Federal lawmakers will meet Wednesday to mark up legislation that amends the Endangered Species Act to incentivize wildlife conservation on private lands and provide greater encouragement to recover listed species.
The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources will consider H.R.1897, which aims to refocus the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on faster, more transparent, state- and landowner-driven species recovery.
Although the legislation seeks to reduce regulatory measures on personal property by making it difficult for the federal government to impose new ESA-based rules on private property owners as well as leaning heavily on voluntary commitment, American Stewards of Liberty warns that the measure, as it is currently written, will sacrifice small landowners for “political expediency and false hopes of bipartisanship.”
“Currently, HR 1897 gives too much deference to the agencies where Congressional clarity is needed,” an ASL spokesperson told Texas Scorecard. “Species that do not warrant protection will continue to be added to the list. Additionally, the bill fails to insist local impacts be considered while elevating State and private entity concerns. Small landowners will continue to be suffocated under these restrictive regulations while the agencies escape accountability.”
ASL, a Texas-based national leader on property rights issues, has laid out seven recommended amendments to the legislation that would reduce the burden of the ESA on small landowners.
These amendments include changing and clarifying language to narrow agency authority, require congressional review of critical habitat designations above 50,000 acres, and automatically delists species after ten years unless they are specifically warranted for further protection.
ASL is urging Texans to contact U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R–Houston), the only representative from Texas on the Natural Resource Committee, to request that he support the small landowners package.
Hunt did not respond to Texas Scorecard‘s request for comment on the legislation before publication.
The Natural Resource Committee will meet at 10 a.m. ET and the meeting will be livestreamed.
