WHILE GIVING MORE WEIGHT TO
ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENTS
AFFECTING HABITATS.
GINA MANGIERI IS ALWAYS
INVESTIGATING AND REPORTS ON
NEXT STEPS.
GINA:
I FOUND OUT HAWAII ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVOCATES ARE ALREADY PREPARING
TO GO TO
COURT, WHILE SOME IN HAWAII'S
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AIM TO
BLOCK THE CHANGES.
THE U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR SAID THIS WEEK IT'S
CHANGING HOW THE NEARLY 50 YEAR
OLD ENDANGERED SPECIES
ACT IS ENFORCED.
A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS WILL
NOW GO INTO DECIDING WHETHER A
SPECIES SHOULD BE SAVED AND
ANYTHING CLASSIFIED AS
THREATENED WILL BE STRIPPED OF
PROTECTIONS THAT CURRENTLY
MIRROR ENDANGERED SPECIES
DAVID BERNHARDT, U.S. SECRETARY
OF THE INTERIOR-"THIS WILL
ENSURE THAT ESA IMPLEMENTATION
IS MORE
CLEAR AND CONSISTENT ACROSS
AGENCIES. I CANNOT STRESS
ENOUGH, THAT A MORE EFFICIENTLY
IMPLEMENTED ACT IS MORE
EFFECTIVE."
BUT WE'VE FOUND OUT LEGAL AND
CONGRESSIONAL CHALLENGES FROM
HAWAII ARE ALREADY BEING TEED UP
TO CHALLENGE THE NEW RULES
DAVID HENKIN, ATTORNEY,
EARTHJUSTICE-"WE'RE GOING TO BE
HEADED BACK TO COURT. WE'RE
COMBING THROUGH THEM MAKING
SURE WE LINE UP THE BEST, THE
STRONGEST ARGUMENTS TO POINT OUT
TO THE COURT WHY MANY OF THESE
PROPOSALS HAVE ALREADY
BEEN RULED BY THE COURTS TO BE
ILLEGAL, TO BE CONTRARY TO THE
LETTER OF THE LAW"
HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATION AIMS TO TAKE ON THE
CHANGES FROM ANOTHER ANGLE
DAVID HENKIN, ATTORNEY,
EARTHJUSTICE-"THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION, THEY DON'T HAVE
THE POWER TO OVERRULE THE WILL
OF CONGRESS, THEY CAN'T CHANGE
THE LAW. THE QUICKER WE CAN GET
THEM OFF THE BOOKS THE BETTER
IT'S GOING TO BE FOR HAWAII'S
MORE
THAN 500 ENDANGERED AND
THREATENED SPECIES. WE ARE THE
ENDANGERED SPECIES CAPITAL OF
THE NATION, AND IF WE DON'T
PROTECT OUR NATURAL HERITAGE
HERE, WE'RE GOING TO LOSE IT
FOREVER."
SOME OF THE BIGGEST RISKS ARE TO
PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT ARE
TROUBLED BUT HAVEN'T YET BEEN
CLASSIFIED AS ENDANGERED,
HANGING ON BY A THREAD AS
"THREATENED" CLASSIFICATIONS.
DAVID HENKIN, ATTORNEY,
GREEN SEA TURTLES, SPECIES LIKE
THE NEWEL SHEARWATER. RIGHT
NOW THOSE SPECIES HAVE
PROTECTION THE SAME AS
ENDANGERED SPECIES, YOU CAN'T
KILL THEM, YOU CAN'T HARM THEM,
YOU CAN'T HARASS THEM. UNDER THE
TRUMP PROPOSAL, ANY SPECIES IN
THE FUTURE THAT'S LISTED AS
PROTECTION AT ALL."
THE RULE CHANGES ALSO HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO ENCROACH ON OR
ELIMINATE AREAS WHERE SPECIES
LIVE, BREED AND FEED WITHOUT THE
CURRENT MANDATE TO REPLACE IT --
THIS ESSENTIAL RECOVERY HABITAT,
LET'S
SAY OUR BEACHES, WHICH ARE
THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE AND
OUR MONK SEALS WHICH
NEED THOSE BEACHES TO PULL UP ON
TO HAVE THEIR PUPS. IT HARMS OUR
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SEA
TURTLES, WHICH NEED THOSE
BEACHES TO LAY THEIR EGGS."
AS FOR IMPACTS ON SITUATIONS
WHERE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
COLLIDE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS, THE NEW RULES WOULD
LET ECONOMICS PLAY A ROLE.
DAVID HENKIN, ATTORNEY,
EARTHJUSTICE-"WHETHER A SPECIES
IS ENDANGERED OR THREATENED IS A
SCIENTIFIC
DECISION, IT'S BASED ON THE
SCIENCE, NOT BASED ON ECONOMICS,
NOT BASED ON A POPULARITY
CONTEST. ONCE YOU
START THROWING THE DOLLARS AND
CENTS AROUND YOU CREATE A WHOLE
DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT
PROTECTING SPECIES WHERE THEY'RE
ON THE AUCTION BLOCK AND HOW
MUCH DO YOU CARE ABOUT IT TO
THE DLNR SAYS OF THE FEDERAL
RULE CHANGES -- "WE ARE
OBVIOUSLY CONCERNED...", AND
THOUGH THEY SAY THEY'RE
"UNCERTAIN" ABOUT CHANGES AT THE
NATIONAL LEVEL, THEY SAY "HAWAII
HAS SOME OF THE MOST PROTECTIVE
ENDANGERED SPECIES
STATE LAWS... AND THESE
PROTECTIONS WILL NOT BE
GINA:
I'LL FOLLOW UP ON THE STATUS OF
ANY LEGAL ACTION, ANY WHAT
TACTICS CONGRESS TAKES TO
REVERSE THE ADMINISTRATION'S
RULE CHANGES.
BACK TO YOU.
JOE:
THE NEW RULES AT THE FEDERAL
LEVEL COME JUST AS CRITICAL
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS
IN HAWAII ARE UNDERWAY THAT
AFFECT HAWAII'S ENDANGERED
NATIVE BATS.
TWO DIFFERENT MAUI WINDFARM
COMPANIES SAY THE DEVICES ARE ON
PACE TO KILL OR HARM FAR MORE
BATS THAN ORIGINALLY PROJECTED
BEFORE THE FACILITIES WERE
BUILT.
THEY'RE EACH SEEKING TO RAISE
THE ALLOWABLE KILL LIMITS FOUR
AND FIVE TIMES ABOVE THE STATE-
APPROVED LEVEL.
THE WINDMILL COMPANIES SAY
THEY STILL PLAN "MITIGATION
EFFORTS..." AND DON'T
ANTICIPATE" ADVERSE IMPACTS" TO
THE
SPECIES.
AND EVEN THAT THEY'LL "PROVIDE A
NET BENEFIT TO THE SPECIES"
JOE: