EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Two, Number One September/October 1992 Call to Action: Support the Endangered Species Act Now "For God, every species has value. To wipe out unnecessarily whole species of those creatures over whom we exercise stewardship is to betray that stewardship and to impoverish the experience of God. It is a crime against our Creator." (John Cobb, from A Christian View of Biodiversity). The US Fish and Wildlife Service began listing animals and plants as endangered or threatened in 1967. From 1967 to 1991 a total of 1,242 species were listed. 53 species were added to the endangered list in 1991. The 1973 Endangered Species Act forbids any activity on federal or private lands that jeopardizes a listed plant or animal species or its habitat. The law also requires officials to designate "critical habitat" when listing a species, and to draft recovery plans for it. The Endangered Species Committee of the Administration, under the law, can review listings and grant exemptions based on economic factors. Today, over 3,000 more species are considered candidates for listing. According to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in Texas, nearly one third of the plant and animal communities are at risk, as are nearly half in Florida, and over half in Hawaii. Old-growth forests and tall grass prairies survive now only in isolated fragments. Waterfowl populations have declined by 30% since 1969. Among the many US birds experiencing local extinctions are Kentucky warblers, wood thrushes, and scarlet tanagers. Opposition to environmental laws that preserve habitat for nonhuman species, or that restrict private exploitation of public lands, has risen from "The Wise Use Movement," organized in 1988 under the auspices of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, Bellevue, Washington. It is a powerful coalition of 230 organizations with 25 million members, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Mining Congress, American Petroleum Institute and National Association of Manufacturers, plus grass roots coalitions of farmers, loggers, ranchers, snowmobilers and hunters. Funding comes from such sources as mining and timber companies, Rev. Moon's Unification Church and Japanese manufacturers of off-road vehicles. These groups believe that environmentalists pose a threat to their freedom. Many preach that to be an environmentalist is to be anti-christian. Their political influence on the Bush Administration has enabled the Endangered Species Committee (the "God Squad") and environmental regulatory agencies to seriously weaken, and in some instances, overturn the law. High on the Wise-Use Agenda is gutting the Endangered Species Act, up for re-authorization this year. HR 4045, The Endangered species Act Amendments of 1992, introduced by Rep. Gerry Studds (MA) Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife Conservation and the Environment, extends the ESA for another five years. The bill mandates that recovery plans for a backlog of hundreds of listed species be completed by 1996, and that recovery plans for new listings be completed within 2 years. The bill plans for ecosystems rather than single species by giving priority to the development of integrated multispecies recovery plans for maintaining and restoring ecological communities, including protection for 600 species that the Fish and Wildlife Service determined should be listed. HR 4045 also establishes procedures to help balance a human community's development needs with the conservation needs of endangered species. However, the bill authorizes citizens to file suit immediately in emergencies that pose a significant risk to the well-being of endangered species. It is critical to take a strong stand in support of the ESA before the legislative session closes in October. Ask your Representative to be a co-sponsor of HR 4045. Ask your senator to support similar legislation in the Senate. To preserve our ancient forests, strong support is needed for HR 4899, the Forest Protection Act, which is also under attack by anti-environmentalists. For more information contact Endangered Species Coalition, Environmental Defense Fund, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1016, Washington DC 20036, (202)387-0070, ext.29. Home     Table of Contents