mr. chairman , i rise in support of the underlying amendment , because in the middle of the night , the manager 's amendment removed the noaa fisheries provision in the interior . 
mr. chairman , i rise in opposition to h.r. 3824 , the threatened and endangered species recovery act , as it is currently drafted . 
mr. chairman , once again california leads the nation : this time it is for the number of listings for threatened and endangered species . 
california has more than twice the species listed as any other state . 
my home on the central coast in the 17th district has more habitat where both endangered plants and animals have lived with commercial farming and ranching . 
the same climate that produces over three billion dollars annually in agriculture farm gate also is home to the tar plant in santa cruz and the california condor in big sur . 
another example is the big sur area of california where you can find redwoods from northern california growing next to the yucca of southern california . 
i recognize the need for some `` tune-ups '' in the esa , unfortunately , h.r. 3824 takes a meat axe approach when what we need is a scalpel . 
the endangered species act is one of america 's most important and successful environmental laws . 
as one of the pillars of environmental law , it has brought public attention to the impact of human activities on our nation 's wildlife that contributes so much beauty and delight to life as well as growing economic development in environmental tourism . 
but it also goes beyond that to declare the preservation of such species as the american bald eagle and the california condor , that glide on the thermals along the big sur coastline , a national priority . 
while opponents of the law complain that it has restored healthy populations of only 16 of the more than 1 , 800 species on its endangered list , dozens of other species have dramatically increased their populations because of the law 's protection . 
without the esa these species could easily have succumbed to extinction as corporations and developers decided the fate of their habitats . 
that 's no small accomplishment . 
what 's more , only nine endangered plants and animals have been lost . 
we can not forget that robust biodiversity is absolutely necessary to a healthy human environment . 
ninety-eight percent of the species protected under the endangered species act are still alive today , and many are stable or improving . 
without the endangered species act , wildlife such as the bald eagle , american alligator , california condor , florida panther and many other animals that are part of america 's natural heritage could have disappeared from the planet years ago . 
the endangered species act works because it safeguards the places where endangered animals and plants live . 
with the recent discovery of the once thought to be extinct ivory-billed woodpecker in arkansas and the mount diablo buckwheat in california , i think this is an opportune moment to highlight the success of many of our conservation efforts . 
for example , in my home state of california , i am especially proud of the conservation and management efforts that have helped significantly restore populations of california condor , the southern sea otter , the winter run chinook salmon , the least bell 's vireo songbird , the california brown pelican , and the california gray whale . 
mr. chairman , it is fitting that congress is moving to reauthorize esa on sea otter awareness week since the sea otters are a success story in my district . 
while the southern sea otter still has a long way to go before being delisted , the increased numbers of sea otters along my district shoreline have greatly contributed to our tourism economy . 
studies show sea otters draw tourists to my district where they spend money on lodging , restaurants and other merchandise . 
the dramatic turnaround realized by the once thought extinct southern sea otter is a result of two critical protection laws -- the esa and the marine mammal protection act , the southern sea otter population grew from less than 100 otters in the 1930 's to the present total of 2 , 800 . 
scientists maintain that it will take 3 , 100 otters to make a population stable enough to even consider removing them from the endangered species list and many threats remain . 
as reauthorization of the esa moves forward this week in the house , i will fight to keep it strong enough to successfully overcome these threats to the southern sea otter . 
despite success stories , like this we need to be aware that more needs to be done . 
at this time , more than 1 , 000 species in the u.s. and abroad , are designated as `` at risk '' for extinction . 
one small step is to increase awareness about the seriousness of the circumstances facing many of these endangered species and educating the public about these species . 
i know the esa has it 's problems and the proponents of this legislation have brought many of those cases to light today . 
any law that has been on the books for as long as the endangered species act will have issues -- some of these issues deal with inadequate funding , and some with the law itself . 
i agree we need to tweak and update the current law , to make changes , but we do not need to completely rewrite this critical protection legislation . 
mr. chairman , i want to use the rest of my time to discuss a specific provision to move the national oceanic and atmospheric administration 's esa responsibilities to the department of interior . 
this is an awful idea , and it should have been vetted within the resources committee before being brought to the floor . 
as you know , many of our constituents across the country care deeply about , whales , salmon , and sea turtles . 
taking esa responsibilities away from the experts at noaa , will put these animals at further risk . 
giving jurisdiction of the ocean animals , whose survival is most at risk , to an agency without ocean expertise is ludicrous . 
taking esa responsibilities from noaa will split jurisdiction on marine animals , creating a management nightmare and further fracturing our marine management . 
for example , pacific salmon will be a management nightmare . 
fish in one river that arrive in spring will be managed by the department of commerce , while fish that arrive in that same river during fall will be managed by the department of interior . 
to make things more complicated , who will manage these fish when they are all mixed together in the ocean ? 
will the fishermen have to choose from two sets of fishing regulations , one from the department of commerce and the other from the department of interior ? 
as the pew and us commissions on ocean policy recommended , we need to consolidate our ocean management under one roof , specifically the national oceanic and atmospheric administration in the department of commerce , to be effective . 
further splitting our ocean management is only going to create more problems . 
mr. chairman , let 's not send the message that this congress is more interested in private property development than in the common good of america the beautiful , from sea to shining sea . 
the action this house takes today is a step in the long process to reauthorizing the endangered species act . 
i urge my colleagues not to take the meat axe approach but to support the bipartisan miller/boehlert substitute . 
