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<br />Voice of/he Rocky Mountain Empire . L i:May 11, 1990
<br />
<br />Rare~speci~a~
<br />'just tQO tQ\lgh'r
<br />Interior;boss Lujan Suggests weake~ law
<br />
<br />By KIt Mlnlcller"", ' got to cbange it," Lujan said in a 'private inter.
<br />o.mer Pott Staff Wrt1w view with The Denver Posl .
<br />~ 1990, The o.nver Post Asked how he would change it, Lujan said he'
<br />. ~ VERDE NATlO~AL p~ - The Da- doesn't have the power, but Congress does. He
<br />lion s top conservation 'Officer said yesterday that quickly' posed a few questions the lawmakers,
<br />Congress should consider taking some of the teeth might consider:
<br />out 01 the Endangered Sp<eies Act "Do we hav;to save (an endangered species) in
<br />The act freqlleQtly is used to block development every locality where it exists?"
<br />,or.d tbrea ten jobs. Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan "Do we have to save every subspecies?"
<br />sa1.
<br />'1t ia Jual too tough an act, I think. . . . We've Please see SPECIES ~ 26A i
<br />
<br />~nQa.llgt:nu-'-'
<br />Species Act
<br />~too tough,'
<br />Lujan says
<br />
<br />SPECIES from Page lA
<br />"The red squirrel Is theb.st ex-
<br />ample," Lujan said, addlDg that
<br />conservationists were blocking
<br />construction of a Natio-:w Science
<br />Foundation telescope 10 Arizo~a
<br />because it was in an area inhabit-
<br />ed by red squirrels. .
<br />"Nobody's told me the. differ-
<br />ence between a red squirrel, a
<br />black one or a brown one," Lujan
<br />said, repeating his inquiry about
<br />"the need to save every subspe-
<br />cies."
<br />As he warmed to his topic,
<br />. which Lujan candidly admitted
<br />would be "a bombsbel~" bis wife,
<br />Jean. interrupted. . "
<br />"Oh," honey, get rea~y, she
<br />warned. Undaunted, LUjan pre-
<br />dicted that his comments would
<br />~'upset a few people." ,
<br />Lujan cited preservationists ef-
<br />: forts on behaU of the spotted owl
<br />of the Pacific Northwest and the
<br />Colorado squawfish as examples
<br />of conflicting interests.
<br />. Conservation groups want to
<br />halt cutting of century-old timber
<br />and are seeking to bave the spot-
<br />ted owl put on the endangered spe-
<br />cies list, be said.
<br />If logging operations are balted
<br />as a result, some 28,OO~ peo~le
<br />will lose their jobs, LUjan said.
<br />"We are caught between two
<br />things."
<br />As the law is written, "one may
<br />only consider biological facts, ~t
<br />economic facts" when determmg
<br />whether to place a species on the
<br />list, be said.
<br />
<br />And after one is listed, "I am
<br />obliged to protect them wberever
<br />they exist." .
<br />Lujan, at Mesa Verde to attend
<br />a National Park Foundation ban-
<br />que~ said be bas thought a great
<br />deal about the act since Monday.
<br />That day, 10 empl~yees of the
<br />Bureau of Reclamation and the
<br />Fish and Wildlife Service told him
<br />that southwestern Colorado's AnI-
<br />mas-La Plata water project
<br />couldn't be built because it would
<br />endanger some squawfish.
<br />"Rlgbt away, I told them tbis is
<br />oot acceptable," he said. The em-
<br />ployees had offered no alterna-
<br />tives, so be ordered them back to
<br />the drawing board.
<br />"There is always something you
<br />can do," said Lujan, who ov~.ees
<br />the bureau and the service. By
<br />law, 1 am protector of endangered
<br />.pecies and by treaty, I am trust-
<br />ee for Native Americans."
<br />The $582 million project pro-
<br />vides water for four Indian tribes
<br />and would irrigate southwestern
<br />Colorado and New Mexico farm-
<br />land,
<br />Instead of waiting seven years
<br />for a new study, as naysayers p~o-
<br />posed in their draft report, LUjan
<br />said he wants them to quickly de- I,
<br />velop alternatives.
<br />"It sbould be a matter of
<br />weets," rather than months or
<br />years. be said, and h~ plans to look
<br />into the matter agaID next week
<br />upon his return to Washington. "I
<br />can't believe we can't come up
<br />with an alternative."
<br />. .' Is IUs higbest responsibility to
<br />the Indians, as their trustee? Or to
<br />the squawfisb, under the Endan-
<br />gered Species Act, he asked.
<br />Duril1g the review,. offic.ial~
<br />! . ~lneed to tate into conslder~tio~
<br />the fact that squawfish eXISt 10
<br />. many otber places ~ar rem~ed
<br />from the controversIal dam Site,
<br />Lujan said. And squawflsb could
<br />be released elsewbere, far from
<br />the dam site.
<br />
<br />, If all else fails, Lujan said, he
<br />might expedite the search for an
<br />alternative by convening the En-
<br />dangered Species Committee,
<br />known among insiders as the God
<br />Committee, to review the squaw-
<br />IIsb case.
<br />
<br />Study: Wlter plan
<br />won't harm eagles
<br />
<br />I.
<br />
<br />By 1l1e AISOclaIed Press
<br />DURANGO - A V,S, FIsb and
<br />Wildlife Service study that could
<br />scuttle the Animas-La Plata proj-
<br />ect because of its effect on squaw-
<br />fish says the plan is not ~ely to'
<br />jeopardize the continued exIStence
<br />of the bald eagle.
<br />About 70 eagles wintered near
<br />Navajo Reservoir and the lower
<br />Animas River last year, nearly tri.
<br />pie the Dumber from five years
<br />ago, the report says.
<br />: . The main' concern for eagles is
<br />the concentration of heavy ~eta~
<br />in the Animas River from hist:Dn-
<br />eat mining upstream. Contarm!la-
<br />lion from the metals se;verely ~-
<br />'Its the amount of food m the nver
<br />. I~r eagles,
<br />. . As the river flows downstream,
<br />tributary inflow helps t~ dilute
<br />. toxic effects, and by the time the
<br />Animas reaches Durango, most
<br />heavy metals have precipitated
<br />out into stream sediments and wa.
<br />ter quality meets drinking water
<br />sta",ards most 01 thepme, the ....
<br />port says.
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