Max Baucus: “today, it is a real pleasure for me to join my colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works, Senators Chafee…”

“today, it is a real pleasure for me to join my colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works, Senators Chafee, Reid, and Kempthorne in introducing the Endangered Species Recovery Act of 1997. The bill we are introducing today represents a real victory for bi-partisan, commonsense improvements to the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act has been an important tool in our fight to conserve ecosystems and to prevent the extinction of species. But over the years, experience has shown that the act can be improved, both for the species it is designed to protect and for ranchers, farmers, and other private landowners. Senators Chafee, Reid, Kempthorne, and I have been working, along with the administration, for the better part of 2 years to find agreement on changes that will improve the ESA on the ground, where it really counts. The bill we are introducing today incorporates several major improvements to ESA. Let me just reiterate a few that I think are particularly noteworthy. First, it improves the use of good science in our decisions on listing species. It's important that we elevate the role of scientific information in our decisions on whether to put species on the endangered list. An error at this stage in the process can mean extinction for a species. Second, the bill really turns the focus of the ESA to conserving and recovering species.”