ESA

Endangered Species Act

The original intent of the Endangered Species Act was to protect certain prominent species from extinction, such as the bald eagle. That original intent was never been amended by legislation.

The interpretation of the Act, however, has been radically altered by overreaching agencies, endless lawsuits, and the collective decisions of willing courts (i.e., jurisprudence). As a consequence, the Act is used to destroy more of our rights, lands, and resources that any weapons of mass destruction an external enemy could deliver.

Listen to three different and informed perspectives on the Endangered Species Act.

Take Action !!!

We have a tremendous opportunity here! The Endangered Species Act has a sunset clause that requires period review and renewal, but that has not been done for the past 15 years. Enforcement of the Act continues based solely on budget authorizations, not on legislative authority. Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) is now Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, which has oversight authority. He is determined the Act will be corrected before further funding is appropriated.

Read

•The Endangered Species Act Serious Flaws, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett

News & Views

20120619 Texas: Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples urges “Congress to put an end to the overbearing regulations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the abuse and misuse of the Endangered Species Act. ... It is clear the ESA has been used to accomplish the goals of radicals and those seeking to expand the reach of government. ... A sad irony of the implementation of the Endangered Species Act is that it promotes regulation over incentives, often to the detriment of the species it proposes to protect.”

20120516 Alaska: ESA threatens Alaska oil and gas drilling.

20120511 Arizona: Federal government prevents Tombstone, AZ from using any form of mechanization, even wheelbarrows, from repairing damage to its city water pipeline. Governor declares state of emergency as the water shortage becomes critical. Rationalization?

20120423 National parks across the nation are putting out “do not visit” signs.

20120405 Canada: There are far more polar bears than we were told.

20120405 Florida: Miami Blue Butterfly listing will affect coastal South Floridians.

20120417 Arizona: San Bernardino springsnails listed as endangered. Snails??? “Nonnative” crayfish and elk determined to be the enemy.

20120404 Federal officials have decided not to list the Chinook salmon in the upper Trinity and Klamath rivers as threatened or endangered species.

20120329 Texas: Ranchers were responsible for “the most responsible conservation effort ever undertaken by game breeders and ranchers here in Texas” in increasing the antelope population, but now the Federal government wants control. Texas fights back.

20120319 Arizona: 10,346 acres located in Arizona and New Mexico taken out of use by a listing of the Chiracahua leopard frog. The affected area contains over 50% of the nation’s uranium supplies, and a wealth of other minerals. Activists aren’t satisfied; they also want to close the Rosemont copper mine near Tucson, AZ.

20120207 Portland-based Oregon Wild sues to secure Rogue River water for coho salmon. In the guise of “saving the fish,” this subversive group wants to drain the reservoirs (or probably destroy them altogether), then argue the need to take water and water rights from agriculture to keep the rivers flowing. The result is the destruction of food production. These assaults are not isolated; they are taking place nationally, with the inevitable consequence that our nation’s prosperity, self-reliance, sovereignty, and security – and our individual Liberty – will be eroded or eliminated.

20120203 Wyoming: Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill upolds listing of the sage grouse. This will threaten agriculture, ranching, energy production, and even communities throughout large parts of the western states.

20120203 South Carolina: The Atlantic sturgeon listing threatens a port expansion and relicensing of major hydroelectric dams.

20120203 California: Two frog species have been listed in the Sierra Nevada. As a result, livestock grazing, timber production, agriculture, and recreation will be targeted.

20120201 Maryland: Atlantic sturgeon declared endangered species. This will lead to total control over significant watersheds in the East. Environmental groups already seek to stop dredging of the Delaware River, which is a direct threat to commercial navigation.

20120131 Supreme Court: An explanation and update on the Sacketts case being decided upon by the U.S. Supreme Court.

20120129 Colorado: Environmentalists attack oil production.

20120129 Utah: Utah to craft sage grouse plan in effort to avert federal endangered species listing.

20120125 Endangered species legislation could redefine habitats.

20120120 Experts predict U.S. Supreme Court win for the Sacketts.

20120119 Sage grouse listing would destroy industry. This could portend the end of public range grazing. Multi-millions of public acres in 10 states, including Oregon, may become useless ...”

20120119 Oregon: Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Audubon Society of Portland will sue Oregon State over timber harvesting.

20120101 Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) announced plans to revisit the Act. Renewal of the Act expired 15 years ago, yet funding continued. Congressman Hastings, currently Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, vows to take a serious look at the Endangered Species before continued funding authorization is approved. We need to support him, his efforts, and his reelection. Here is the link to Doc Hastings website.

20120111 Endangered Species Act endangers America’s economy.

20111222 Traditional farming can save threatened species.

20111206 Karen-Budd Falen testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources. Included in her testimony was an example of how environmental groups are handsomely paid, by the government, to sue the government. Western Watersheds Project, an environmental group, was paid $238,163.00 for suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service three times. Over what? Slickspot peppergrass.

