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<br />'"' <br /> <br />h_ <br /> <br />standard by which injunctions can be issued under the Endangered Species Act. The Ninth . <br />Circuit's ruling clarifies-for the first time-that environmental plaintiffs must present actual <br />evidence that a species is likely to be harmed before an injunction can be issued against a <br />property owner, and that a lack of evidence of past harm is indicative of the likelihood of future <br />harm. <br /> <br />GAO Endangered Species Report: Little Reason to Expect Poor Recovery Record to <br />Improve: Because only a handful of domestic species, 10 of more than 1200, have ever been <br />recovered and removed from the endangered species list, House Committee on Resources <br />Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) engaged the Government Accounting Office (GAO) in <br />reviewing how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) allocates funds to recovery efforts_ The <br />report released April 26 noted that not a single plant or animal with the highest recovery priority <br />was among the 20 species receiving the most recovery dollars. <br /> <br />The report compared federal expenditures on listed endangered species to FWS recovery-priority <br />rankings between Fiscal Years 2001 and 2003. Results noted that while the Service spent its <br />recovery budget in accordance with priority guidelines, 92 percent of all species were ranked in <br />the upper-half of the priority system. <br /> <br />FWS assigns a recovery priority on a scale of one to 18 for each endangered animal or plant. The <br />priority system considers several factors and ranks animals and plants higher when they face <br />greater threats, have a greater potential for recovery or possess genetic distinctiveness. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Not a single plant or animal with the highest recovery priority (1) was among the 20 species <br />receiving the most FWS recovery dollars and about half ofthe top twenty were not in the highest <br />group of recovery priority species. <br /> <br />The recovery program's poor record of bringing species to a point at which they may be taken off <br />the list has been plagued by the program's skewed assessment of rec<{very priorities, the <br />disproportionate expenditures on subspecies and the lack of a uniform system to ensure recovery <br />dollars go to the highest priority species. <br /> <br />Water and Property Rights Task Force Meeting: The Water and Property Rights Task Force <br />met on April 12 at the Washington Court Hotel and featured a panel to talk about water issues, <br />pending water legislation and the possibility of something substantive happening in this <br />Congress. <br /> <br />The panelists were Nate Gentry from the Senate Energy Committee; Matt Meagher, Legislative <br />Director for Congressman Steve Pearce, the author ofH.R. 487, the Western water rights bills; <br />Gretchen Leannan, Press Secretary and Legislative Assistant to Congressman John Linder, the <br />sponsor ofH.R. 135, the national water rights study bill; and Jim Beirne, the former Chief <br />Counsel of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a nationally-recognized <br />expert on water issues. <br /> <br />FEMA CAP Conference: The annual Community Assistance Program (CAP) Conference for <br />FEMA's Region VIII was held on April 12-14 in Lakewood_ The annual conference is designed <br />to be a platform for interaction between the states in Region VIII (CO, WY, MT, UT, ND, SD) <br />and FEMA. This year, the FEMA regional CAP conference was combined with the State Hazard <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />12 <br />