Endangered Species Act attacked through the back door

The Endangered Species Act has long had its foes, particularly in the West. But in recent months, the law has taken an unprecedented hit from Congress. Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, used a budget bill signed into law by the president to return to the states of Idaho and Montana the right to manage their wolf populations. It's the latest move in a long-raging battle over how to manage gray wolves that has pitted environmentalists, ranchers, state wildlife managers and the federal government against each other. It effectively took the wolves off the federal endangered species list in those two states, sidestepping provisions in the Endangered Species Act that give citizens the ability to use the courts to force the government to act on endangered species. Environmentalists say they fear the successful wolf delisting language will open the act to new legislative attacks. It "has certainly emboldened certain members who for political reasons see a benefit in stopping new listings," said Mike Senatore, vice president of conservation law at Defenders of Wildlife. "It set exceedingly bad precedent." They were particularly alarmed by one of the first evidences of fallout: an amendment filed earlier this month by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who wants to stop the proposed listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard in New Mexico. He joins House Republicans, who have filed legislation to stop the potential listing of the lizard and the lesser prairie chicken. Cornyn, who has joined Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., in saying that the proposed listings could shut down oil and gas production in parts of west Texas and eastern New Mexico, called the lizard a "scaly political pawn." Its listing would "score points with radical environmentalists," he warned earlier this month...more

A single federal judge can shut down an entire industry and that is ok.

The Congress passes legislation that is signed into law by the President and that's "through the back door."

Why are the R's funding this at all? The ESA hasn't been reauthorized in years.