On Monday, September 19, House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) launched his long-planned assault on the Endangered Species Act.  In yet another example of Orwellian doublespeak, the legislation is titled "Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005."

However, rather than helping endangered species recover, this bill would severely undermine the original Endangered Species Act (ESA) and leave loopholes for greedy developers and big oil companies big enough to drive a Hummer through.

Pombo is trying to fly this bill under the public's radar screen by moving it quickly before opposition can build.

An analysis of the bill by Earthjustice and Center for Biological Diversity indicates it will eliminate major wildlife protections such as the current requirement for critical habitat designations for endangered species, make it difficult to block projects that threaten protected wildlife, and make it nearly impossible to add new species to the list of plants and animals threatened with extinction. In addition, enforcement of the proposed law would be prohibitively expensive thanks to provisions calling for the federal government to pay landowners to not violate the law.

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