ESA fix provides remedy for failing federal policy

To the Editor:

As the USFWS has recently been forced to designate Canada Lynx Critical Habitat due to a lawsuit filed in the Ninth Circuit court, it is important that the new reforms for the ESA be supported to circumvent the historical results of such designations.

The Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (TESRA) of 2005 was passed through the House of Representatives on Sept. 29th with more than 96 cosponsors from 30 states across the country.

TESRA is designed to remedy failing (yet well intended) endangered species policy that has bred conflict and litigation in local communities and with private property owners.

The USFWS has freely admitted that there is no real conservation benefit for recovering species through Critical Habitat designations. In fact, it states that it is actually having the opposite effect as it is consuming huge amounts of human and monetary resources that would be better allocated through other methods.

TESRA will fix long-outstanding problems in a variety of ways. By providing incentives for focusing on species recovery, TESRA will increase openness and accountability while protecting private property owners. It will create bigger roles for state and local governments, and it will strengthen scientific standards that will eliminate dysfunctional critical habitat designations.

It is very clear that reform is needed in the ESA. With the current 27,000 square mile proposal of Critical Habitat on state and private lands for the Canada Lynx, we get to look forward to the same dysfunctional results.

TESRA is currently being debated in the Senate; we need to be contacting Sen. Burns and Sen. Baucus to give them our support of the reforms. Our tax dollars, our private property rights, and the Lynx depend on it.

Chas Vincent