12/19/05 EPA reform bill; salmon lawsuit

Senator Mike Crapo has introduced legislation he says enlists more people in conservation efforts by giving private landowners incentives as part of an ESA reform bill. The Collaboration for the Recovery of the Endangered Species Act or CRESA focuses on additional participation by landowners and states to recover species. The proposed tax incentives will reward landowners who help recover species. The conservation banking provision is an innovative market program that allows landowners to profit from conservation efforts through use of conservation credits. The tax provisions mean CRESA may receive a hearing next year before the Senate Finance Committee. Crapo and co-sponsor Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas are both members of the Finance Committee. Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez says he wants appeal a ruling that tossed out a lawsuit against four local employers accused of hiring illegal immigrants. Federal Judge Edward Lodge dismissed the county's suit against Syngenta Seeds, Swift Beef, Sorrento Lactalis and Harris Moran Seed. The suit was an attempt to recoup costs the county says it incurred because the four companies allegedly hired illegal immigrants. It was also the first time that the federal anti-racketeering law was cited as the basis for this kind of lawsuit. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott