Articles
Earth Day and environmental casualties
Author: Daniel Himebaugh In honor of Earth Day this week, I think it's appropriate to highlight the story of Bob Slobe, a Sacramento-area conservationist who became a casualty of irrational environmentalism. A few years ago, the Sacramento Business Journal reported that the presence of elderberry bushes on Slobe's property had stymied ...
Articles
PLF to feds : remove regulations for California beetle
Author: Brandon Middleton Does it make sense for the federal government to regulate a species under the Endangered Species Act that is in fact not endangered? Of course not. Yet that is precisely what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is doing in maintaining federal protection for the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, a species found R ...
Articles
Our federal government : quick to regulate, slow to liberate
Author: Brandon Middleton You may recall that Pacific Legal Foundation recently filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking the agency to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the list of federally-protected species under the Endangered Species Act. The basis for PLF's petition was the Service' ...
Articles
PLF promises lawsuit over feds’ unnecessary beetle restrictions
Author: Brandon Middleton On September 9, 2010, Pacific Legal Foundation made a simple request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service: take the valley elderberry longhorn beetle off of the list of protected species under the Endangered Species Act. By no means would this be a complex task for the Service–in fact, PLF’s September ...
Articles
Federal funding for a beetle that doesn’t need it : your taxpayer dollars at work (Part 1)
Author: Brandon Middleton Despite its duty to use federal dollars responsibly and efficiently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service continues to devote its taxpayer resources towards restricting development on Bob Slobe’s property in North Sacramento. The Service’s land use restrictions are based purportedly on the need to prot ...
Articles
Federal funding for a beetle that doesn’t need it : your taxpayer dollars at work (Introduction)
Author: Brandon Middleton A key issue for policy makers in Washington D.C. these days is how to control and reduce federal spending. One noteworthy item was President Obama’s recent order for federal agencies to conduct a “systematic review of existing regulations” and make “a concerted effort to banish red tape” in ...
Articles
Federal funding for a beetle that doesn't need it : your taxpayer dollars at work (Part 2)
Author: Brandon Middleton In Pacific Legal Foundation’s effort to have the valley elderberry longhorn beetle removed from the Endangered Species Act list, we represent Central Valley flood control agencies who have had to devote hundreds of thousands of dollars toward VELB mitigation efforts instead of actual flood control projects. Levee Dis ...
Articles
Federal funding for a beetle that doesn’t need it : your taxpayer dollars at work (Part 3)
Author: Brandon Middleton The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is funded by your money, and it is wasting it by regulating a beetle under the Endangered Species Act that is not even endangered. But the Service is not the only federal agency throwing cash and administrative resources at the healthy valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB). … ...
Articles
Federal funding for a beetle that doesn’t need it : your taxpayer dollars at work (Part 4)
Author: Brandon Middleton Yesterday I discussed how American taxpayers are paying for federal agencies to provide unnecessary Endangered Species Act protection to the healthy valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB). The situation is even worse for those of us who live in California, who have to watch as local governments and businesses are hamst ...