John Hansen: “Mr. Speaker, this bill was brought about by the 1973 Endangered Species Act. When that was passed, they found in…”

“Mr. Speaker, this bill was brought about by the 1973 Endangered Species Act. When that was passed, they found in southern Utah the desert tortoise. Out of finding the desert tortoise, we then had to find a place for the habitat for the desert tortoise, which basically really is not endangered, but I will not get into that. Finding it there, they found a situation where 33 different people had to give up ground to get it. We have taken care of all of those people for a critical habitat because they had that ground and they could not put their foot on it, all they could do was pay taxes. We have one person left, the biggest one. We are trying to get it resolved in this particular bill. During the hearing on this bill, several concerns were raised by the administration and the minority. At committee, my amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted which addressed those concerns. This amendment accomplishes the following four things: First, the acreage will be vested in the United States 30 days after enactment. Second, just compensation shall be paid, with an initial payment of $15 million, which will prevent the property from reverting to creditors during litigation. According to the BLM's lowest estimate, the property is worth at least $35 million. Third, the court may consider the damages, costs, and attorneys' fees, as the court determines appropriate.”