Governors Want Better Species Act Leaders Of Western States Say Current Act Is Too Little, Too Late
Congress should reauthorize the Endangered Species Act and provide more funding so states become full partners with the federal government in protecting wildlife, western governors meeting here said Friday.
Members of the Western Governors Association said Congress should make endangered species funding available to states that assume species recovery obligations. Federal money should also be made available to private landowners who take part in incentive programs to protect species, they said.
The governors called for passage of a Senate bill that would reauthorize the law.
Calling the current act one that “allows for litigation but very little preservation,” Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt said the reauthorization bill is “being attacked by both ends of the ideological spectrum.”
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said Congress should adopt more long-range provisions so states can make plans to protect a variety of species instead of responding to individual cases.
“It’s an after-the-fact regulation,” he said of the current act. “You wait until a species is on the brink of extinction, and then come in with a regulatory hammer.”
Ten governors met Thursday and Friday to discuss a range of regional issues. They were hosted by Washington Gov. Gary Locke.
In other matters, the governors passed resolutions designed to reduce flood risk in the West, reduce environmental haze and strengthen consensus-building among states.
In response to a proposal from Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson, the association agreed to convene a “Western Freight Roundtable” early next year to discuss freight backlogs throughout the West.
The backlogs are caused in part by the merger of Omaha-based Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, Nelson said, adding that states need to work together on the issue.
“We don’t want to solve the problem of grain-shipping in Nebraska and create a problem of coalshipping for (Wyoming) Gov. (Jim) Geringer,” Nelson said.
The U.S.-Canada salmon dispute did not appear on the governors’ agenda, but Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles discussed the issue with reporters.
He said he expects to see a report from special envoys David Strangway of Canada and William Ruckelshaus of the United States before the end of the month. The two were appointed special envoys in the salmon dispute after talks broke down last summer.