FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

House of Representatives Narrowly Passes Pombo Extinction Bill

Congressman Salazar Backtracks on Commitment to Colorado’s Environment

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed Representative Richard Pombo's "Gut the Endangered Species Act" by a narrow 36 vote margin, a much closer vote than expected. Congressman John Salazar joined Representative Pombo in supporting the bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed Representative Richard Pombo's "Gut the Endangered Species Act" by a narrow 36 vote margin, a much closer vote than expected. The bill would severely weaken protections for our nation’s endangered wildlife and plants and their habitat. The final vote was 229-193 with 34 Republicans voting against the bill.

“This bill rips the heart out of the Endangered Species Act,” said Jacob Smith, director of the Colorado-based Center for Native Ecosystems.  “It removes the safety net on which our many endangered wildlife depend.”

The bill’s central features include:

•    weakening key species protections;
•    eliminating protections for critical habitat;
•    abandons the commitment to recovery of endangered species;
•    politicizes scientific decision-making by dictating that the Secretary of Interior, a political appointee, decides what counts as good science;
•    repeals protections against hazardous pesticides; and
•    "takings" provisions that would require the federal government to pay for legally required conservation measures.

“Congressman Salazar is seriously misreading his constituency,’ said Sloan Shoemaker, director of Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop.  “Folks on the western slope understand the economic and quality of life importance of protecting our natural heritage.”

The Endangered Species Act has enjoyed considerable success in Colorado, helping to recover the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and other wildlife, as well as preventing the extinction of Colorado natives like the greenback cutthroat trout, the black-footed ferret, and the Colorado butterfly plant.  The Endangered Species Act has played a central role in Colorado’s lynx recovery program as well.

“Pombo’s Extinction Act would gut a proud American legacy of protecting endangered species and honoring our natural heritage,” said Erin Robertson, staff biologist for Center for Native Ecosystems.  “Pombo’s Extinction Act sacrifices sound science to political whims.”

The Endangered Species Act is America’s premier conservation law.  It has a near-perfect success rate at preventing extinction.  Even though most of the 1,300 endangered species have been protected for less than half the time identified by federal biologists as necessary to recover them, nearly 70% are stable or improving.  Dozens of newspapers around the country – including the Denver Post and the Boulder Daily Camera – have editorialized in support of the Endangered Species Act.  More than 280 scientists signed a letter urging Congress to maintain a strong Act.  Taxpayers for Common Sense expressed their opposition to the Pombo bill, citing its extraordinary potential for costs to taxpayers.

“Congressman Salazar committed in his campaign to protect Colorado’s natural heritage, which at the very least means ensuring that native wildlife and plants have the opportunity to survive,” added Shoemaker.

A summary of the bill is attached, and links to all of the documents cited above are available at www.nativeecosystems.org/esa.  The bill now moves to the Senate.

###