20111206 The endangered species act: How litigation is costing jobs and impeding true recovery efforts, by Bob Sherman.

20111201 Texas & New Mexico: Sagebrush lizard listing delayed six months. In face of strong opposition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delaying a decision of whether to classify the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species.

20111130 Oregon: U.S. Judge Redden to step down from long-running Columbia salmon case.

20111116 Oregon: Protection sought “for a snail found only at a spring feeding Upper Klamath Lake.”

20111115 “The endangered species law is being used to gain control over landscapes and seascapes rather than to protect species ...”

20111115 Oregon court extends ban on killing wolves.

20111111 “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife released its Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals considered candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act.”

20111110 Endangered species list is updated by the “International Union for Conservation of Nature, based in Switzerland. The International what?

20111108 NOAA to consider listing river herring an endangered species. Thus begins another assault on jobs, the economy, and water & property rights. This time, it is the Gulf of Maine ecosystem that is to be overtaken. It is not about the fish. It is not even about the water. It is all about finding or manufacturing a problem that crosses multiple political boundaries in order to taken policy making away from representative and accountable governments and transferring it to unelected and unaccountable entities: PPPs, NGOs, stakeholders, regional government planning associations, etc. In the Soviet Union, these entities were called “soviets”. It is centralized planning.

20111108 Earthers’ lawsuit continues to keep the grizzly an endangered species.

20111107 Earthers sue federal government to keep the wolf an endangered species.

20110929 US Fish and Wildlife Service is being sued for unjustifiably listing the gnatcatcher as an endangered species. (David T) “The California gnatcatcher isn’t threatened or endangered. What’s endangered are California jobs.” What the heck is a gnatcatcher anyway, a species not described until 2005 and already proposed to be split into three?

20110926 Federal judge backs farmers in delta. (Nina P)

20110921 The “science” behind the decision to shut down agriculture in large parts of California’s San Joaquin Valley, because of the Delta smelt, is coming under judicial fire. Judge Wanger comments about the testimony of Jennifer M. Norris of the Fish and Wildlife Service: “...she has not been honest with this court. I find her incredible as a witness. I find her testimony to be that of a zealot. I’m not overstating the case, I’m not being histrionic, I’m not being dramatic. I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve seen a few witnesses testify.”

20110510 Texas & New Mexico: There is a push to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species. Listing the sagebrush lizard could threaten oil production.

► 20081211 Group to sue NPS, BLM over Arizona Strip. This action threatens half of our nation’s uranium supplies.

► 19920211 Wish list for suckers nails farms. A few decades ago, Fish & Game poisoned the fish in the North Fork of the Snake River in order to wipe out the sucker fish and restore the trout. It worked. Sucker fish would attach themselves to the bodies of live trout and literally suck the life out of them. Now, in a complete reversal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concludes sucker fish are more important than private property or food production.

Karen Budd-Falen
Karen is the daughter of a 5th-generation rancher in Wyoming. She became an attorney to save her father’s ranch, then built a law practice that has become well-respected for fighting to Defend Rural America.
•hear: Karen discuss the Act from an attorney’s perspective.
•email: Karen Budd-Falen
•website: Budd-Falen Law Offices LLC

Ray Haupt
Ray is a retired US Forest Service District Ranger with 33 years of service. He is a registered professional forester and currently teaches two days a week.
•hear: Ray discuss the Act from the perspective of a former Forest Service insider.
•email: Ray Haupt

Jim Beers
Jim is a wildlife and wetlands biologist. During his career, he worked for Utah’s Fish & Game, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Navy, spanning Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, and Washington, DC.
•hear: Jim discuss examples of how listings are endangering homes, food & energy production, timber production, recreation, and available water supplies.
•email: Jim Beers

All Three Together On One Radio Show

hear: Karen Budd-Falen, Ray Haupt, and Jim Beers jointly discuss the Endangered Species Act on the Walls In Our Mind radio show with host Terry Dodd.

Defend Rural America, The Constitutional County, Constitutional County, and
Constitutional Counties are trademarks of Kirk F. MacKenzie.

Kirk MacKenzie

Founder

Defend Rural AmericaTM

650-380-8027

Skype: kirkmack1

Downloads

•Copy of the Act

Video

•Watch the Government Kill Thousands of Salmon

CA Frogs & Toads

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife service plans to close off an additional 2 million acres of California’s forests, spanning 14 counties and 9 national forests along the eastern spine of California. Food, energy, timber, mineral, and building material production would be impacted, as well as recreation, hiking, camping, fishing, rafting, roads, off-road vehicles, and more.