CONSERVATION CORNER
First Endangered Species Act Hearing Held In Mississippi
by James L. Cummins

Recently, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, Representative Richard Pombo, chaired a field hearing on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in Jackson.

It is fitting that the effort to improve the Act begins in the South. The South has the largest percentage of listed species in the nation, with 483 threatened or endangered species. Eight of the top ten states/territories with the most listings are in the South; they include: Alabama, 115, Florida, 111, Georgia, 66, North Carolina, 63, Tennessee, 96, Texas, 91, Virginia, 71 and Puerto Rico, 75. Mississippi has 38. Only California and Hawaii have more.

Many of these protected plants, fish and wildlife are found on private property. Nationwide, private lands provide habitat for 90 percent of our Nation's threatened and endangered species.

The hearing comes as Pombo and three other members of Congress are working to craft legislation to revise the 30-year-old law. The lawmakers have said they would try to write an ESA revision that would gain bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

There are problems with the ESA in the South, but the South isn’t polarized by these problems like the West. For the most part, biologists in the South have a fish and wildlife management background, not just biology. We try to solve problems, not create them.

The ESA has been very effective in preventing many listed species from becoming extinct; however, it has not been successful at restoring habitat, recovering populations and then de-listing.

Stewardship of listed species can be encouraged that respects property rights. With listed species, incentives should be provided. For example, an Endangered Species Recovery and Prevention Program (ESRPP), consisting of tax credits that can be used by the landowner or sold to another individual, corporation, group or association should be established to emphasize recovery. Also, it should aid a species before it has to be listed. Besides incentives, other opportunities to recover listed species include better utilizing the National Fish Hatchery System and reducing the spread of invasive species.

These types of proactive approaches will help de-list species by placing an emphasis on recovery. They will also aid a species before there is a need to list. Working with private property owners and enabling them to restore habitat is the kind of proactive strategy that can head off regulatory crises, while improving the environment and providing opportunities that don't threaten jobs.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.