Species Act Reform
Faces Uphill Battle

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration appears to have sided with radical environmentalists concerning an effort to restructure the Endangered Species Act.

Republicans on Capitol Hill wanting to reform the act say the White House is discouraging such a move, saying it would be costly and delay efforts to protect wildlife.

In a hearing this month before the House Committee on Resources, two administration officials, Rebecca Lent, a National Marine Fisheries Service official, and Craig Munson, an Interior Department assistant secretary, said they agreed with the goal of using better science, but the bills being proposed are costly and inflexible.

The committee, chaired by Jim Hansen, R-Utah, who wants to reform the law, is looking at two bills that would require the Interior Department to add several steps in listing a species as officially "endangered" or "threatened".

Both bills would require the secretary to create an independent review board to look at the science behind petitions to list a species. One of the bills would expand the review by six months and the names of people on the review board would not be made public.

"This is the only act in this country that I'm aware of that elevates species of flies, rats, slimy slugs and a host of other creatures nobody has ever heard of over the needs, desires and the pursuit of happiness of American citizens," Hansen said in his opening statement.

Environmental extremists say they are worried that the Fish and Wildlife Service says it needs $120 million for its listing backlog, but Congress has only allocated about $9 million.