At a California news conference today, Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA), Reps. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Greg Walden (R-OR) and George Radanovich (R-CA) announced the introduction of the bipartisan Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 (TESRA). Attached, please see the Family Farm Alliance response statement regarding this issue.

TESRA fixes the long-outstanding problems of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by (1) focusing on species recovery (2) providing incentives (3) increasing openness and accountability (4) strengthening scientific standards (5) creating bigger roles for state and local governments (6) protecting private property owners and (7) eliminating dysfunctional critical habitat designations. The Committee on Resources is scheduled to hold a hearing on H.R. 3824 this Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

For more information: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/
The bill text (TESRA):	Click here
Background and need:	Click here
Section by section:	Click here

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Dan Keppen
Executive Director
Family Farm Alliance

September 19, 2005
F O R I M M E D I A T E  R E L E A S E
 
Family Farm Alliance Response to TESRA Bill
The Family Farm Alliance issued the following statement in response to the introduction of
The Threatened and Endangered Species Act of 2005 (TESRA) by Resources Committee
Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA), Reps. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Greg Walden (R-OR)
and George Radanovich (R-CA).
Family farmers and ranchers believe TESRA is a positive step toward improving a 30-year old
law that is seen by many landowners as more “stick” than “carrot”. In the past 31 years, more than
1,300 species were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Only 10 have
actually been recovered.
“The ESA must be modified to actually recover threatened and endangered species,” said
Alliance President Pat O’Toole, who ranches on the Colorado-Wyoming border.
“Too often we see the ESA employed by anti-farming interests as a means of reallocating water
away from agriculture and toward perceived environmental needs,” O’Toole said. “This is not
helping fish and wildlife and it hampers efforts to accommodate the growing water needs of the
West.”
“This is a much needed and long-overdue legislative effort to begin the process of updating the
ESA,” said Dan Keppen, the Family Farm Alliance’s Executive Director. Keppen testified in
Washington, D.C. on June 22 before the House Water and Power Subcommittee on individual
impacts of the ESA.
“The Family Farm Alliance strongly affirms the goals of the ESA,” Keppen said in his
testimony. “However, this 30-year old law could stand some targeted reforms, including common-
sense changes to make it work better, minimize confusion, and discourage litigation.”
“TESRA comes at the right time and is a step in the right direction towards meeting these
necessary improvements,” added O’Toole.
The Family Farm Alliance advocates for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts, and
allied industries in seventeen Western states. Its mission: To ensure the availability of reliable,
affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers. For more information on
the Alliance, go to www.familyfarmalliance.org.