The federal government of the United States of America has become the
800-pound gorilla to many Americans. It touches our lives from the
moment we wake up in the morning to the minute we go to bed at night. In
many cases, the intrusions are unwelcome and oppressive.
Take, for example, the Endangered Species Act. Now, who could be
against protecting poor, defenseless owls in the Northwest? That was the
rationale when Congress passed the original Endangered Species Act in
1973. No controversy. Hardly any debate on the floor of the U.S. House
and Senate. And, President Richard Nixon signed it into law immediately.
Fast forward 40 years to 2013, and the Endangered Species Act is out
of control. It has become much more than a mechanism to protect animals,
mammals, fish and plants that are in danger of becoming extinct. It has
become a weapon of the environmental extremists to stop development of
our natural resources.
Environmental groups have even figured out how they can make money off filing lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act. Litigation has become
an industry for these groups, because they can be reimbursed by the
federal government for legal expenses if they win.
The Center for Biological Diversity has filed 835 lawsuits from 1999
to 2012, which averages 1.24 lawsuits each week for 13 years.
The Austin American Statesman reported in July that the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service paid attorney fees of about $1.5 million in 26 cases
from 2004 to 2010. The U.S. Treasury Department paid $14.2 million from
2003 to 2010 to a range of plaintiffs in environmental cases involving
the Environmental Protection Agency.
Additionally, billions of dollars have been spent by private
individuals and companies, state and federal governments on 1,436
species that have been listed, and only 27 species have been recovered
for a slim 1.88 percent success rate.
1 comment:
I think this article is a great answer for the points that were brought up in the column written last week by the Idaho State Forester....while it is important to conserve, please noteI said conserve not preserve, all species ESA is out of control. All the lawsuits filled by the enviros are ridiculous and tie federal land managing agencies hands so they can't do their jobs.
I wonder, how many suits has CBD filed against state forestry departments?
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