Liberty
Matters News Service
May 6, 2004
Colorado Town Rejects No-Growth
After a decade of restricting growth and industry in cities and small towns in Colorado, residents have realized they need growth if their communities are to survive. In Erie, voters replaced their no-growth mayor with one who promised to attract more commercial development. And in Windsor, voters turned down a proposal to place a moratorium on large retail stores like Wal-Mart. Attorney Tom Ragonetti, a land-use expert who represents developers, said the current situation stems from growth controls enacted by local officials whose knowledge of development was incomplete, at best. "Sometimes, the knee-jerk, let's stop-it-all is a bad idea," he said. A bad plan can hamper community's needs to maintain a good tax base. Indeed, a study commissioned by opponents of the City of Berthoud's cap on building permits showed the town's revenue decreased 7.8 percent from 2000 to 2001 and residential construction permit revenue fell 68 percent during that period. But the folks who would deny the American dream to their fellow Coloradans continue to argue against growth and development. "Now is the time to get a handle on growth before we lose the things we love about our state," said Elise Jones of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. Erie's new mayor, Andrew Moore said, "What's happening now is that communities...have realized that when you put in restrictions...it really hinders the town's ability to bring in...the good growth that can sustain us for the long haul with tax revenue."
Town Revisits Growth Curbs
Ted Turner Gets Free Pass
Environmentalists aren't raising the roof over Ted Turner's venture to mine for coal and drill for methane gas on his Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico. Conservation groups usually scream bloody murder at the mere mention of oil and gas exploration in the U. S., but Turner gets a free pass from groups like the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) that, incidentally, gets major funding from the Ted Turner Foundation. Jim Range, TRCP lawyer, says Turner is doing it right. "It's a model of the way exploration should be done," Range said. With the recent upturn in natural gas prices, Turner's holdings are worth billions. He recently signed an agreement to double the number of gas wells on the Vermejo to 1,060 wells and El Paso Corporation is paying him a 6.5 percent royalty. The Energy Future Coalition, also funded by Turner, lobbies lawmakers to require cleaner coal-burning technology and natural gas powered vehicles. Turner, who also charges $13,000 to hunt elk, mule deer and antelope on his ranch, has mandated the gas rigs must be concealed behind trees with small platforms marking their existence. The same type drilling methods are proposed for ANWR, but environmentalists will have none of it.
Ted Sacrifices Green Goals for Greenbacks
ESA Reform Hearing
The House Resource Committee last week conducted a hearing of Rep. Dennis Cardoza's (D-CA) Critical Habitat Reform Act, H. R. 2933. "On its thirtieth anniversary it is now more clear than ever that the Endangered Species Act has failed," said Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA). Cardoza's bill would prevent the government from designating critical habitat until a species recovery plan was devised, but that provision troubles the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Don Walters, Jr. president of the Northern Arizona Home Builders Association, told the committee that "linking critical habitat designations to the recovery planning process may unintentionally create a new litigation threat and place a higher regulatory burden on landowners." Rep. Cardoza said, "What's happening is this act is being used to stop any development, any progress through lawsuits, and that's not working for endangered species or the public at large." Jamie Rappaport Clark, former head of the Fish and Wildlife Service under Clinton and now executive director of Defenders of Wildlife, criticized the reform efforts saying "[T]his chairman [Pombo] is single-handedly leading a crusade to eviscerate the habitat protection standards of the Endangered Species Act."
Chairman Pombo Issues ESA Report
Builders Support Several Provisions in Reform Bill
State Lawmakers Pursuing Changes to Habitat
Agency to Reduce Toad Habitat
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is planning some habitat reform itself by reducing the critical habitat designation of the arroyo toad by 43,647 acres. The FWS was ordered by a Washington D. C. judge to rework its 2001 critical habitat plans following a lawsuit by the building industry. The FWS admits that reducing critical habitat won't have much impact on the toad. "Overall, I think the species is relatively stable," said Creed Clayton, biologist with the FWS. Peter Galvin, California director of the Center for Biological Diversity said, "It appears that this proposal will not prevent the extinction of the species," and promised another lawsuit if the proposal is adopted. "We believe the Bush administration continues to do everything it can to undermine endangered species recovery," he droned. However, according FWS's proposal, the toad population in that area has survived to despite decades of military use and, in fact, they have concluded that critical habitat designation is not an effective tool to protect species. "In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act...we have found that the designation of statutory critical habitat provides little additional protection to most listed species."
Federal Proposal for CA Toad Would Cut Habitat