The Green Scam of “Endangered Species”

[Curly]

I don't think it's right for a stupid gopher to hold up or stop construction when there is plenty of the little critters.  A large population exists on JBLM property and I hear there's a bunch on the Olympia airport property.

http://mynorthwest.com/554485/mazama-pocket-gopher-thurston-county/

The environmentalists are using the gopher as a tool to stop development.

Thurston County has a big problem caused by one small critter: the Mazama Pocket Gopher.

Unlike in other areas of the country where the rodent is considered a nuisance, Thurston County’s frustrations have nothing to do with cratered lawns or earthen eruptions on putting greens. Instead, all land development in Thurston County has ground to a halt since the Mazama Pocket Gopher is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Federal Department of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees ESA status, has proposed a Habitat Conservation Plan for the gopher that will cost Thurston County taxpayers $150 million. Until that conservation plan is agreed upon or rejected by Thurston County Commissioners, every new construction project requires a gopher inspection. All projects are wait-listed for approval, sometimes for years, pending those gopher inspections.

It doesn’t matter if the project is a new home, a road, or even a simple shed, as one of Thurston County Commissioner Gary Edwards’ constituents learned.

Edwards says it ultimately took four inspections to approve and, “they made this citizen jump through so many hoops, he was held up for over a year just to build a shed on his own property.”

Thurston County has a big problem caused by one small critter: the Mazama Pocket Gopher.

Unlike in other areas of the country where the rodent is considered a nuisance, Thurston County’s frustrations have nothing to do with cratered lawns or earthen eruptions on putting greens. Instead, all land development in Thurston County has ground to a halt since the Mazama Pocket Gopher is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Federal Department of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees ESA status, has proposed a Habitat Conservation Plan for the gopher that will cost Thurston County taxpayers $150 million. Until that conservation plan is agreed upon or rejected by Thurston County Commissioners, every new construction project requires a gopher inspection. All projects are wait-listed for approval, sometimes for years, pending those gopher inspections.

It doesn’t matter if the project is a new home, a road, or even a simple shed, as one of Thurston County Commissioner Gary Edwards’ constituents learned.

Edwards says it ultimately took four inspections to approve and, “they made this citizen jump through so many hoops, he was held up for over a year just to build a shed on his own property.”
Mazama Pocket Gopher vs. private property

Part of the reason why the inspection process takes so long is the Mazama Pocket Gopher’s hibernation cycle. Since the varmints are dormant from October through June, none of the federally required inspections can take place during that time.

There are so many folks waiting on inspections that anyone who hasn’t applied for one yet will likely have to wait until June of 2018 to have their property assessed.

As it stands today, should a Thurston County resident’s house burn down, even if they had insurance money in-hand, they would not be able to build.

According to Commissioner Edwards, the gopher regulations have become, “so restrictive it’s killed our economic engine. We’ve had many businesses leave the county. Those that were intending on coming to the County went elsewhere. Our economic engine has basically been stifled.”

Getting on the inspection list may be the least of property owners’ concerns: should the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan be approved, the fees for developing any land in the county will skyrocket.

The Habitat Conservation Plan will function like a carbon offset tax; property owners and developers are free to develop their land so long as they pay a huge fee into a fund that would be used to purchase land for gopher habitat elsewhere.

Under the plan, any landowner or developer planning to build a single family home with a gopher on the property would be forced to pay $42,000 in habitat offset fees.

[wolfbait]

Secret Gopher Map Reveals Washington Agency’s Power

http://agenda21news.com/2014/10/SECRET-GOPHER-MAP-REVEALS-WASHINGTON-AGENCYS-POWER/


‘International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature’ behind pocket gopher hoax

http://agenda21news.com/2014/10/part-five-international-commission-zoological-nomenclature-behind-pocket-gopher-hoax/



Government claims about pocket gopher protection remain flawed

http://agenda21news.com/2014/11/GOVERNMENT-CLAIMS-POCKET-GOPHER-PROTECTION-REMAIN-FLAWED/

[Curly]

Old news about the Cross Base Hwy (stopped by groups named below):

 Oct 21, 2010
SEATTLE, WA – This week, US District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle signed an agreement worked out by parties in a lawsuit challenging Pierce County’s proposed Cross-Base Highway (SR-704). Tahoma Audubon Society, Conservation Northwest, Woodbrook Hunt Club, and the American Lake Gardens Equestrian Alliance filed the lawsuit challenging the inadequate environmental review of the proposed highway in early August 2010.
http://www.conservationnw.org/news/pressroom/press-releases/cross-base-highway-lawsuit-put-on-hold

“If any federal, state, or local funding materializes for this project, we’ll head back to court to protect this rare remnant prairie and prairie wildlife,” said Jen Watkins of Conservation Northwest.

The lawsuit was filed to protect one of the region's largest remaining tracts of oak-woodland prairie remaining in Washington State. The Puget Sound prairies once covered more than 150,000 acres, but today only about 3% remains. The area is considered by the County’s Biodiversity Network Assessment to be one of the "most biologically and ecologically rich areas remaining in the lower elevations of Pierce County,” containing old-growth Oregon white oak, Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine interspersed among prairie and wetlands. The prairie provides essential habitat for 19 plants and animals facing extinction, including streaked horned lark, Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, western gray squirrel, Mazama pocket gopher, and water howellia.

"The road proponents failed to take into account the disastrous and irreversible environmental impacts in its rush to build the Cross-Base Highway," said Bryan Flint, executive director of Tahoma Audubon Society, "This four lane highway rips through pristine and endangered habitat." Rather than consider alternative routes, the Federal Highway Administration, Washington State Department of Transportation, and Pierce County proposed a brand new six-mile-long, four-lane Cross-Base Highway across rare prairie habitat on Joint Base Lewis-McChord at a cost likely to approach half a billion dollars.

The prairie is also key to the operations of the historic Woodbrook Hunt Club. "Our members have been riding in this area for nearly 100 years; we are the oldest hunt club west of the Mississippi,” said Jennifer Hansen, member of the Woodbrook Hunt Club. "This road is unnecessary, too expensive, and would harm the economic and historical value of the hunt club and surrounding equestrian businesses.”

The organizations filing the suit are represented by David Bricklin of Bricklin & Newman, LLP, and Susan Jane Brown of the Western Environmental Law Center.__________________________________________________________________________________

Sounds like this horse riding club has been trespassing for over 100 years and wish to keep riding the property and they joined the lawsuit to stop construction.

The article site's lack of funding for the highway as to why it wasn't constructed, but I heard that it was successfully stopped because of a threatened butterfly, the mazama pocket gopher, and the western gray squirrel. 

I've also heard that construction may finally start this summer.  So, it's probably going to happen eventually; it just is going to cost a lot more because of the law suit with lawyer fees and such.

[BDildine]

always wondered why they just "stopped" when they got to spanaway loop. Yeah, i feel the same about the horse jockeys. While i don't necessarily want to see old growth oak (if that part is true) cut down, there are tons of other spots (like out off 8th) that theres grass lands for people to go ride..

[WAcoyotehunter]

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/Permitting/gopher-reviews/index.html

So how many people have had to pay that 42k? 

[wolfbait]

Endangered species budget cuts could impact jobs

Trump’s budget appears to eliminate funding for Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, which create links between agencies, landowners and organizations for large-scale projects like sage grouse recovery and grizzly bear delisting. Read More @

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/21/endangered-species-budget-cuts-could-impact-jobs/


Zinke moving dozens of senior Interior Department officials in shake-up

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/zinke-moving-dozens-of-senior-interior-officials-in-shake-up/2017/06/16/11801d3a-5295-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html

[wolfbait]

Wolf, grouse riders fly with budget bill

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/wolf-grouse-riders-fly-with-budget-bill/article_3a6cb499-92c4-55c9-829b-d7c21a14da4a.html

[bearpaw]

The ESA is a bloated out of control bureaucracy that is nothing but a special interest tool of the greenies. I wished Trump would dump it completely and start over with something new that people can live with. Congress most definitely needs to have oversight, experience shows us the corruptness that has occurred without oversight. 

[bearpaw]

Wolfbait, thanks for posting this video, everyone should watch this!

[bigtex]

I wished Trump would dump it completely and start over with something new that people can live with.

Trump can't do it, Congress has to do it.

[bearpaw]

I wished Trump would dump it completely and start over with something new that people can live with.

Trump can't do it, Congress has to do it.

Ok, thanks for pointing that out, hopefully Trump will press them to make even bigger changes. The ESA is a scourge on rural areas!

[reality22]

Environmentalist have wasted huge amounts of money on the wolf.....the thing is the wolf really isn't as disgusting as these animals that use it to further their "donate now" button and suck EAJA dollars out of the Federal Government. There is a list of JUST four of the countless lawsuits and EAJA dollars rich welfare environmental lawyers pocketed .....

*Defenders of Wildlife v. Hall USFWS,  1:08-cv-56 (D. Mont.) - $263,099.66 Wolf Challenge against the USFWS's 2008 decision to delist the northern Rockies.

*Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Dep of Int, 1:03-cv-1348 (D. Ore.) - $272,710.54 Down listing" of the gray wolf from endangered to threatened status.

*National Wildlife Federation v. Norton, 1:03-CV-340 (D. Vt.) - $255,500 Wolf argument over Distinct population segments

*Humane Society of the U S v. Kempthorne USFWS, 1:07-cv-0677 (D.D.C.) - $280,000 Western Great lakes delisting

The million dollars listed above is only a small percentage of what the cottage industry has made in the process weakening the Endangered Species Act...and does not include the cost of defending the suit OR court costs. YOU see, these social leaches know that they can sue for an animal like the wolf knowing that it will never be able to be put back into "the majority of their former range” without doing irreparable harm to wolves.   Clearly they have done this 30 Northern WI co boards have passed resolution against the wolf and any changes to the current WI wolf management plan.  The 3000 domestic animals (documented and not the total) killed by wolves are a testament to how well they live with people.   Also, before hunting states like MN had to kill trouble making wolves BY THE HUNDREDS per year all on the government’s dime.   YUP, MN was killing OVER 200 per year for over half a decade AND almost hit 300 the year before the first hunt. 

Support congresswoman Cheney (R) and Franken (D) and their efforts at reforming this highly abused law. 

[wolfbait]

Lawmakers, Including Steve Pearce, Seek Overhaul of Endangered Species Act to Ease Harm to Farmers, Ranchers

https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/2017/08/lawmakers-including-steve-pearce-seek.html

[wolfbait]

Analysts: Litigation Reform Needed to Curb Lawsuits Undermining Conservation

http://freebeacon.com/issues/litigation-reform-needed-curb-lawsuits-undermining-conservation/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=432a0e3a21-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_08_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-432a0e3a21-46032653


WDF&Wolves-WAG

[wolfbait]

House Committee Passes 5 Bills To Amend The Endangered Species Act

http://www.protectamericansnow.org/House-Committee-Passes-5-Bills-Amend-Endangered-Species/