Heller bill aimed at attacking Endangered Species Act
By Henry Brean, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Citing Nevada’s long fight to keep the sage grouse from being listed, Sen. Dean Heller has introduced legislation that would significantly weaken the Endangered Species Act and give states almost unchecked control over how — or whether — certain animals and plants are protected.
The bill would require congressional approval before a species is listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any listed species would automatically lose protection after five years without another vote of Congress in consultation with the states where the species is found.
Heller and fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky unveiled their Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act on Tuesday.
Conservationists are calling it something else: an all-out attack on the federal protections that saved the bald eagle and other once-threatened animals.