Kempthorne's Fix to ESA = More Bureaucracy Washington, D.C. - The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has "made life miserable for scores of bureaucrats as well as the ranching, timber and real estate interests" reports a Washington Post story dated Feb. 1. Referring to how the ESA is being abused by environmental organizations, it was reported that the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity launched a full scale legal war against federal agencies to protect 66 species on 21 million acres of land in Arizona and New Mexico. Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center said grazing "just doesn't belong in the Southwest-Yes, we are destroying a way of life that goes back 100 years. But it's a way of life that is one of the most destructive in our country. Ranching is one of the most nihilistic life styles this planet has ever seen. It should end. Good riddance." Senator Kempthorne has been touting his ESA reform bill as good for landowners pointing to the many new "incentive" programs he's created, but just compensation is still not one of them. (from Liberty Matters News Service, 2/9/98)