Bill passes to streamline endangered species list
By PETER PRENGAMAN
SALEM – In a move that could have implications for the return of the gray
wolf, the Oregon House passed a bill Tuesday to simplify the process for
removing animals from the state’s Endangered Species Act.
Under the proposal, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife could
delist a species if the commission decides the species is “not of
cultural, scientific or commercial significance” for Oregonians, or if it
finds the species “secure” outside the state.
While conservation groups said the changes would erode animal protections,
proponents said the state needs the ability to delist animals that don’t
need protection.
“It’s not a wild-eyed, redneck in eastern Oregon promoting the bill,” said
Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton, a sponsor of the measure. “It’s the governor
and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.”
Stephen Kafoury, a lobbyist who represents wildlife biologists, said the
bill attempts to sidestep the scientific process for delisting a species.
“It’s like saying water boils at 212 degrees unless it’s culturally
decided that it should boil at 208 degrees,” Kafoury said. “They are
trying to suspend the laws of biology.”
After passing 38-22, House Bill 2458 now goes to the Senate, where it will
likely face stiff opposition. A similar bill was stopped earlier this
session in a Senate committee.
Of the 36 fish, reptiles, birds and mammals on the state’s list as either
threatened or endangered, eight of the species are not listed under
federal law.
Jim Myron, Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s adviser on fish and wildlife issues, said
the governor and the wildlife agency supported the bill because the state
often can’t delist animals that the federal government already delisted.
Myron cited the Aleutian Canada Goose, which the federal government has
delisted. The way the Oregon law is written, the animal can’t be removed
from the state list until it can reproduce in Oregon, he said.
There is, however, a catch: the goose visits Oregon in the winter but
doesn’t reproduce here.
“There is no way to get them off the state act because the only habitat
they have in the state is transitory,” Myron said.
Opponents acknowledged the state act needs some tweaking, but said the
bill goes too far.
“This is a great example of overkill,” said Rep. Diane Rosenbaum,
D-Portland.
Rosenbaum said provisions in the measure, which loosen regulations on
shooting animals on state-owned land, would lead to indiscriminate and
unsupervised animal killings.
That could include the gray wolf. In recent months, three wolves from an
Idaho population have strayed into the state and more are expected. Two of
the three were killed, the other returned to Idaho.
Many Oregon ranchers, hunters and rural residents fear the wolf will soon
cross the border and find a home here.
The wolf has been extinct in Oregon for 50 years, but it’s protected by
the Oregon and federal endangered species acts.
Glen Stonebrink, executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association,
said if the bill passes, his organization will push to have the wolf
delisted.