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Endangered Species Act Cleared Way for Calif. Fires
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) has had unintended consequences
that have proved a nightmare for many Americans who have had their
properties seized, faced exorbitant fines, and in some cases given jail
time, all in the name of protecting rodents and reptiles, principally.
We need only look to the wildfires raging in California at the present time
as an example.
No doubt some of the homes still going up in flames are lost as a result of
protection for an endangered species.
ESA regulations prevented homeowners from clearing highly flammable brush
from around their homes in San Bernadino and San Diego counties. The very
brush that brought the flames that destroyed their homes was the protected
habitat of an endangered species, the kangaroo rat.
A well-intended action at the time, ostensibly to preserve and protect
America's symbol of liberty, the bald eagle, it passed both Houses of
Congress with overwhelming votes.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 expired Oct. 1, 1992. However, Congress
has continued to appropriate funds in each succeeding fiscal year to keep
the program running.
It is beyond imagination that spineless Congressmen would perpetuate and
fund an act that has brought so much grief and property loss to Americans.
Looking back to 1993, more than 27 homes were lost in a fire that burned
through Winchester, in Riverside County. The loss of these homes was the
result of the government placing the properties in habitat reserves set
aside for the Stephens' kangaroo rat.
In spite of two attempts (2001 and 2002) to have legislation passed to
permit homeowners to clear brush from around their homes, the rat habitat
remained intact.
Ten years after the 1993 fire, a more disastrous fire occurred, taking 17
lives and destroying more than 2,700 homes.
Following the 2003 fire, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been
reached between five agencies sharing jurisdiction over "the abatement of
flammable vegetation" (clearing of brush) from around homes in San Diego
County, Calif.
The MOU mandatory fire protection measures . . . require fire breaks made by
removing and clearing away flammable vegetation from 30 feet on each side of
the structure to the property line, whichever is nearer. The director of
Forestry and Fire Prevention (DFFP) may extend the fire break to distances
of 100 feet under more severe conditions.
It would seem these "protective" measures for the home owner will offer
little protection with Santa Ana winds of 70 mph and flames shooting over 50
feet in the air.
The protected domain of the kangaroo rat is still intact.
Don Fife, a southern California environmental geologist, details one of the
most ridiculous examples of endangered species extremism in his description
of the case of the San Bernardino County "Delhi Flower-Loving Sand Fly."
The county hired a scientist, according to Fife, to locate and study the
endangered fly. The scientist reported that "during 43 hours of observation,
I sighted eight flies, but I can't be sure if it was eight different flies,
or the same fly seen eight times."
The flies were sighted on the footprint of the foundation of San Bernardino
County's new medical center. The new medical center was forced to pay $10
million in environmental mitigation in order to complete construction.
Yet another confrontation involving the health, safety, and welfare of human
beings with endangered species is taking place today in the area of Atlanta,
Ga.
The Atlanta region has been suffering one of the worst droughts in its
history.
The 3 million people in the Atlanta area depend on the 38,000-acre Lake
Lanier for their water. Lake Lanier is estimated to have less than a 90-day
supply of water at present.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers controls the normal water flow of some 5,000
cubic feet per second (CFS). Atlanta has been pleading with the Corps of
Engineers to reduce the flow somewhat to protect its water supply. After
passing numerous communities and two power plants, all of which require
necessary amounts of water, the flow reaches the "three biggest road blocks
to dropping the rate of flow."
Apparently taking precedence over all else, the biggest roadblocks - not the
humans in Atlanta - are the "Fat three-ridge mussel, purple bank climber
mussel, and the Gulf sturgeon, a fish." All three are "endangered species
and carry a federal mandate that the water release rate be maintained,
otherwise the mussels will die."
There is something inherently wrong with the mentality of individuals who
would place the rights of rodents, aquatic life, and insects above the
Constitutionally guaranteed right to life and property of citizens of the
United States.
This is especially so when the lives and properties of Americans are
deliberately placed in harm's way as in the well-documented cases of
wildfires where kangaroo rat habitats were mandated to extend in areas of
brush to the very doorstep of houses in the area. Worse yet, occupants were
forbidden to clear the brush, even to protect their lives and property.
It accomplished nothing for the rat.
He died in the flames of the very habitat that was extended to save him from
extinction.
E. Ralph Hostetter, a prominent businessman and agricultural publisher, also
is a national and local award-winning columnist. He welcomes comments by
e-mail sent to eralphhostetter@yahoo.com.
