Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), a fierce opponent of the Endangered Species Act, recently steered five bills meant to ultimately dismantle the law through the House Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs, says The Washington Post. While many Republicans on the committee argue that the bills are necessary updates to the 1973 legislation, Democrats and conservationists are preparing to fight.
“One measure would force the federal government to consider the economic impact of saving a species rather than make a purely scientific call. Another would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers the act along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to defer to data collected by states as the ‘best scientific and commercial data available,’ although state funding related to the act accounts for a small fraction of that supported by the federal government,” says the Post. “Under a third proposal, citizens and conservation groups would be stripped of a powerful tool that allows them to file court claims against the government when they believe its protections fall short.” A final bill would weaken protections for the gray wolf in the Midwest.
While the GOP has previously tried to weaken the act, Bishop seems likely to succeed given that Republicans control Congress and because President Trump — a fan of oil and gas development on federal land — would presumably sign new legislation into law.
“This will be a battle royal,” said Bob Dreher, vice president for conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofit group in Washington. “You’re going to see a strong, strong movement opposing cuts to the ESA. I don’t want to sound overly confident or cocky that we’re going to defeat this. It’s going to be the fight of my conservation career.”