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California Labor, Local Government, and Business Organizations Support Pombo, Cardoza, Walden Effort to Update the ESA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
California Alliance for Jobs– 916/442-2259
California Building Industry Association– 916/443-7933
California Business Properties Association– 916/443-4676
California Cattlemen’s Association– 916/444-0845
California Chamber of Commerce– 916/444-6670
California Forestry Association – 916/444-6592
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of CA – 916/441-7991
Regional Council of Rural Counties – 916/447-4806

Sacramento, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2005) -  Representatives from California labor, local government and business organizations greeted a Congressional commitment to update the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a positive step for species, their habitat, and the state’s economy. 

Organizations including the California Alliance for Jobs, California Chamber of Commerce, California Building Industry Association, California Business Properties Association, and the California Forestry Association (partial list) are rallying behind an effort spearheaded by Congressmen Richard Pombo, Dennis Cardoza, and George Radanovich from California and Congressman Greg Walden from Oregon to make the Act work better, minimize confusion, and discourage litigation.

During a press conference held in Sacramento, California, the four Congressmen put forward the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 (TESRA) – this year’s bi-partisan effort to update and improve the ESA.  TESRA seeks to fix a number of long-outstanding problems of the ESA by amending the Act to:

1. Focus on species recovery;
2. Provide landowner incentives;
3. Increase openness and accountability;
4. Strengthen scientific standards
5. Create bigger roles for state and local governments
6. Protect private property owners; and
7. Eliminate dysfunctional critical habitat designations.

The above-listed organizations believe that the ESA is under assault by litigation brought by extreme environmental groups that advocate for zero flexibility in the application of the law.  The effort undertaken by Congressmen Pombo, Cardoza, Radanovich, and Walden embody the type of commonsense improvements to the ESA that take into account over three decades of experience with the current law.