Lawmaker Protests Endangered Status for Rat
Placing the San Bernardino kangaroo rat on the endangered species list threatens a $420-million dam, a new highway and other development that is vital to the local economy, a lawmaker argued.
“This is a rat we’re talking about,” Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) complained this week in a letter to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week granted an endangered designation for the rat, which inhabits a shrinking range along the Santa Ana River and the Lytle and Cajon creeks. Federal biologists said they had to act to protect the species from several proposed mining projects.
The emergency designation, which is in effect for eight months, makes it illegal to harm the species directly or through farming, building and business operations. The agency said it intends to make the listing permanent.
In his letter, Lewis argued that the designation endangers the local economy by threatening crucial projects, including construction of California 30 in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and redevelopment of the closed Norton Air Force Base in Loma Linda.
However, San Bernardino County Supervisor Jerry Eaves said those two projects should not be affected.
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