Naked City
Off the Desk
Fri., Dec. 1, 1995
Save Our Salamander
The Save Our Springs Legal Defense Fund (SOSLDF) and UT zoology professor Dr.
Mark Kirkpatrick won their lawsuit Monday to force U.S. Secretary of the
Interior Bruce Babbitt to make a determination on the stalled listing of the
Barton Springs salamander under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On November
27, U.S. District Judge Lucius Bunton of Midland, Texas, ordered Babbitt to
decide "whether to list the salamander as endangered, withdraw the listing, or
extend the time to make a decision." Bunton stipulates that an extension should
be no more than six months, and only if "there exists substantial disagreement
regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the data now available upon which the
listing decision is to be made." Babbitt has 14 days to comply, according to
the court document.In a separate decision, Bunton rejected Texas Attorney General Dan Morales' petition to intervene in the case. According to court papers filed by Morales, the State of Texas is justified in joining the fray because the "outcome of the [SOSLDF's] action will affect the State of Texas' ability to regulate, manage, and protect its resources, as well as the rights of Texas citizens to use their property." AG spokesperson Ward Tisdale said they were "disappointed in the ruling," and since they had only received word of the ruling on November 29, they would have to "review the decision on whether to appeal." A similar petition to intervene by the Texas Capitol Area Builders Association was also rejected.
Although the species has been proposed by Babbitt for listing under the Endangered Species Act since February 17, 1994, the Interior Secretary missed a one-year deadline to follow through on his recommendation. Bunton notes in his decision that although on March 10, 1995 Babbitt extended the deadline by six months, the Secretary's action violated ESA provisions since his reasoning was based on "unresolved issues," not on directly related scientific data as the Act requires. Babbitt likely made the extension in response to a February 14 request from Governor George W. Bush, expressing "deep concerns" about the potential listing. Bunton found that the letter was "not appropriate justification for considering whether to grant an extension under the ESA."
SOSLDF officials say the lawsuit became necessary because there has been no movement to list the salamander since either the February deadline, or the August 17 extension deadline. Meanwhile, according to several city and environmental experts, the salamanders' numbers have progressively dwindled over the last 20 years and continue to do so, due to increased development over the Barton Springs watershed.
SOSLDF attorney Amy Johnson, of Austin's Henry, Lowerre, Johnson, Hess & Frederick, argues that the suit was necessary to protect the species and the springs from further degradation. "The salamander is the classic canary in the coal mine, and Barton Springs is a very beautiful coal mine that Austin residents want to see protected," Johnson says.
SOSLDF lead attorney Bill Bunch expressed joy over the court's decision, and says his group only "reluctantly" filed the suit after all normal channels were exhausted. "Given that the Texas Legislature made it virtually impossible to protect the springs, we had no choice but to ask for federal protections for both the salamander and the [Edwards] aquifer in which it lives," he adds. Bunch is referring to the recent passage of "Austin-bashing" bills that released key developments over the watershed from Austin's water quality regulations.
The AG's petition accused SOSLDF of playing politics, but Morales has continually been accused of playing hardball on environmental issues in an attempt to pander to the conservative vote. He tried to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its attempt last year to designate parts of 33 counties as critical habitat for the golden-cheeked warbler, and he is currently taking legal steps to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regarding alleged overpumping of water by subsidized farmers. In addition, Morales' move to join Ag Commissioner Rick Perry's attack on the Endangered Species Act, his appearances at events sponsored by property rights advocates, and his maneuverings to hide the potential financial ramifications of the "takings bill" during the last legislative session, have been interpreted by environmentalists as a direct appeal to the property rights crowd.
The Interior Secretary's office said they had not received Bunton's decision by Wednesday and could not comment by press time. No word yet on whether they will appeal. - L.C.B.
Fifth Street Facelift
Maybe the idea behind a plan to punch a Fifth Street corridor through I-35 is
to help reunite East and West Austin. But when the proposal came up at a public
hearing of the Austin Transportation Study (ATS) earlier this month, it
demonstrated that the one thing guaranteed to bring Austinites together is the
prospect of a political free-for-all. Highlights of the hearing included
unusual alliances, angry accusations, a split among compact-city advocates, and
a back-of the-room shouting match between East Austin residents on opposing
sides of the issue.Councilmember Gus Garcia pushed hard to amend the ATS 25-year plan to allow for a four-lane arterial on East Fifth, at a cost of $3.5 million. Another $20 million would be needed to penetrate the concrete wall of I-35 to connect East and West Fifth. Garcia said that the connection is needed to help with economic revitalization of East Austin. Capital Metro representative Harry Jones said that the arterial is consistent with plans for an intermodal corridor on East Fifth that would include Plaza Saltillo, a light rail line, a pedestrian promenade, and an Intermodal Center.
However, the East Austin neighorhood coalition, El Concilio, vehemently opposed the project. El Concilio coordinator Gavino Fernandez accused the ATS of steamrolling through a "done deal" which he said would disrupt residential areas to benefit a handful of businesses. Richard McCown, president of the citywide neighborhood coalition known as the Austin Neighborhood Council, agreed. He said that a major arterial would produce cut-through traffic in East Austin residential areas, and make light rail less viable. Mark Ferrari, representing the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association, warned East Austinites that hooking up to West Fifth Street might create pedestrian-hostile conditions because of fast crosstown traffic. "Our area of West Sixth has 30,000 cars a day," Ferrari said. "It's as much a barrier to us as I-35 is to East Austin." Linda Curtis, a leader of the fiscally conservative group, Priorities First!, told the ATS that government should support revitalization where business takes it, not where government thinks it should go.
Several citizens called attention to downtown revitalization plans such as Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) and the Downtown Mobility Study, that recommend reconverting Fifth and Sixth from one-way to two-way traffic. Since Sixth Street is already continuous under I-35, converting it to two-way traffic would provide the needed access to East Austin, and save the $20 million needed to punch through the Fifth Street corridor, they said. The Downtown Austin Alliance's proposal to depress I-35 below ground level would eventually remove the barrier to Fifth Street, anyway, they added.
East Austin business leader Diana Valera, who said that she had envisioned a pedestrian-friendly, two-way boulevard with bicycle lanes for Fifth Street, showed signs of wavering in her support for the corridor. Garcia, trying to calm fears of a one-way, four-lane speedway, told the audience that he only wanted to get the corridor included in the ATS plan, and that details as to the number of lanes could be worked out later with public involvement. Councilmember Jackie Goodman and State Rep. Sherri Greenberg suggested that the plan call for only two lanes for East Fifth, but Garcia refused, saying, "We're putting it in as four lanes because that's what it is across
I-35." In the end, the ATS voted unanimously to include the four-lane arterial in its long-range plan, with the qualifier, "subject to future lane design determination." Garcia succeeded in preserving a 60-foot wide right-of-way, sufficient for four lanes and parallel parking. - N.E.
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