Liberty
Matters News Service
October 13, 2004
Study Shows Environmental Bias
A
new study by the "nonpartisan" Environmental Law Institute (ELI) reveals that
federal judges appointed by Democrat presidents rule for environmentalists more
often than Republican appointees. The authors studied 325 judicial rulings
between January 21, 2001 and June 30, 2003 and concluded that Democrat
appointees sided with environmental plaintiffs nearly 60 percent of the time
while Republican appointees did so only 28 percent of the time. Republican
appointed district judges favored developers 60 percent of the time while the
Democrats did so only in only 14 percent of the cases. Jay E. Austin, a senior
attorney for ELI, was surprised that Republican judges decided environmental
lawsuits differently from Democrat judges. "We obviously find that troubling,"
he said. That could be because even though ELI claims a degree of neutrality in
environmental litigation it is interesting to note they belong to Earth Share,
an organization that advertises itself as a "federation of America's leading
environmental and conservation charities..." whose members include The Nature
Conservancy, Earth Justice, the Sierra Club, Wilderness Society and the Natural
Resources Defense Council. Todd True, attorney for EarthJustice, the
organization that successfully shut down logging in the northwest, also found
the study results troubling. "An independent judiciary is central to the
functioning of our democracy," he said, "and its neutrality needs to be
protected."
Environmental Group Cites Partisanship
in the Judiciary
Wildlife Refuges Threatened By Civilization
Defenders of Wildlife has
chosen to observe this year's National Wildlife Refuge Week (Oct. 10 - 16), by
publishing a list of the most threatened refuges in the United States. The
report claims that wildlife refuges are being eroded because of the advances of
civilization, namely development, oil and gas exploration, farming, and
invasive species. "Today America's national wildlife refuge system is facing an
environmental perfect storm," said Roger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders
of Wildlife. Jamie Rappaport Clark, Clinton's Director of U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and now Executive VP of Defenders of Wildlife, chimed in
saying, "The Interior Department has continually put the needs of wildlife
second to corporate interests." Try telling that to Klamath Basin farmers and
the people who lost their jobs and communities to the spotted owl. "Today every
refuge is in a funding crisis," Clark continued, and "funding shortfalls total
more than $1.2 billion." Even though Clark admits refuge managers can't take
care of what they currently have, she complains there isn't enough money
allocated to buy more land. "In addition, funding for federal land acquisition
in the Land Water Conservation Fund under this administration has experienced
severe funding declines," she said.
Nation's Most
Endangered Wildlife Refuges of 2004
USF&WS Considers Easement Program in Montana
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
announced a study to determine the feasibility of buying development rights
from private landowners along the Rocky Mountain Front in north-central
Montana. The proposed easement program is supposed to conserve wildlife habitat
by purchasing conservation easements from willing sellers to protect fish and
wildlife that apparently already flourish on private property. According to the
Service, nearly every wildlife species described by Lewis and Clark in 1806
still exists on the Front in relatively stable or increasing numbers.
"Together, we realize that protecting important fish and wildlife habitat and
maintaining working ranches go hand in hand. Conservation easements are an
effective, proven approach to accomplishing both of these objectives," said
Service Director Steve Williams. The Service has already purchased easements
from private landowners to conserve nearly 60,000 acres in the Blackfoot and
Centennial Valleys of western Montana. The Service is authorized to conduct
studies encompassing 170,000 acres along the Front, although Matt Kales
congressional liaison of the Mountain/Prairie Region of the Service says that
the final conservation easement acreage will be far less. The Service plans to
conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) in November that includes working with
county commissioners, the state of Montana, The Nature Conservancy, landowners,
and other "interested parties" to determine the effects of the program.
U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service to Explore Cooperative Conservation Effort on the Rocky
Mountain Front
Property Rights Heroes and Zeroes
In case you need help
figuring out whom to vote for in the November 2 election, you might want to
look at the 15th annual Private Property Congressional Vote Index. The League
of Private Property Voters (LPPV) has published the index since 1989 and its
600 grassroots organization members include farmers, ranchers, woodlot owners,
as well as, federal land users such as snowmobilers, cabin permitees, hunters
and livestock grazers. The Index graded Senators and Representatives on how
they voted on key issues such as the Death Tax Repeal, several forest thinning
measures, and S.476, the bill that would have provided tax relief to
"charitable organizations" that purchase private property. In order to be a
LPPV Champion, a senator would have to garner an 80% or better score on the
selected issues and Enemies were those who achieved 20% or less on those
issues. There are 35 Champions and 35 Enemies in the Senate. In the House, 192
gained Champion status and 165 House members are Enemies. Sen. John Kerry
(D-MA) earned a special certificate as an Enemy with a zero score. To check out
your senator or representative's grade go to www.landrights.org to find the
Index.