ESA Act Modification Bill Pt 1
I'm Bob Larson. Trying to give local governments more of a say when it comes to decisions made by federal agencies.That's the idea from Representative Dan Newhouse who was happy to get the good news about his bill pertaining to the Endangered Species Act ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "The Natural Resources Committee marked up, or voted out of committee, a number of bills pertaining to the Endangered Species Act, one of them being my bill that had to do with reforming how federal agencies utilized state and local government information as well as their input."
Newhouse says it seems strange that federal agencies wouldn't already communicate with local governments to get their input on important issues ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "I got a tell you, it's one of those things that, to me, why do we have to pass laws that tell them to listen to the local people, but that's kind of where we are. So, I was happy that the committee advanced my bill as part of a larger package to improve the ESA, make some needed reforms. And, hopefully we'll be able to get it passed through the House, the entire House and on to the Senate where they will also see that it is a much-needed change and improvement to the Endangered Species Act."
Newhouse says in Central Washington, the listing of gray wolves and potential listing of grizzly bears have enormous ramifications for local communities.
Listen tomorrow for more on the Newhouse bill and any pushback it might encounter as it moves forward.