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OFBF President Bob Peterson supported proposed changes to the 32-year-old Endangered Species Act by testifying last month before a House subcommittee.

Peterson, acting on behalf of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), testified that farmers need more and better voluntary incentives to help endangered species in the United States.

"Farmers and ranchers enjoy the benefit of having wildlife on their land," said Peterson, an AFBF board member. "Most farmers and ranchers are already taking measures on their own to protect listed species and habitat. They need the tools to be able to do it better."

Peterson’s testimony came just days before Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., proposed a bill Sept. 19 that would stop the government from setting aside habitat for endangered plants and animals. The bill provided a flexible incentives program for farmers and other landowners to provide benefits to listed species on private lands. It also required that reliable science be used when making decisions about the Endangered Species Act.

Pombo’s bill provides several AFBF priorities for reforming the Endangered Species Act, including providing incentives to farmers, better science and greater landowner participation in the process. It would require the government to compensate landowners if it declares some of their property off limits to development to protect federally listed endangered species. The House Resources Committee passed the bill 26-12.

Peterson testified that several programs are available to help animal species before they are listed as endangered but that once a species is listed, most of those opportunities disappear.

"We are convinced that cooperative conservation is the way to make the Endangered Species Act work for both landowners and for species, producing a win-win situation for both," he said.

Currently, 1,830 species are listed as endangered in the United States, including 18 animals and six plants in Ohio, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Adam Sharp, OFBF’s director of national affairs, noted that the Endangered Species Act has the potential to affect every farmer.

"Farmers typically think of this as a Western issue but it can affect Ohio too," he said. "There’s been a series of lawsuits filed against the use of pesticides such as atrazine, which we use in Ohio, because they may have the potential to be a threat to endangered species. As these lawsuits play out, it's a good idea to have federal policy that makes sense for all farmers."