Political Quotes

“I thank Senators Gorton and Byrd for inclusion of an amendment to provide funding for a voluntary enrollment, cold water fish habitat conservation plan (HCP) in the States of Idaho and Montana. This project is already authorized under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) were authorized in 1982 to allow private landowners where endangered species are found a chance to write site-specific management plans and, in some cases, allow other activity to continue on those lands. A project similar to this involving the Karner Blue Butterfly in Wisconsin is considered an HCP success story. In Idaho alone, of the 2,639,633 acres of State-owned endowment land, over half is bull trout habitat. Wise and productive use of state endowment land is essential to the funding of education in Idaho and this use could be jeopardized should it be called into question as a ``take'' under Section 9 of the ESA. The large area comprising bull trout habitat complicates not only natural resource uses of the land, but the management strategy of involved agencies in addressing habitat for the bull trout. With the huge land area involved, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Idaho concurs that a cooperative effort will be necessary to effect management practices to benefit the bull trout.”