1-1 By: Bivins S.C.R. No. 51 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed May 2, 2001; May 3, 2001, read first 1-3 time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; May 4, 2001, 1-4 reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; 1-5 May 4, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, Under rules adopted on November 23, 1998, the Fish 1-8 and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the 1-9 Interior listed the Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi), a 1-10 minnow whose present range includes portions of the Canadian River 1-11 in Texas, as a threatened species pursuant to the federal 1-12 Endangered Species Act; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Subsequent rules adopted on April 4, 2001, which 1-14 follow from policy reconsiderations stipulated in an agreed 1-15 settlement order, designate 1,148 miles of river segments in the 1-16 Arkansas River basin--including over 100 miles of the Canadian 1-17 River in Oldham, Potter, and Hemphill counties in Texas--as 1-18 critical habitat for the species; and 1-19 WHEREAS, This state's Parks and Wildlife Department 1-20 recommended against listing the Arkansas River shiner as an 1-21 endangered or even threatened species because such a listing was 1-22 scientifically unsound and unnecessary; and 1-23 WHEREAS, The Fish and Wildlife Service refused to enter a 1-24 Memorandum of Understanding concerning recovery of the Arkansas 1-25 River shiner with the states of Texas and Oklahoma, yet in its 1-26 recent rule adoption notice concedes that ideally a recovery plan 1-27 should precede critical habitat designation; and 1-28 WHEREAS, Its designation, which becomes effective on May 4, 1-29 2001, includes a portion of the Canadian River that makes up the 1-30 headwaters of Lake Meredith, and as such could potentially 1-31 interfere with the reservoir's water supply and flood control 1-32 functions; and 1-33 WHEREAS, Critical habitat designation enhances the likelihood 1-34 that the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, might be used 1-35 as a vehicle for direct regulation of Texas groundwater and surface 1-36 water use by the federal government or the federal courts; and 1-37 WHEREAS, Notwithstanding its recent final rule adoption, the 1-38 Fish and Wildlife Service states that it continues to solicit 1-39 additional public comments on the issue toward possible new 1-40 approaches to recovery planning; now, therefore, be it 1-41 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-42 hereby urge the United States Department of the Interior to 1-43 reconsider the necessity of designating the Arkansas River shiner 1-44 as a threatened species and the necessity of designating critical 1-45 habitat in Texas for the Arkansas River shiner; and, be it further 1-46 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-47 urge the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Office of the 1-48 Attorney General to take all reasonable steps to ensure that 1-49 portions of the Canadian River in Texas be designated as critical 1-50 habitat only to the extent that such designation is absolutely 1-51 necessary, scientifically justifiable, and economically prudent; 1-52 and, be it further 1-53 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-54 copies of this resolution to the secretary of the interior, to the 1-55 president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of 1-56 representatives and the president of the senate of the United 1-57 States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 1-58 the congress with the request that this resolution be officially 1-59 entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress 1-60 of the United States of America; and, be it further 1-61 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an 1-62 official copy of this resolution to the executive director of the 1-63 Parks and Wildlife Department and to the attorney general of Texas. 2-1 * * * * *