Bruce F. Vento: “The Sweet Home decision. And it was suggested that this activity by the Fish and Wildlife Service constituted, that was…”

“The Sweet Home decision. And it was suggested that this activity by the Fish and Wildlife Service constituted, that was the assertion, that it constituted a taking. The Supreme Court rejected that particular logic. Mr. Chairman, I would just suggest to my colleagues that in fact we are in an era where we have this new information and knowledge. It obviously is difficult for some of us to come to grips with it. It means new limits and complications in the world of work and in the world of commerce. But the fact is it has the same logic as if water ran through your land that you did not have any responsibility to anyone as to where the water came from or what you did to it while it was on your land or the air quality issue. The same is true with these habitat areas that have these important species. Obviously they affect all of us. They affect the entire fauna and flora in these ecosystems that are critical, and that is why we have laws in place, because of the foresight of others that addressed those issues with sound science and economics.”