TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: KAREN BUDD FALEN
BUDD-FALEN LAW OFFICES, LLC
DATE: MAY 26, 2010
RE: IT’S NOT ABOUT SAVING SPECIES
– IT’S ABOUT SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY AND MAKING SOME GROUPS WEALTHY
Below please find some disappointing data regarding Endangered
Species Act (“ESA”) and its cost to the American public. ESA process and litigation are NOT about saving species, it is about spending
American taxpayer money. In an economic time where American jobs are scarce, private property rights are being taken and the federal
deficit is trillions of dollars, certainly the federal government can find a better way to spend American taxpayer dollars than lining
the pockets of radical environmental groups and their “pro bono” (i.e. allegedly free) attorneys and spending money on a program that
by the federal government’s data is a complete failure.
The ESA was signed into law in 1978 with the best of intentions. However,
over the years it has become the battle cry to eliminate private property rights and property use, shut down agriculture and other
industries and fund radical environmental groups and their attorneys. There is not a single state within the
As of May 17, 2010, there are a total
of 1,374 species listed as threatened or endangered.This list includes everything, even bugs, worms, plants, snakes, spiders, bogs,
moss, mice, rats and other species. According to a 2009 report by Greenwire citing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the average
cost of listing a single species is $85,000 and the average cost of designating critical habitat is $515,000 per species. Thus, the
approximate cost to the American taxpayer of listing the 1,374 species is $116,790,000 and the approximate cost of designating critical
habitat for those species is $707,610,000.
If it weren’t bad enough that
Again, there are listed ESA species in all 50 states, the
And
it doesn’t end there; the federal agencies have placed 341 more species on the candidate species list, meaning that they are under
consideration for listing on the ESA threatened or endangered species list. That is 341 species times the average cost of listing
of $85,000 per species and $515,000 for each critical habitat designation for a total of $204,600,000–all from
And
it still doesn’t end there; certain radical environmental groups have petitioned for additional listings of even more species and
critical habitat designations. In the last 8 months, the Center for Biological Diversity, the WildEarth Guardians and the Western
Watersheds Project have threatened the federal government with litigation if the government fails to list 238 more species. If the
federal government does not respond to those listing petitions or Notices of Intent to Sue, federal court complaints will be filed
and according to recent history, attorney’s fees will be paid. And with all this money–$116,790,000 for species listing; $707,610,000
for critical habitat designation; $11,743,287 in attorneys fees paid to some radical environmental groups because the federal government
simply missed deadlines–only 47 species have been taken off the ESA list and of that 47 only 21 because they were recovered. That
is a 1.5% success rate! The other 26 species were taken off the list because they either went extinct (9 species) or should never
have been put on the list in the first place (17 species). There is something wrong with this picture.
And while you are thinking
about the ESA and its cost versus failure rate, consider the additional individual costs to American taxpayers and small businesses.
The
have no water for their crops is because of Natural Resources Defense Council litigationover
the delta smelt, a 2 to 3 inch long minnow. Wolf litigation has cost American taxpayers $436,762 in attorney fees, all paid to environmental
groups who sue the federal government. Litigation over the desert tortoise, (a total of 11 cases) – a species that only spends 5%
of its life above ground – has cost the American taxpayers $702,519 just in payment of attorneys fees. In fact, in the last 10 years,
the federal government has spent more than $93 million in taxpayer money on the desert tortoise.
And that is not counting the
costs to American business, even “green business.” In
It
is clear that the American taxpayers have a tremendous problem. This wouldn’t be so hard to take if the ESA was successful or if the
radical environmental groups that are getting taxpayer money to litigate over the ESA were spending money on species or their habitats.
However, there is no evidence that one single dime of the money the federal government pays to environmental groups to litigate over
ESA species is spent on habitat or species research or mitigation projects—the money is just spent to get more taxpayer money and
put more small businesses out of business or stop private landowners from using their properties. Even those businesses that supply
“green jobs” and “green technology” suffer. This is a maddening state of affairs for
Judge Rules OHV Closures 'Not Appropriate' and 'Not in the Public Interest'
CANTIL, Calif., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
The following was released today by Friends of Jawbone:
A federal judge Saturday declined to restrict public access to some 5,000 miles
of roads and trails in the West Mojave desert.
A coalition of environmental groups had asked United States District Judge Susan Illston to
allow only the use of street legal vehicles across the 9.3 million acre planning area of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) West
Mojave Plan (WEMO). Illston ruled that restrictions would "significantly reduce the opportunity for OHV recreation," and wrote
that a request for full closure was "not in the public interest." An additional request by environmental groups to close three
popular recreation areas to all motorized use was ruled by Illston as being "not warranted."
The decision also paved the way for the
BLM to re-designate the motorized route network in the West Mojave, and directs them to immediately install route signs and update
their maps.
"This decision breaks five years of limbo at the BLM with regard to OHV route signing and mapping in the West Mojave,"
said Ed Waldheim, president of the Friends of Jawbone. "Sadly, this challenge resulted in five years of unnecessary environmental
degradation that could have been prevented with timely and accurate route signing and maps. OHV users want to stay on the legal
trails, but this lawsuit has only served to frustrate route signing efforts, and to keep current and accurate OHV maps out of our
hands."
"Route signs, maps and law enforcement officers are all necessary and co-equal components of any successful travel management
and user education program," said Randy Banis, an outdoor enthusiast and advisor to the BLM. "Judge Illston acknowledged that
the 'majority of harms' cited by environmental groups are the result of those 'traveling off of the designated OHV routes.'
Therefore, I welcome the court's directive to the BLM to make improvements in their OHV education and enforcement efforts in the West
Mojave. The result will be a healthier environment for wildlife, and better recreational opportunities and access for the public."
The
motorized route network in the West Mojave desert serves a wide array of important recreational uses, including: backcountry
touring, bicycling, camping, collecting and trapping, educational enrichment, equestrian staging, gem and mineral collecting, geo
caching, guzzler maintenance, hiking and backpacking, history seeking, hunting, model rockets and planes, OHV and 4WD driving, picnicking,
photography, rock climbing, solitude seeking, spiritual renewal, sport shooting, star gazing, and wildlife watching.