Endangered Species Legislation:

Here I have compiled all of the past environmental legislation that has been put into effect already by Congress and the legislation the 104th Congress is now reviewing. I hope this will help you to understand the endangered species issues before congress now, and I hope you will write to your congressmen and let your voice be heard.

Existing Endangered Species Legislation

Current and Pending Legislation:

The Endangered Species Habitation Protection Act that is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Finance is a fine piece of legislation that should definitely draw your support. It grants tax breaks for owners of environmentally sensitive lands who enter into a conservation easement for the protection of the lands. The bill has been bounced around from place to place, now residing in the hands of the Committe on Finance and some popular support could put it back into the main ring. Idaho Senator Dirk Kempthorne is the sponsor for this bill, and all comments should be directed to him or prefferably your own senator.

The Endagered Species Recovery Act is more along the lines of rhetoric than it is actual, definitive accomplishment, but it certainly contains the correct spirit. It revises the Endangered Species Act of 1973, making certain revisions that make the Act more powerfull, with various tax breaks or penalties, depending on which side of the Act one falls. It is essentially a moral commitment by the government, but is bound up in The Committe on Resources and The Committe on Ways and Means for revision. The quote on the top of the page is from this Act. California Senator George Miller is the sponsor of this bill and all comments and concerns should be directed his way, or preferablly let your own senator know how you feel.

The Species Rescue Act calls for a revision of the Endangered Species act of 1973 so endangered or threatened species put in jepordy due to their placement near flood plains and levies will be speedily relocated. It sounds pretty good, with any species that will be put in jepordy necessitating relocation. Who is responsible for this relocation is where things get a little hairy. About a dozen seperate government departments (Fish and Wildlife Services, National Marine Fisheries Service, a State Conservation Agency, to name a few) are held responsible by the Secretary of the Interior or Commerce for the relocation. This bill has been refferred to the Committee on Resources, meaning it was shelved. Sounds like a good law, if not a touch burried in mucky-muck. The sponsor for this bill is California Senator Wally Herger, so comments should be directed to him or your own senator.

The Secretary of the Interior is currently working out a trade of certain lands within Hindsdale County, Colorado for an acceptable offer of land within the Handies Peak or Red Cloud Peak Wilderness Study Areas with the Texas based Lake City Ranchers Ltd. The land the Secretary of the Interior is vying for is an ecologicaly sound area with high environmental research potential. It would be set up as a conserved research area. The lands traded to Lake City Ranchers Ltd. would be subject to regulation and review of endangered species, cultural and historic resources, and hazardous material under the Federal Land and Policy Act of 1976. It seems like a good bill because the U.S. would secure an sound ecological are for conservation and research, and the land they traded will be carefully monitered to avoid environmental exploitation. The sponsor for this bill is Colorado Senator Scott McInnis, so comments should be directed to him or your own senator.

An ammendment to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act will stiffen penalties for migratory bird baitors. Bird baiting is just what one would guess, placing bait like salt or grain in an effort to draw birds that the hunter will then shoot. This will lessen the strain from cheap hunting tactics on the declining population of migratory birds. The sponsor for this bill is Alaskan Senator Don Young.

Applicants for endangered species status: These are just what you would think, the current species in the U.S. that are currently under consideration to enter the endangered species category.