[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



      INTRODUCTION OF THE ``ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSOLIDATION ACT''

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. C.L. ``BUTCH'' OTTER

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2001



  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, since 1970, two federal agencies have had 
jurisdiction over implementation and enforcement of the Endangered 
Species nationwide--the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under 
the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration under the U.S. Department of Commerce. Before 1970, 
NMFS' programs were implemented by USFWS. This changed when President 
Nixon signed a law creating it 3 years before the enactment of the 
Endangered Species Act. If President Nixon knew how ESA and NMFS would 
look today--30 years later--he probably would have second thoughts.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction of over 1,800 
species of plants, mammals, birds, and fish, and an annual ESA budget 
of $112 million. NMFS--with responsibility for just 42 listed species 
of marine mammals and fish--has an annual ESA budget nearly as high as 
USFWS--$105 million. Many of NMFS' ``species'' include ``evolutionary 
significant unit'' designations that NMFS created without Congressional 
authorization--an issue that is now pending in federal district court.
  Mr. Speaker, the goals and activities of these two agencies have 
become blurred. For example, both NMFS and USFWS have undertaken the 
listing and recovery of Atlantic salmon, the Gulf sturgeon, and four 
species of sea turtles.
  In the Pacific Northwest, the USFWS manages freshwater bull trout and 
hatchery salmon, while NMFS has devoted billions of dollars to regulate 
and enforce the recovery of ``wild'' salmon and steelhead in the same 
watersheds.
  NMFS allows the commercial and tribal harvest of thousands of salmon 
that it acknowledges are endangered. NMFS' interpretation of ESA has 
caused hundreds of activities--including those having minimal impact--
or those that actually aid--the recovery of species to be held up for 
months or years.
  Instead of becoming more efficient, NMFS' response is to request more 
federal money and expand their regulatory activities while failing to 
identify goals of how many species of fish it needs to recover.
  All species--fish and humans--deserve better from the federal 
government. That is why today I and my friend and colleague from Idaho, 
Congressman Mike Simpson, together will introduce the ``Endangered 
Species Consolidation Act''. This measure will ensure that ESA 
activities regarding fish that spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and 
migrate to ocean waters--and vice versa--are managed and coordinated 
through one agency--the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  The bill will eliminate duplication and allow scarce resources to be 
focused on achieving the true objective of the Endangered Species Act--
recovery of species through science-based management.

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