Threatened and Endangered Species
Originally adopted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was designed to protect species believed to be on the brink of extinction. When the law was enacted, 109 species of plants and animals were listed for protection. Today, more than 1250 plants and animals are on the Endangered Species list. Since the law was enacted, only six species have rebounded to the point where they have been deemed “recovered” under the ESA. The numbers demonstrate that the Endangered Species Act is not accomplishing its conservation objectives.
The ESA is presently being examined by Congress for reauthorization. This process will consider procedural changes and refinements to make the Act more efficient, effective and less costly.
In this debate, NRECA urges Congress to consider that:
- Every ESA action should be based on accurate and thorough scientific information including minimum scientific standards and fair and impartial peer review;
- Private citizens and communities, especially those directly affected by conservation decisions, should have a greater stake and a more prominent role during the ESA decision‑making process;
- Parties asserting economic or social interest also have access to the courts in these cases;
- The Act should be amended to provide incentives for property owners to conserve, rather than destroy, habitat and to provide regulatory certainty to property owners who voluntarily participate in conservation plans;
- ESA implementation should actively encourages states and private parties through a system of incentives to implement a program to conserve fish, wildlife and plants; and
- Costs to all parties should be minimized by requiring implementation of the least costly recovery plan that would achieve the recovery of the species.
To learn more about NRECA’s position affecting Endangered Species, please select the documents below.
Forest and Timber Management
The management of America’s forests and wild lands requires a science-based approach and strong coordination among federal, state and local governments. Each year, thousands of wildfires, pest infestations and diseases destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of forests and wild lands. In addition, drought and high-density conditions are contributing factors to a serious bark beetle infestation that has killed millions of trees in forests throughout the western United States.
On November 21, 2003, Congress made a strong bi-partisan commitment to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire to communities and restore our nation’s forest and rangelands by passing the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. The legislation provides new tools and additional authorities to restore more forest acreage more quickly. NRECA supports policies that:
- Address federal healthy forest initiatives to promptly salvage logs, reforest and restore catastrophically affected landscapes, which contribute to stable rural economies; enhance the safety of electric cooperative consumer members;
- Preserve the economic and aesthetic value of electric cooperative service areas; and
- Protect the infrastructure investment made by electric cooperatives in the communities they serve.
Documents: