Editor - Jan Weaver
211 Lowry Hall, MU / Columbia MO 65211

by Jan Weaver

The "God Squad" consists of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, the Secretary of the Army, the head of the EPA, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a state representative. By a vote of 5 to 2, the God Squad, also known as the Endangered Species Committee (ESC), can decide to exempt a federal project, a state, or a federal licensee or permit holder from the provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The ESA was passed in 1973 with the goal of protecting species, subspecies and distinct populations of plants and animals (including invertebrates) from extinction. At the time, serious declines in large vertebrates like the Bald Eagle, focused strong public support on the need for national protection of the country's wildlife.

When a species is nominated for listing, only scientific information can be used to determine if it is threatened or endangered. Once it is listed, its critical habitat also has to be designated. Critical habitat is the geographic area with physical or biological features essential to a listed species. While the decision to list a species can only be based on scientific data, the designation of critical habitat can consider economic and social impacts. (So the ESA has always provided for a balance between the needs of species and of humans.)

Federal agencies, states and private land owners are enjoined from activities that could result in harming a listed species or in making its critical habitat unsuitable. The rationale is that species belong to the citizens of the U.S. and not to the owner or manager of the land, regardless of whether it is a federal agency, a state, or an individual. It is an extension of the idea that you have to have a permit to fish or hunt certain species, even if the animal is on your property. So really the conflicts, when they occur, are not between humans and some endangered species, they are between a group of people whose economic activity may be harmed by protection of a species and the rest of the people in the U.S. who have an interest in the continued existence of that species.

In 1978 the Tellico dam, a project of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), was halted by the presence of the snail darter, a rare minnow found (at the time) only in streams that would be flooded once the reservoir behind the dam began to fill. Because the Supreme Court ruled that filling the reservoir would violate the ESA, Congress passed an amendment establishing the Endangered Species Committee, which would have the authority to exempt specific projects from the Endangered Species Act. Because of their life and death power over listed species the Endangered Species Committee was nicknamed the God Squad.

Ironically, in their first decision the God Squad ruled against the TVA. Not because the project didn't meet any of the necessary tests for exemption: being of regional or national significance, having a benefit that clearly outweighed the loss of species, and there being no reasonable or prudent alternatives; but because the project itself was not cost effective, regardless of its impact on the darter. Tennessee's congressional delegation saved the project by inserting an exemption as an amendment into a must pass piece of legislation. Fortunately for the darter, populations were later found in other streams.

Since then the God Squad has been called on two other times. In the case of Nebraska v. REA and Nebraska v. Ray, they ruled in favor of granting an exemption for the Grayrocks dam and reservoir, even though it would affect Platte River habitat critical to the Whooping Crane. However, they required changes in the project to help protect the crane. The third case was the Northern Spotted Owl. In the early 1990s the God Squad decided to exempt timber sales on thirteen tracts of Pacific northwest forest that the Fish and Wildlife Service had determined were critical habitat for the owl. However, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund sued claiming the God Squad had been unduly influenced by the Whitehouse (George Bush Sr). The Ninth Circuit Court ordered hearings of fact, but when Bush lost to Clinton the request for exemption was withdrawn.

Clearly the amended ESA and the "God Squad" provide a remedy for those times when protecting a species will have too great a cost in human terms. The fact that the remedy has only been applied for three times in 31 years suggests that very few cases meet the test of significance, benefit, and no alternative, required for exemption from the Endangered Species Act.

* A goal of the now defunct National Biological Survey was to identify all populations of endangered species, because better information about their populations might allow them to be taken off the list - allowing projects to go forward. Unfortunately it became a political hot potato (on both sides) and had to be abandoned.

For a fairly even handed review of the Northern Spotted Owl debate :
http://www.lib.duke.edu/forest/usfscoll/policy/northern_spotted_owl/
http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?13+Duke+Envtl.+L.+&+Pol'y+F.+18

BioRegional Quiz: The pink mucket is a native Missouri species which is listed as endangered by both state and federal agencies. What is a pink mucket? a.) prairie wildflower b.) mussel c.) songbird d.) cave fish

Job of the Month: Ecology Field Instructor (Costa Rica or Galapagos) - Ecology Project International; Missoula, MT. Responsibilities: In both programs - teach field ecology to high school and university students; Costa Rica- coordinate with visiting teachers and chaperones; participate in nightly sea turtle patrols with staff biologist; Galapagos- teach low-impact wilderness camping skills; participate in data collection for long-term project. Status: Full-time, seasonal positions. Costa Rica: March 1-August 3, 2005, Galapagos: December 15-May 4, 2005. Qualifications: Both programs require a Bachelors in biology, ecology, natural sciences or related field; Spanish skills, experience with leadership & teaching; experience working with young adults; flexibility in rural setting; current Wilderness First Responder & CPR certification; must be at least 21 years of age. Galapagos program also requires some field research experience. Knowledge or familiarity of the country is preferred. Salary: $30-60 per day; room. board & in-country travel are paid. Application Procedure: Deadline is September 15th. To apply, send resume, cover letter and EPI instructor application (available at www.ecologyproject.org) to: Instructor Hiring, Ecology Project International, PO Box 9192, Missoula, MT 59807-9192 or Email to: jobs@ecologyprojects.org.

Special Events
CREATING SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL: Friday, September 10, 10 am-2 pm at the Boone County Health Dept. (West & Worley). Visit www.pednet.org for more information. (PedNet Coalition)
PRAIRIE CONFERENCE REPORT: Monday, September 13, 7 pm at the Unitarian Church. Becky Erikson, coordinator of the Missouri Ecotype Program (Native Plant Society)
HERITAGE FESTIVAL: Sept 18 & 19, Nifong Park Hwy 63 and AC exit W. 19th Century artisans demonstrate their crafts, traditional music and foods, lots of community groups.
ORIENTEERING WORKSHOP: Saturday Sept 18, 9 am, Devil's Ice Box Parking Lot, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park (RBMSP). Learn how to find your way around with a compass and a map. (Friends of RBMSP)
ANNUAL BIKE RIDE: Sunday, September 19, ride the Katy Trail to raise funds for the Osage group. Call Stan Silvey for more information at 424-7277. Osage Group Sierra Club
SUSTAINABLE LIVING CLASS: Wednesdays September 22 - Nov 10, 7-9 pm, Mark Haim, syllabus at: http://peaceworks.missouri.org/classes/sustainable-class-Fall04.html
PIE AUCTION AND OTHER AUTUMN HARVEST ACTIVITIES: Saturday, September 25, Columbia Farmer's Market. For more information call 449-4769 (Sustainable Farms & Communities)
SUSTAINABLE LIVING FAIR: Saturday Oct 2, Unity Church on Broadway, workshops on a variety of sustainable living issues. contact Greg Baka for more info: g_baka2002@yahoo.com
MARCH FOR ROCK BRIDGE MSP: Sunday Oct 3, 12 pm, Devil's Ice Box Parking Lot, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Fundraiser. Orienteering Meet $10, $5 for full-time students. EcoKnowledge Match - Free, great Family Event. More info at: http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ (Friends of RBMSP)

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE