Battle looms over a Noah's Ark law

Scientists, lawmakers, and advocates are set to wrangle over the most profound and controversial federal environmental law ever passed - the federal Endangered Species Act.

Lawsuits have been filed, and a slew of proposals on Capitol Hill could significantly change what plants and animals qualify for protection.

"You can expect some battles - time, place, and players to be determined," says one congressional source.

Enacted in 1973, the law was designed mainly to save animals such as eagles, wolves, otters, and salmon - those noble, brave, and cute "charismatic megafauna" that all Americans recognize and can perhaps identify with.

But over the years, the list of animals and plants threatened with extinction has grown to more than 1,000, including such obscure species as the Shivwits milk-vetch herb in Utah and the Tumbling Creek cavesnail in Missouri. At last count, 1,244 plant and animal species had been listed as endangered or threatened, and another 236 "candidate species" awaited listing.

The law is a kind of a modern-day Noah's Ark, designed to save the last few individuals from being wiped out and then provide a way for them to revive. Once an organism makes the list, federal officials must design and implement a recovery plan - an expensive process that can impact private property to devastating economic effect. It's also a drawn-out process that has seen several dozen species go extinct while awaiting rescue.

Aside from questions about balancing economic and biological values, the law increasingly highlights the debate over what constitutes an endangered species and whether or not some species are worth saving.

Supporters of the act are on the defensive these days. A National Academy of Sciences panel recently declared that federal officials may have erred last summer in cutting off water to farmers in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California in order to protect three endangered fish species. A federal judge has declared there's no difference between endangered wild Pacific Coast salmon and hatchery fish. (A point many biologists argue strongly against.) And opponents charge that government scientists deliberately planted evidence in order to support the contention that the Canadian lynx needs more habitat to prevent its extinction.

"The ESA has become a wrecking ball in this country, devastating personal finances and regional economies," says US Rep. James Hansen (R) of Utah, chairman of the House resources committee. "It's time we reform this law, grounding it in sound science, not political ideology."

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