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Editorial: Update the Species Act

By Richard Pombo
Feb. 15, 2006, Sacramento Bee

TRACY -- Efforts to update and modernize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are an emotional topic for many with opinions ranging from completely repealing the act to not changing a single word. Yet, it seems clear that sensible improvements are long overdue.

Over more than three decades, nearly 1,300 species have been listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, but only 10 of those have recovered sufficiently to be removed from the list. During that same period, some 35 species have been found to be extinct.

This stunning record of failure can largely be traced to a simple fact. While our successful environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, have frequently been updated and strengthened by Congress over the last 30 years, the ESA has seen no modernization to take advantage of lessons learned.

That is why my colleagues and I -- both Republicans and Democrats -- introduced and passed the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (TESRA) in the U.S. House of Representatives last fall.

TESRA makes four important changes in how we recover our most vulnerable species.

For the first time, a scientifically peer-reviewed recovery plan will be required when a species is listed. These plans may, in some cases, require the set-aside of some habitat, or, as was the case with the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle, habitat may be irrelevant, while other factors are vital to recovery.

Since the majority of endangered and threatened species live on private land, TESRA will, for the first time, set up a system of incentives for private property owners to participate in voluntary conservation programs.

When private landowners lose all or some of the use of their property because a recovery plan requires restricted, the landowners will be fairly compensated with a one-time payment.

The payment will not continue year-after-year payment nor does it get paid to any new owner. The amount is based only on the value of the land's current use rather than any future increased value.

In other words, if the land in question is farmland, the payment is based on its value as farmland. It would never be based on the contention that the land would have a higher value if developed for housing or industry, so no extra payment will be given to an owner whose land value increases because of appreciation or improvements.

I think most Americans will agree that this is eminently fair.

Society, as a whole, benefits when a threatened or endangered species is recovered. So, it is society, as a whole, that should bear the cost of that recovery, not the individual citizens on whose land an endangered species is discovered.

Also, for the first time, local entities and state governments will be encouraged to participate in the development and implementation of recovery plans. This is a vital change because those closest to local situations can often offer the best input. This should be most welcome in places like my home state of California, where residents are greatly concerned with the health of their environment.

Soon, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate will be drafting their own version of legislation to update and modernize the Endangered Species Act. They will be facing the same challenges we faced in the House in the effort to improve our nation's recovery of species, while at the same time treating landowners fairly.

I hope they will pass a bill that easily can be reconciled with our House bill in conference committee and eventually be signed into law by President Bush.

Future Americans will be able to measure the success of a revitalized Endangered Species Act by the number of species removed from list because they are flourishing to the point where they are no longer in harm's way.

About the writer:

U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, a seven-term congressman, is chairman of the House Committee on Resources. Reach him at 2411 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.

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