Stand up for biodiversity! This is probably our last opportunity to stop "Invasive Species" from becoming law through the Transportation Bill and your help is urgently needed. Day Lillies, Dogwood Trees, Kentucky Bluegrass, and Periwinkle are already being targeted. I sincerely hope that you will take a few minutes out of your busy day to send a fax or make a call.
The Transportation Bill is now in conference committee where the House and Senate iron out their differences to come up with a final bill. The House version (HR 3 or TEA LU) is intentionally silent on "Invasive Species". Hearings on the Hill and your calls and letters helped the House see the problems with this movement and they removed all the Invasive Species language from their version of the bill. The Senate version (S.732 or SAFETEA) contains Section 166 which introduces "Invasive Species". There are other references to "Invasive Species", but Sec 166 is the key passage. The Senate chose not have any hearings on the bill, so they do not have the same in-depth knowledge of the problems with the "Invasive Species" issue that the House does. If you would like additional information, or text for your fax, please scroll down. If you are already convinced, please call or preferably fax the lead House and Senate conferees of the transportation bill. Tell them that "Invasive Species" has no place in the bill and that Section 166 of the Senate version, S.732 SAFETEA, must be entirely deleted. The final version must be the House version (HR 3 TEA LU), which is intentionally silent on "Invasive Species" and other related extreme environmental agendas. House: Rep. Don Young (AK), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: Phone: 202-225-9446 Fax: 202-225-6782 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Senate: Sen. James Inhofe, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee: Phone: 202-224-6176 Fax: 202-224-5167 http://epw.senate.gov/contact.htm "Invasive Species" is the latest scare agenda promoted by radical environmentalists. It is all-pervasive and calls for regulation, restriction and prohibition of pets, game animals, fish, domestic livestock, plant life (including gardens) and aquatic species. If a species was present in North America prior to European settlement in 1492 it is "Native" and good. If it wasn't it is "Non-native" and bad. The definition of "Invasive Species" is fraught with problems: An "invasive species" is defined as a species that is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Invasive species can be plants, animals, and other organisms (e.g., microbes)." "Likely," "non-native," and "environmental harm" are subjective and are used to mean anything that wasn't present in North America in 1492. With this loose definition, almost anything can be defined as an "Invasive Species." To-date, all government actions have been by way of policy and quasi- regulation through an Executive Order because "Invasive Species" laws have not been passed. Please don't let them become law through this bill. The Federal government is now spending over $1B on "Invasive Species", mostly on questionable research, publications, meetings, grants, partnerships, bureaucracy-building, etc. And this is before the law is passed. Over 20 federal agencies are involved with the "Invasive Species" agenda. Their power and budgets will increase if this is passed. So instead of going for essential programs, our tax dollars will be spent trying to take the U.S. Environment back to the way it was in 1492. What is actually in Section 166 of SAFETEA regarding "Invasive Species" and why should I be concerned? 1. Section 166 has the consequence of inserting the major, new environmental agenda of "Invasive Species" into U.S. law by way of a few short lines in a $295B must-pass bill. No hearings were held where the dangers of "Invasive Species" could be aired to the Senate. 2. Section 166 calls for control of nonnative ("invasive") species and the establishment of native species with no specific consideration of utility (erosion control, expense, aesthetics, etc.). Native = good. Nonnative = bad. 3. Section 166 calls for statewide plant inventories. This is a Federally-financed invitation to discover endangered and threatened species and "species of concern". It is an open invitation for costly and project-crippling litigation. Instead of improving our roads, our gas tax dollars will fund environmental organizations, who will conduct the mandated statewide plant inventories. 4. Section 166 calls for regional habitat conservation and mitigation. It is commonsense that the area adjacent to high-speed highways be designed to discourage, not encourage, dangerous animal crossings, bird flight, etc. In addition, regional habitat conservation has nothing to do with building or improving highways. 5. Section 166 provides for training. Training assumes that State highway personnel are ignorant of their own domain and need "Invasive Species" instruction from environmentalist organizations and radicals within the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Training is a catch-all term that siphons off highway dollars for "Invasive Species"-promoting brochures, meetings, partnerships, and the building of "Invasive Species" bureaucracies. It is a funding mechanism for radical environmental organizations. 6. Chief House negotiator Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is quoted in the June 13, 2005 edition of the Washington Post: "There will be no more extensions." In other words, the bill will pass before the end of June, so it is now or never to remove Sec 166 entirely from SAFETEA. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seedsavers/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
