ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Species of Murky Government

Everett McCracken, president of the California Fish and Game Commission, recently said something revealing: He didn’t put much stock in the credibility of biologists’ information given on opposing sides of petitions for endangered-species status.

Yet the commission decides important land-use questions, supposedly on the basis of scientific data only. If the commission head doesn’t believe the science, what is the public to think?

As it stands, the state’s process of species-designation is not much more reliable than a coin flip.

In the past, the commission has listed many species but has overwhelmingly decided against listing in cases where there is opposition. That doesn’t inspire very much confidence, either.

Of immediate consequence is the fact that the commission will hold a public hearing Thursday on whether to protect the California gnatcatcher, a tiny songbird that inhabits coastal sage scrub in Southern California and Baja, Mexico. The bird, like the spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest, has become a symbol for a fierce, larger battle--in this case, developers versus environmentalists.

There’s been a public debate over which of the opposing biologists’ assessments are right: Is it those who say the bird is in real trouble or those who say the danger to the gnatcatcher is exaggerated?

The discouraging thing is that the commission doesn’t seem to have the expertise needed to make a valid determination. McCracken, a businessman, votes only in the event of a tie between the two other commissioners, both businessmen too.

Ultimately, it may be left to the courts to sort all this out. But that’s an unsatisfactory way to go about protecting species and planning growth.

For the process to inspire more confidence, it needs changes.

Having a scientist or two on the state commission would help in the short term. And there’s a need for a broader, more sure-fire approach to species designation, one that protects the species and the environment in general while respecting the rights of development.