Amendments to the Endangered Species Act

From the NYT:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - The chairman of the House committee overseeing natural resources introduced a bill Monday that would make it more difficult for the federal government to set aside land it deems crucial to the health of endangered species.

The proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act also increase the obligation of government agencies to tell landowners quickly if the law limits their development options, and to compensate them.

The measure, which drew quick denunciations from groups like Environmental Defense, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council, was proposed by the House Resources Committee chairman, Representative Richard W. Pombo, Republican of California. It was immediately put on a fast track, which is expected to bring it before the full House early next week.

Typical. They put out one little thing that looks reasonable (The proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act also increase the obligation of government agencies to tell landowners quickly if the law limits their development options, and to compensate them.) while the rest is meant to help destroy government regulation that hinder development for the corporate sector.

And to top it off, the bill gets fast tracked, just when we are recovering from a major natural disaster, with another on the way. The real kicker? It's a bipartisan bill! You can read the bill here.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the changes would:

* completely repeal protections for endangered species critical habitat

* remove protections for species listed as "threatened" under the law

* allow political appointees - such as Secretary of Interior Gale Norton - instead of scientists, to determine what constitutes the best available science

* exempt federal agencies from the requirement to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on actions that might impact endangered species

* bankrupt the endangered species program by forcing the Fish and Wildlife Service to pay developers to comply with the law.