ESA Working Group Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Some say it’s been weaponized, while others say the Endangered Species Act is outdated and must be brought into the 21st Century.
U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse is one of the organizers of the newly formed Endangered Species Act Working Group who says it’s time to update the ESA so that it works for the American people and species conservation …
NEWHOUSE … “Bruce Westerman, who’s the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and I as chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, we have formed a working group to look at the Endangered Species Act, with the goal in mind of seeing what kinds of improvements, reforms we could bring about to improve the outcomes of the ESA.”
Newhouse says the ESA was enacted in 1973 and has seen really no significant changes to it in 50 years …
NEWHOUSE … “I think over that whole period of time, almost 2,000 species, maybe 1,700 at least, as the number escapes me for sure, have been listed as either endangered or threatened. And only 3% of those that have been listed have ever been considered to be recovered and delisted.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the Endangered Species Act Working Group and how organizers say it’s rarely used for its intended purpose.
