Center for Biological Diversity

Protecting endangered species and wild places of western North America
and the Pacific through science, policy, education, and environmental law.

AMERICAN LANDS * CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY * CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY * DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE * EARTHJUSTICE * ENDANGERED SPECIES COALITION * SIERRA CLUB

May 30, 2001 CONTACT:
Brian Vincent (ALA) (310) 779-4894
Brad DeVries (DOW) (800) 989-8981 ex. 237
Kieran Suckling (CBD) (503) 702-7033
More info: Bush's ESA Proposal

BUSH PLAN A DEATH WARRANT FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES...PROPOSAL WOULD GUT CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT OF ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

NEW REPORT DETAILS IMPORTANCE OF CITIZEN OVERSIGHT, ADEQUATE FUNDING

JANE GOODALL, BONNIE RAITT, ED BEGLEY, JR., BETTY WHITE, WENDIE MALICK, AND OTHERS CALL FOR ACTION

Los Angeles, CA – Dr. Jane Goodall today joined religious leaders, conservationists, and celebrities in calling for a halt to the Bush administration's plan to weaken the Endangered Species Act through funding cuts and policy changes that would undermine citizen oversight of the ESA and leave species listing decisions almost entirely in the hands of the Secretary of Interior.

At news conferences held simultaneously in Los Angeles, CA, Minneapolis, MN, St. Louis, MO, and Washington, DC, speakers urged Bush to adequately fund species protection and drop its proposals to restrict citizens' rights to hold the federal government to reasonable timelines for protecting species at risk. These proposals could spell doom for several species currently hanging in the balance. In California, there at least 37 species, including the critically imperiled Buena Vista Lake Ornate Shrew, Southern California Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, Channel Island fox, and San Diego Ambrosia, currently waiting to be placed on the endangered species list while their populations continue to decline.

A new report by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Endangered Species Coalition entitled Conservation In Action: Safeguarding Citizen Rights Under the Endangered Species Act details the critical role scientists, religious groups, and environmentalists have played in dramatically increasing the rate at which imperil species are listed under the ESA and their habitats protected. It calls for a tripling of Bush's anemic proposal to limit endangered species listings and critical habitat designation to $8.5 million in 2002.

The report was released in 16 other cities and the events were held across the country today to highlight the possible June 7 markup of damaging ESA legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The report is available at WWW.BIOLOGICALDIVERISTY.ORG

"Today, the American people remind Congress that endangered wildlife must be protected in order to restore the balance of nature. It is Congress' duty to ensure that the visionary Endangered Species Act is fully implemented," said Brock Evans, executive director of the diverse Endangered Species Coalition.

"Most Americans want their endangered species to be protected – so that's why Bush is trying to gut the Endangered Species Act behind the scenes, with no votes taken and no one held accountable. The American people deserve better government than that," declared Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the authors of the report.

The heart of the matter is a small paragraph embedded deep within the President's FY 2002 budget proposal. Dubbed the "Extinction Rider," the legislation would negate the rights of citizens to sue to protect endangered species and would give Secretary of Interior Gale Norton almost complete discretion over when and whether to list threatened and endangered species. Norton has made a career of opposing endangered species listings and has long argued that the ESA is unconstitutional. The legislation could be marked up the week of June 7 in the Interior Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Joe Skeen (R-NM).

"Taking away Americans' individual rights to use a court of law is simply outrageous and Americans should be insulted," said Buck Parker, executive director of Earthjustice. "By preventing citizens from suing to get imperiled species listed, the Bush administration is effectively signing the death warrant for countless species. The law is what works, not what's broken."

The report, Conservation In Action, states, "The deadlines and the right of citizen enforcement are absolutely critical components of the ESA," and "Over the last 10 years in California alone, 92 percent of all endangered and threatened species listings have been the direct result of citizen enforcement."

"A great deal of the past 15 years I have spent traveling in different parts of Africa and the rest of the world, struggling with a variety of conservation issues. It is tragic to see how much of the natural world we have despoiled," said Jane Goodall. "It is not only in Africa, it is not only in the developing world, it is everywhere. We are not asking for charity to help save the wildlife, we are asking for a collective investment in the future and in a legacy that we can be proud of. We do not have much time left. We must act now."

Conservation In Action lists many species that have fallen through the cracks and are currently awaiting listing action, each in danger of becoming extinct. Cerulean warblers, Aleutian sea otters, New England cottontails, and wolverines all are on that list.

Conservation In Action also points out that, "Not only is the Bush Administration proposing to gut the ESA, but it is also failing to address the fundamental problem – the inability of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list species threatened with extinction because of insufficient funding. The Bush Administration has requested $8.5 million for FWS's listing program. Yet FWS has stated that it needs $120 million, or approximately $24 million a year over the next five years."

Conservationist charge that the solution to problems facing the ESA today requires first that Congress fully fund endangered species programs, and second that the Department of Interior stop its routine violation of the clear mandates of endangered species law and court rulings.

"The Bush Administration's proposed budget puts the federal endangered species program on a starvation diet," said Kim Delfino, California Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife. "Without adequate funding for this program, critically imperiled species in California and other parts of the U.S. will continue to decline into extinction."

Today's press events highlighted the extensive, broad-based support from all Americans for endangered species protections. Polls have shown that as many as 87 percent of Americans support strong endangered species protections. Many movie, television, and music celebrities as well as religious leaders joined in today's activities to show their support. Here, in Los Angeles, Wendie Malick, Betty White, Ed Begley Jr., and Bonnie Raitt, among others, joined in and spoke out to show their support and to demonstrate the popularity of America's Endangered Species Act.

"Not only does the miracle of biodiversity enrich and beautify our lives, but the many species that exist are like rivets in an airplane," said Ed Begley Jr. "An airplane that keeps us all aloft. How many rivets can we lose before we all crash and burn?"

"The laws regarding endangered species were hard won," said Betty White. "Time is short and the water rises – there is no room left for indifference. We must stand up to the shortsighted who seem concerned only with the moment. What we lose today will never come back."

(end)

Go back