George Miller: “Let me tell you about the National Biological Survey on private lands. This is an outrage. The issue about the National…”

“Let me tell you about the National Biological Survey on private lands. This is an outrage. The issue about the National Biological Survey on private land is this, a lot of local communities and a lot of companies, private enterprise, want to avoid the problems of the Endangered Species Act and getting into where you have a threatened endangered species. In southern California, in northern California that I am familiar with, they are trying to go out and determine the areas that are inhabited by the kit fox, by the salamanders, so that the developers, the home builders, industry and others will know what they can do or not do with their land and how they can develop it. They want the help of the government. They want the help. Forest products companies in the Southeast have asked for help from the National Biological Survey. What this Congress would say or what this House would say in this bill is, even if requested, they cannot help you, if it is about private land. What you have done is you have diminished the rights of those landowners to get the help of the Government that they pay taxes for that have the expertise to help them get out of a problem that can cost them millions of dollars, if not their companies. They are asking for help and you are telling them no, we will not allow you to be of help on private land.”