Endangered Species Act Cleared Way for Calif. Fires
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) has had unintended consequences
that have proved a nightmare for many Americans who have had their
properties seized, faced exorbitant fines, and in some cases given jail
time, all in the name of protecting rodents and reptiles, principally.
We need only look to the wildfires raging in California at the present time
as an example.
No doubt some of the homes still going up in flames are lost as a result of
protection for an endangered species.
ESA regulations prevented homeowners from clearing highly flammable brush
from around their homes in San Bernadino and San Diego counties. The very
brush that brought the flames that destroyed their homes was the protected
habitat of an endangered species, the kangaroo rat.
A well-intended action at the time, ostensibly to preserve and protect
America's symbol of liberty, the bald eagle, it passed both Houses of
Congress with overwhelming votes.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 expired Oct. 1, 1992. However, Congress
has continued to appropriate funds in each succeeding fiscal year to keep
the program running.
It is beyond imagination that spineless Congressmen would perpetuate and
fund an act that has brought so much grief and property loss to Americans.
Looking back to 1993, more than 27 homes were lost in a fire that burned
through Winchester, in Riverside County. The loss of these homes was the
result of the government placing the properties in habitat reserves set
aside for the Stephens' kangaroo rat.
In spite of two attempts (2001 and 2002) to have legislation passed to
permit homeowners to clear brush from around their homes, the rat habitat
remained intact.
Ten years after the 1993 fire, a more disastrous fire occurred, taking 17
lives and destroying more than 2,700 homes.
Following the 2003 fire, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been
reached between five agencies sharing jurisdiction over "the abatement of
flammable vegetation" (clearing of brush) from around homes in San Diego
County, Calif.
The MOU mandatory fire protection measures . . . require fire breaks made by
removing and clearing away flammable vegetation from 30 feet on each side of
the structure to the property line, whichever is nearer. The director of
Forestry and Fire Prevention (DFFP) may extend the fire break to distances
of 100 feet under more severe conditions.
It would seem these "protective" measures for the home owner will offer
little protection with Santa Ana winds of 70 mph and flames shooting over 50
feet in the air.
The protected domain of the kangaroo rat is still intact.
Don Fife, a southern California environmental geologist, details one of the
most ridiculous examples of endangered species extremism in his description
of the case of the San Bernardino County "Delhi Flower-Loving Sand Fly."
The county hired a scientist, according to Fife, to locate and study the
endangered fly. The scientist reported that "during 43 hours of observation,
I sighted eight flies, but I can't be sure if it was eight different flies,
or the same fly seen eight times."
The flies were sighted on the footprint of the foundation of San Bernardino
County's new medical center. The new medical center was forced to pay $10
million in environmental mitigation in order to complete construction.
Yet another confrontation involving the health, safety, and welfare of human
beings with endangered species is taking place today in the area of Atlanta,
Ga.
The Atlanta region has been suffering one of the worst droughts in its
history.
The 3 million people in the Atlanta area depend on the 38,000-acre Lake
Lanier for their water. Lake Lanier is estimated to have less than a 90-day
supply of water at present.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers controls the normal water flow of some 5,000
cubic feet per second (CFS). Atlanta has been pleading with the Corps of
Engineers to reduce the flow somewhat to protect its water supply. After
passing numerous communities and two power plants, all of which require
necessary amounts of water, the flow reaches the "three biggest road blocks
to dropping the rate of flow."
Apparently taking precedence over all else, the biggest roadblocks - not the
humans in Atlanta - are the "Fat three-ridge mussel, purple bank climber
mussel, and the Gulf sturgeon, a fish." All three are "endangered species
and carry a federal mandate that the water release rate be maintained,
otherwise the mussels will die."
There is something inherently wrong with the mentality of individuals who
would place the rights of rodents, aquatic life, and insects above the
Constitutionally guaranteed right to life and property of citizens of the
United States.
This is especially so when the lives and properties of Americans are
deliberately placed in harm's way as in the well-documented cases of
wildfires where kangaroo rat habitats were mandated to extend in areas of
brush to the very doorstep of houses in the area. Worse yet, occupants were
forbidden to clear the brush, even to protect their lives and property.
It accomplished nothing for the rat.
He died in the flames of the very habitat that was extended to save him from
extinction.
E. Ralph Hostetter, a prominent businessman and agricultural publisher, also
is a national and local award-winning columnist. He welcomes comments by
e-mail sent to eralphhostetter@yahoo.com.
