Frank Lucas: “Mr. Chairman, last March the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a rule designating critical habitat for the…”

“Mr. Chairman, last March the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a rule designating critical habitat for the Arkansas River shiner. The designated areas include 300 feet on either side of more than 1,100 miles of river in four States, including Oklahoma. This critical habitat for the Arkansas River shiner was designated as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the way the Fish and Wildlife Service conducts economic analysis for critical habitat designations does not comply with the Endangered Species Act and the court set aside the designation for critical habitat for the Southwestern willow flycatcher. The same type of analysis invalidated in that case was used in the Arkansas River shiner habitat designation. This recent court decision casts a shadow of doubt on all recent critical habitat designations. The original intent of the Endangered Species Act has been lost as designations of critical habitat have gotten completely out of hand, while true endangered species recovery efforts are ignored.”