GLEN AND DOUGLAS TESTIFY BEFORE U.S.
 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ESA OVERSIGHT ISSUES

Smith|Robertson attorneys Alan Glen and Craig Douglas each recently appeared before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water to provide testimony on Endangered Species Act oversight issues. Mr. Douglas appeared at an April hearing regarding the current crisis with the implementation of "critical habitat" regulation under the ESA at the invitation of Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), who chairs the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Sen. Inhofe extended the invitation as a result of the firm's representation of several agricultural and ranching associations and water districts from Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Kansas in the ongoing litigation regarding the critical habitat for the Arkansas River shiner, as well as the firm's representation of landowners and businesses affected by critical habitat designations nationwide.

Mr. Glen testifed at a June hearing on the ESA's consultation process at the request of Subcommittee Chairman Michael Crapo (R-Idaho). Section 7 of the ESA requires any federal agency issuing a permit to a private party to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the potential affects of the proposed permitted activity on species that are listed as threatened or endangered. While serving a valuable function, the consultation process has been widely criticized in recent years for a multitude of reasons. Sen. Crapo's invitation was based on Mr. Glen's years of extensive experience in representing the interests of non-federal permit applicants in consultations between USFWS and several other federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Copies of the written statements and transcripts of the hearings are available through the links provided below. For more information, please contact Craig Douglas at cdouglas@smith-robertson.com.

 LINK to Douglas testimony and transcript.
 LINK to Glen testimony and transcript.

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