I strongly support a clear…

I strongly support a clear and concise ESA that protects and helps to restore species, that through our ignorance or poor land and water management are at risk. We do need new and better ways to manage our interactions with land and waterscapes so that we protect and restore endangered species AND prevent other species from being damaged to the point where they become a new listing. Part of our problem has been our fractured and disconnected planning and management systems that lack contextual understanding of a landscape at a systems level. This was why many of use worked to develop watershed analysis and management so we understood the pathways and processes created by a landscape so we u Dre’s todo how habitat was created and maintained for species. Understanding these functional processes in turn helped to develop better ways to look at developments in a way that did not damage habitat for many species.

This approach needs to be restored and applied, not only for species at risk but also for how we manage water, nutrients, developments, agricultural activities, forests, wetlands, lakes and rivers to provide benefits to us while not damaging important habitats for animals and plants. These plans then provide certainty for how and where to develop.