Endangered Species Act a federal land grab?
Jun 22, 2012 Logan Hawkes | Southwest Farm Press
Calling the Endangered Species Act
abused by activists and the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service (USFWS), Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd
Staples, in testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee
on Natural Resources this week, warned that such abuse threatens the economy
and the rights of rural land holders.
The committee is holding an
oversight hearing, titled “Taxpayer-Funded Litigation: Benefitting Lawyers and
Harming Species, Jobs and Schools,” which is examining how litigious groups use
the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws to hinder species recovery,
jobs and education.
“It is clear the ESA has been used
to accomplish the goals of radicals and those seeking to expand the reach of
government,” Staples communicated to the Committee in a prepared statement of
testimony. “Congress needs to step in to end this game of ‘endangered chicken’
once and for all. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recklessly driving the
taxpayers’ truck on a collision course with our economy, food producers, true
species steward landowners and taxpayers. Let’s hope Congress takes the keys
away before more damage is done.”
Staples has long been critical of
what he terms the over use and abuse of the act and says Congressional action
is the only way to stop what he calls the radical use of legislation which can
be a detriment of the species the law was intended to protect.
“I implore Congress to take action
to provide true relief to the people of Texas
and the United States.
The perversion of the Endangered Species
Act continues to create victims and take hostages,” Staples said in his
testimony.
The Commissioner testified that
Congress needs to act now to provide relief to landowners, states and
businesses that are being “deprived of property and the opportunity to work and
create jobs. He accused activists of attempting to grab land and water “upon
which Americans depend.
“Approximately 84 percent of the
land in Texas
is in privately-owned farms, ranches and forests. Our landowners are
responsible for managing the natural resources that sustain our state’s
population of 26 million; feed and clothe the world; provide a healthy
environment; and create the jobs that power our economy. We believe in sound
decision making, private property owners’ rights and the fact that government
is not the answer to every problem. The execution of the ESA conflicts with
these principles and has been a source of concern for Texans for decades,”
Staples’ written testimony reads.
Endangered Species
Endangered Species Act a federal land grab?
Months before the heated
contention between the Bureau of Land
Management and Nevada
cattle rancher Cliven Bundy,
purportedly over protecting an endangered species of desert tortoise, the BLM
was euthanizing the tortoises in droves.
Note: U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Bureau
of Land Management is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Police State USSA: Feds Vs Rancher Face Off (Past Research
on the Bureau of Land Management)
Monday, April 7, 2014
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