Long Island delegation should be united protecting the ESA

House Republicans came crashing down to earth on Earth Day.

A terrible bill, deliberately scheduled to mock the environmental movement, was pulled from a floor vote Wednesday because it didn’t have enough support to pass. Whether the defeat was a definitive win for those who support protecting endangered species or just the realization of the bad optics in a political season where House Republicans are considered endangered, the bill should remain underwater.

The bill was a compilation of amendments to the 53-year-old Endangered Species Act which is credited with preserving habitats essential for wildlife survival and saving approximately 291 species including the bald eagle, humpback whale, peregrine falcon and the American alligator. On Long Island the biggest beneficiaries are the tiny piping plover — yes, the same ones that can require the closing of some beaches during nesting season — along with terns and turtles.

The 1973 law signed by President Richard Nixon had passed Congress with strong bipartisan support.

Among the changes included in the bill are ones that would prioritize short term gains, such as clearing the way for a development project. It would require an economic analysis of protecting a specific species, making cost, not science, a basis for decisions. It would also not allow protection of new areas that some species are migrating to for survival as climate changes degrade their current habitats.

Even conservative Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida thought the bill would be harmful to wildlife in her area, saying on social media, “Don’t tread on my turtles. Protected is protected.”

Initially, three Long Island House members had declined to tell Newsday’s news division how they would vote — CD1 Rep. Nick LaLota, CD2 Rep. Andrew Garbarino and CD4 Rep. Laura Gillen. Only CD3 Rep. Tom Suozzi said he was a clear-throated no. After the bill was pulled, Garbarino said he had advocated against voting on it with House leadership. The Long Island delegation should be united against any renewed efforts to sabotage conservation law.

The bill is a companion to the Trump administration’s rollback strategy to weaken ESA restrictions allowed on a case-by-case basis in the existing law. In March, the administration invoked this rarely used special waiver to allow more oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico. Conservation groups identify the species now at an outsized risk from drilling, noise and spills in the Gulf as the Rice’s whale which is concentrated in the area, five types of sea turtles and the West Indian manatee. The proposed new law would simplify the complex waiver process with new rules that would make it easier, if not routine, to roll back the ESA protections that require the federal government to limit harm to endangered species and safeguard habitats.

Fifty-six years since Earth Day began, with so much more to be done to mitigate the risks to our planet, the small success stymieing this bill is worth noting.