The House Armed Services Committee will vote today on a defense
authorization bill with contentious Republican language to postpone
Endangered Species Act protections for the greater sage grouse, sparking
debate over whether wildlife protections are a threat to military
readiness. Language from Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) in the National Defense Authorization Act
would block a Fish and Wildlife Service decision on whether the sage
grouse needs federal protection in any states that have their own plans
in place to protect the bird's sagebrush habitat. It would also stymie a broad effort by the Bureau of Land Management
and Forest Service to bolster sage grouse protections across tens of
millions of acres of Western rangelands. The land-use plans aim to
convince FWS that the ground-dwelling bird -- whose population of
breeding males has dropped by more than half over the past several years
-- needs no additional protections. Bishop said his grouse rider would block Obama administration restrictions that are undermining national security. "Almost unbelievably, sage grouse restrictions, based on dubious or
outdated science, are currently costing the Department of Defense
millions of dollars and impacting critical training and support
activities at numerous installations across the country," Bishop said in
a statement yesterday. "If the Obama administration lists the bird
under ESA, the needs of our military will be subordinate to an extreme
environmental agenda. Our military personnel, who we ask so much of,
deserve better." That view was echoed Monday in an op-ed in Roll Call
by three former servicemen who warned that a federal listing for sage
grouse would "significantly impair the readiness and effectiveness of a
number of military installations, and the military units assigned to
these sorts of camps and bases."
Wildlife advocates are challenging those claims. Dozens of environmental groups yesterday sent a letter
to House members warning that Bishop's grouse rider is "one of the most
egregious political attacks on the ESA in this Congress" and would do
nothing to enhance military readiness. They're backing an amendment by
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) to strike Bishop's language from the bill...more
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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1 comment:
What the hell? Our "National Defense" is in a shambles. Please tell these Washington clowns to protect our country......instead of constant jockeying for political position.
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