In October, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified three new candidate species for protection under the Endangered Species Act. They are the bracted twistflower, a Texas flower found primarily in the Austin area; the Poweshiek skipperling (see photo above), a butterfly found in the upper Midwest; and the magnificent ramshorn, a snail found in North Carolina. In addition, three species were removed from the candidate list: the Wekiu bug, which lives atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, and the Gila and the New Mexico springsnails.

Click here to download a copy of the November 2011 newsletter.

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“For too long, management of wolves in this country has been caught up in controversy and litigation instead of rooted in science where it belongs. This proposed settlement provides a path forward to recognize the successful recovery of the gray wolf in the northern Rocky Mountains and to return its management to States and Tribes,” said Interior Department Deputy Secretary David Hayes. Read the announcement HERE.

Biologists with tranquilized gray wolf
Photo Credit: William Campbell
URL: http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/u?/natdiglib,3327
USFWS National Digital Library

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ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: The most significant changes to the nation’s most important rule for protecting wildlife came under President Bush. And no change was more substantial than the one that came just weeks before Bush was to leave office. Under a new rule announced by both the Interior Department and Commerce Department, federal agencies will no longer need to consult with independent wildlife experts — or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — to determine if any of their projects might have an impact on a given endangered species.

• THE IMPACT ON LANDOWNERS: Mixed. A boon for those hoping to see specific projects proceed at a faster pace. A curse for those hoping to either bolster protections for certain species or use the Endangered Species Law to prevent the feds from pushing through new dams, highways, et cetera.
 
MONUMENTAL NATIONAL MONUMENT EXPANSION: Just days before he left office, Bush designated some 195,280 square miles as “national monuments.” But don’t expect marble sculptures to be erected there anytime soon. Most of the areas that are now protected from development, mining, or oil exploration, are underwater. They include various reefs and sea floors in the Pacific Ocean — parts of the Mariana Trench among them.

• IMPACT ON LANDOWNERS: Positive. True, private landowners don’t have property 20,000 leagues under the sea. But, by focusing on protecting so much of the ocean from commercial use, Bush spared landowners from the kind of 11th-hour protections that other presidents have employed.

A ROADLESS RULE TO NOWHERE: The Bush Administration spent eight years trying to rewrite Clinton Administration rulemaking that prevented commercial activity in road less wilderness areas.

• IMPACT ON LANDOWNERS: Mixed. For landowners whose properties abut federal lands that are not designated as federal wilderness areas, whether Bush’s efforts to change Clinton’s rules were good or bad is a matter of perspective.

DRILL, BABY, DRILL: As Barack Obama was planning his train trip from Philadelphia to Washington, President Bush and his Interior Department were proposing a major expansion to oil and gas drilling areas on both coasts.

• IMPACT ON LANDOWERS: Negative. Though some private landowners could stand to profit from expanded offshore drilling, Obama has already said he intends to explore a comprehensive energy policy before deciding whether or where that kind of expansion should take place.

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BY JOSEPH GUINTO
PUBLISHED MAY 2007

To date, the best hope for the turtle and others were protections granted them under the Endangered Species Act, a 1973 law that promises to safeguard nearly 1,300 birds, amphibians, mammals, fish, and plants.

For all its good intentions, the ESA has been surrounded by controversy for the restrictions that were imposed on landowners whose properties are home to the endangered. “Private property owners … have been victims of the restrictions mandated by the original law,” says Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).

Still, there is little political will in Washington for rewriting the act itself. Now lawmakers are hoping tax incentives will help make it obsolete. This year, bipartisan groups in the House and Senate have proposed legislation that would give tax credits to landowners if they spend their own money to protect and recover endangered and threatened species that live on or migrate through their property. The bills would also give landowners a tax break if they agree not to sell or develop land where endangered species live.

As of press time, no floor action was scheduled on either the House or Senate bills. But with Congress in a “green” mood, Capitol Hill watchers consider the chances good for action on the tax breaks. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) may be the key. He’s chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax-break legislation. “It’s pretty hard to jam something down somebody’s throat,” Baucus says of the ESA. “The more we move toward encouraging people to take actions on their own, the more we’re going to achieve the results we’re looking for.”

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