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April 29, 2004

Kelley, Martini urge panel to relax Endangered Species Act

Two Sonoma County political leaders told a congressional committee Wednesday that protections for the California tiger salamander have caused economic hardships and should be relaxed.

County Supervisor Paul Kelley and Santa Rosa City Councilman Mike Martini, testifying before the House Resources Committee in Washington, said the endangered species listing of the salamander has hindered efforts to provide affordable housing, widen Highway 101 and improve water pipelines in Sonoma County.

Kelley called for the creation of what he called a "road map to recovery," which he said would allow development while setting aside lands for the salamander.

"We need a road map to recovery that will give us an attainable delisting at some point," he said. "Ultimately, that is what the Endangered Species Act is supposed to do -- preserve the species, make them viable so they don't need to be listed."

Kelley and Martini spoke to the committee at the request of Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, chairman of the panel. Their comments came during a hearing on a bill by Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, that would give the Interior Department more flexibility in designating habitats critical to the survival of endangered or threatened species.

Under current law, critical habitat is supposed to be designated when a species is listed as endangered or threatened, although that often is delayed. Cardoza's bill would prevent the government from designating habitat until a species recovery plan is developed, and then only if it is "practicable, economically feasible and determinable."

The listing of the salamander has become a major political issue in Sonoma County, with some local officials and many development interests claiming it has blocked numerous projects and increased the costs of others by requiring expensive environmental studies.

In an interview after his testimony Wednesday, Martini said projects within Sonoma County have been held hostage by the lack of a strategy to provide alternative breeding sites for displaced salamanders.

He said local governments and developers need guidelines for how to increase the salamander population while allowing projects to move forward.

"We need some certainty as to how to address recovery," he said. "They need more reliable science ... more than everybody just spinning their wheels."

But local environmentalists expressed concern Wednesday that any dramatic change to the act would result in abandonment of the more than 1,200 plants and animals now listed as threatened or endangered.

"It fills me with dread," said Peter Ashcroft, chairman of the Sonoma Group of the Sierra Club. "The fate of the California tiger salamander should be based upon top-quality biological science and not political horse trading."

Pombo is among the Endangered Species Act's fiercest critics and for the past year has been the head of the committee that oversees the law. Environmentalists expressed worry Wednesday that the wildlife protection law could be changed.

"It hardly matters what you do for species if you don't take care of their habitat, and yet this chairman is single-handedly leading a crusade to eviscerate the habitat protection standards of the Endangered Species Act," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife and head of the Fish and Wildlife Service during President Bill Clinton's second term.

Cardoza said his Critical Habitat Reform Act would "strike a balance" between the goal of preserving species and the property rights of farmers, ranchers and homeowners.

But the act is "longstanding, critical policy," that needs to be supported, said Kelly Brown, field representative for the Greenbelt Alliance.

"There are ways to improve everything -- but this isn't it," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kbenefield@pressdemocrat.com.

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