The U.S. House Armed Services Committee, including Oklahoma Representatives Steve Russell and Jim Bridenstine turned back a move by a Democratic Representative to strip part of a national defense spending bill that included exemption of protection for the greater sage-grouse on military lands.
The vote was 27-35 against removing the limits as part of an amendment by Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA).
“Restoring military readiness means lifting burdens on our military installations where possible and reasonable,” said Rep. Bridenstine. “The U.S. military takes great pains to comply with the main regulations imposed by the Endangered Species Act. ESA imposes costs on our military every day.
We need to balance those costs against the imperative of training and preparing the force.”
Bridenstine pointed to errors in studies for the original listings of two species including the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the American Burying Beetle.
“The McAlester Army Ammunition plant in eastern Oklahoma sits squarely in the Beetle’s known range. The plant jumps through hoops every day to deal with the ESA requirements and future plans to expand and modify the plant are impacted too,” added the congressman. “We shouldn’t be burdening this Army ammunition plant or any other military installation for a species which is clearly thriving.”
As for the Lesser Prairie Chicken, Bridenstine said there are seven military bases within the historic range of the Chicken including in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma.
“All of these installations would face significant impacts if the LPC is relisted, particularly in terms of future expansion. Before we jeopardize readiness, let’s give time for the state-based conservation program to work,” said Rep. Bridenstine.