By Chisum H.C.R. No. 262
77R14038 CCK-D
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, Under rules adopted on November 23, 1998, the Fish
1-2 and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior listed
1-3 the Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi), a minnow whose
1-4 present range includes portions of the Canadian River in Texas, as
1-5 a threatened species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species
1-6 Act; and
1-7 WHEREAS, Subsequent rules adopted on April 4, 2001, which
1-8 follow from policy reconsiderations stipulated in an agreed
1-9 settlement order, designate 1,148 miles of river segments in the
1-10 Arkansas River basin--including over 100 miles of the Canadian
1-11 River in Oldham, Potter, and Hemphill counties in Texas--as
1-12 critical habitat for the species; and
1-13 WHEREAS, This state's Parks and Wildlife Department
1-14 recommended against listing the Arkansas River shiner as an
1-15 endangered or even threatened species because such a listing was
1-16 scientifically unsound and unnecessary; and
1-17 WHEREAS, The Fish and Wildlife Service refused to enter a
1-18 Memorandum of Understanding concerning recovery of the Arkansas
1-19 River shiner with the states of Texas and Oklahoma, yet in its
1-20 recent rule adoption notice concedes that ideally a recovery plan
1-21 should precede critical habitat designation; and
1-22 WHEREAS, Its designation which becomes effective on May 4,
1-23 2001, includes a portion of the Canadian River that makes up the
1-24 headwaters of Lake Meredith, and as such could potentially
2-1 interfere with the reservoir's water supply and flood control
2-2 functions; and
2-3 WHEREAS, Critical habitat designation enhances the likelihood
2-4 that the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, might be used
2-5 as a vehicle for direct regulation of Texas groundwater and surface
2-6 water use by the federal government or the federal courts; and
2-7 WHEREAS, Notwithstanding its recent final rule adoption, the
2-8 Fish and Wildlife Service states that it continues to solicit
2-9 additional public comments on the issue toward possible new
2-10 approaches to recovery planning; now, therefore, be it
2-11 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-12 hereby urge the U.S. Department of the Interior to reconsider the
2-13 necessity of designating the Arkansas River shiner as a threatened
2-14 species and the necessity of designating critical habitat in Texas
2-15 for the Arkansas River shiner; and, be it further
2-16 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-17 urge the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Office of the
2-18 Attorney General to take all reasonable steps to ensure that
2-19 portions of the Canadian River in Texas be designated as critical
2-20 habitat only to the extent that such designation is absolutely
2-21 necessary, scientifically justifiable, and economically prudent;
2-22 and, be it further
2-23 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-24 copies of this resolution to the secretary of the interior, to the
2-25 president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of
2-26 representatives and the president of the senate of the United
2-27 States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to
3-1 the congress with the request that this resolution be officially
3-2 entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress
3-3 of the United States of America; and, be it further
3-4 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an
3-5 official copy of this resolution to the executive director of the
3-6 Parks and Wildlife Department and to the attorney general of Texas.