State protection of animals under scrutiny
Some lawmakers say the state law is unnecessary and burdensome.
LAURENCE M. CRUZ
Statesman Journal
February 14, 2003
Oregon’s Endangered Species Act came under attack Thursday by Republican
lawmakers, and ranching, agriculture and hunting interests.
They’re backing a pair of bills that would weaken the act, arguing it
needlessly duplicates protections afforded by the federal Endangered
Species Act, costs the state money it can ill afford, and burdens property
owners with regulations.
Conservationists and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife oppose the
measures, saying the state act gives Oregon latitude to make its own
decisions about species protections. But ODFW officials concede the state
act needs clarifying.
House Bill 2458 would require state protections to be removed when
species are delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act. The other
bill, HB 2468, would prevent the state from listing species that already
are protected under the federal act. A panel of lawmakers heard testimony
on both Thursday.
One ODFW official speculated after the hearing the proposals are being
driven by rancher concerns regarding the gray wolf, which has been on both
state and federal endangered species lists since 1974, but could be
dropped from the federal list by 2004. When that happens, management of
wolves will be up to the states.
But Glen Stonebrink, executive director of the Oregon Cattleman’s
Association, said economics is the driving force.
“If these bills had been up last session, they would have gotten a
veto,” he said.
“But now, because of the economic crisis in Oregon, we really believe the
Legislature needs to be looking at everything that could reduce state
costs.”
The cost to the state of a recovery plan for the gray wolf has been
estimated to be between $200,000 and $2 million.
Roy Elicker, deputy director of ODFW, said the state Endangered Species
Act is beneficial in establishing partnerships with the federal government
to recover listed species and helps identify risks to species and promote
recovery efforts. The state act focuses mainly on land owned or leased by
the state.
Currently, 36 species are listed under the state act, of which 27 were
“grandfathered in” in 1987 because they were listed under the federal act.
Five of the 36 already have been removed from the federal list.
Many of those who testified Tuesday, including ODFW officials, said they
favored the formation of a work group to clarify the state act. Several
cautioned lawmakers against moving to list or delist any species for
political, rather than scientific, reasons.