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CONGRESSMAN POMBO PUSHES FORWARD WITH EFFORTS TO GUT ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Leaked Legislative Analysis Exposes a Bill That Would Back On 30 Years of Successful Stewardship Statement of Bart Semcer, Sierra Club Fish and Wildlife Specialist Leaked documents indicate that Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Calif) is pushing forward with efforts to gut the Endangered Species Act, America's safety net for fish and wildlife at the edge of extinction. A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 21st on a bill that was developed in secretive, closed-door sessions. The full House of Representatives could vote on the bill as early as the week of September 26th. Knowing the depth of Americans support for conserving their fish, wildlife and outdoor heritage, Congressman Pombo has recently tried to spin his efforts as ones to improve the Endangered Species Act. However, analysis by Congressman Pombo's own staff on his forthcoming legislative proposal to amend the Endangered Species Act, leaked yesterday, shows that his bill would turn back 30 years of successful stewardship and cripple the ability of the American people to safeguard the nation's fish, wildlife and speical places. Congressman Pombo's bill is a plan that would rob American children of the natural heritage that is their birthright. It sets principles of conservation that have been around since Theodore Roosevelt was President on their head and turns back the clock to a time when the loss of healthy fish and wildlife populations was considered a reasonable cost of doing business. A look at Congressman Pombo's staff analysis shows his draft bill would: 1) Eliminate conservation measures on tens of millions of acres of land around the country, the "critical habitat" of endangered species, and prevent such conservation activities in the future. 2) Repeal established conservation measures that prohibit the killing or injuring of hundreds of threatened species such as the Bald eagle. 3) Require the federal government to pay developers, the oil industry and other special interests to keep them from killing or injuring publicly owned fish and wildlife. The leaked analysis of Rep. Pombo’s anti-wildlife bill is available upon request. For more details, contact Bart Semcer at (202) 547-1141. ### |
