The fairway of the 10th hole at Sharp Park, a San Francisco-owned golf course in nearby Pacifica, is underwater. A lot if it, due to heavy rains that blanketed the West Coast recently. Normally, the water would be pumped out, and customers would be able to play the whole back nine. But we live in "interesting" times, not normal times. California red-legged frogs have appropriated the impromptu lake, and started laying eggs. Because the expansionist species is somehow listed as "threatened" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the water stays until the eggs hatch, even if the the economic hit on the golf course and its employees is substantial.

Eggs were first found on the course Jan. 6, according to Rose Marie Dennis, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman. Until the tadpoles emerge, golfers can play only about half of a soggy course. With only 10 holes to offer players, Duane is losing money every day. "We've taken such a hard hit, it will take the rest of the year to dig us out," (golf course general manager Mark) Duane said. The waters have receded a bit without pumping, but not enough to open the entire course. In the past month, Duane said, he's laid off 13 employees and about 30 golf marshals. "It's killed the fairway," Duane said of the flood Thursday, as he watched the ducks swimming nearby. "It's never been this bad before. This is a whole new ballgame for us."

Never mind that the Endangered Species Act has done little to restore endangered species to recovery. Even worse, in this case, is the trump-card use of the lesser criterion of "threatened," under ESA. "Threatened" sounds imposing and serious. In fact, it is an egregiously overbearing second-tier classification that means everything is basically OK right now, but risks apparent to the enlightened mandate we err on the side of prudent conservation

But what's "threatened" here is common sense. It is one thing - albeit often quite debatable - for a new development to be opposed due to species preservation concerns. It's quite another thing for the primary use of an existing, and publicly-owned recreational facility to be constricted because fertilized frog eggs appeared in a big puddle after a rainstorm.

California Republican congressman Richard Pombo explains in this op-ed from today's Milwaukee-Joural Sentinel why and how the ESA needs updating, outlining changes embodied in the new, House-approved Endangered Species and Recovery Act.

Efforts to update and modernize the Endangered Species Act are an emotional topic for many, with opinions ranging from completely repealing the act to not changing a single word. Yet it seems clear that sensible improvements are long overdue. Over more than three decades, nearly 1,300 species have been listed as threatened or endangered, but only 10 of those have recovered sufficiently to be removed from the list. During that same period, some 35 species have been found to be extinct. This stunning record of failure can largely be traced to a simple fact. While our successful environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, have frequently been updated and strengthened by Congress over the last 30 years, the act has seen no modernization to take advantage of lessons learned. That is why my colleagues and I - both Republicans and Democrats - introduced and passed the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act in the House last fall.

....For the first time, a scientifically peer-reviewed recovery plan will be required when a species is listed. These plans may, in some cases, require the set-aside of some habitat, or, as was the case with the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle, habitat may be irrelevant while other factors are vital to recovery. Since the majority of endangered and threatened species live on private land, TESRA will, for the first time, set up a system of incentives for private property owners to participate in voluntary conservation programs. When private landowners lose all or some of the use of their property because a recovery plan requires restrictions, the landowners will be fairly compensated with a one-time payment. The payment will not continue year after year, nor does it get paid to any new owner. The amount is based only on the value of the land's current use rather than any future increased value.

The U.S. Senate will soon begin its own deliberations on changes to the ESA.

TECHNORATI TAGS: RED-LEGGED FROG, GOLF COURSE, ENDANGERED SPECIES, SHARP PARK, PACIFICIA, SAN FRANCISCO

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at February 19, 2006 10:47 AM

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