Russ Steele
Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) has introduced bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) so that a species can no longer be permanently listed as endangered.
The Discredit Eternal Listing Inequality of Species Takings (DELIST) Act requires an administrative review of a species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) after it has been listed as endangered for 15 years. The review must show a substantial increase of the population of the species in order to warrant a continued listing as endangered.
The DELIST Act has garnered a strong level of bipartisan support, with Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Don Young (R-AL) all serving as original co-sponsors of the bill.
Rep. Baca introduced the legislation in response to problems local governments in the Inland Empire have experienced with the Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly, which was first placed on the Endangered Species List in 1993. Despite having not been seen in the past decade, the Fly is still listed as endangered. The harmful regulations caused by this listing continue to limit economic development in many communities in the Inland area, which has proven to be especially detrimental given San Bernardino County’s high unemployment rate, increased homelessness and extreme home foreclosure numbers for the past several years.
“The Endangered Species Act has done much good, and continues to protect some of our nation’s most treasured living creatures,” said Rep. Baca. “But the continued listing of many species that, frankly, seem to no longer exist has had a detrimental impact on local communities and businesses throughout our nation. I believe this responsible legislation will uphold the important mission of the ESA, while also making sure economic development is not hamstrung by unnecessary regulatory burdens.”
The DELIST Act creates a simple fix to the ESA to give the USFWS more flexibility in determining whether or not a species should remain listed as endangered, while also ensuring that no currently listed species are arbitrarily delisted or placed in harm’s way. The legislation changes the definition of extinction to give the USFWS the ability to consider a protected species to be extinct if the 15 year review shows no evidence of the continued existence of the species.
“Since the USFWS first placed the Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly on the Endangered Species list in 1993, thousands of jobs have been lost, development has been stalled, and millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted due to ESA compliance requirements,” said Rep. Baca. “Now, with substantial evidence that the Fly is indeed extinct, it is an inefficient use of government resources and a harmful impediment to local economic development to needlessly keep the status quo. I am hopeful that this legislation will help assist our local communities in their efforts to move forward with critical development projects, and jump start new job creation in these difficult times.”
San Bernardino County Unemployment Rate is currently 14.10% The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors supported the passage of Prop 23 and are proactive in trying to create jobs. This is just one step in a long process to reign in the damage done to California's economy by excessive environmentalism.
