OCR Text |
Show Endangered Species Act needs overhaul U. S. Senator. Jake Gam reported this week "some progress" in his efforts to modty endangered species laws which could threaten several federal projects in Utah. The Utah Republican said the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has reported out a bill giving States a voice in determining the fate of proposed federal projects which ostensibly threaten endangered species. The legislation-which reauthorizes re-authorizes the Endangered Species Act-includes an amendment enabling the governor of an affected state to participate on a new interagency in-teragency committee which will arbitrate disputes under the Act. "The original version of the amendment gave no representation to the State position," Garn noted. "I proposed that the governor of the affected state be allowed to make the decision on the future of the projects. In the case of Utah, he would be in a good position to decide whether some obscure ob-scure animal--such as the Wound Fin Minnow-would be allowed to torpedo a vital project like the LaVerkin Springs Salinity Control Project." Garn said he favors the concept of protecting endangered en-dangered species and would not want to see the Act repealed. "But it was never intended to protect snail darters and Furbish louseworts," he said. "At that level on the biological chain, Nature has built tremendous flexibility and redundancy. We should be no less flexible," he added. |