Senators and eventually, there will be enough movement to break the inertia to create new legislation.