THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503310531
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW BERN LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
A Congressional task force studying wetlands and endangered species regulations will hold a hearing in New Bern on Saturday that some environmentalists contend is stacked against them.
Third District Congressman Walter B. Jones Jr. announced this week that the Wetlands Reform and Endangered Species Act task forces, subcommittees of the House Committee on Natural Resources, will hear testimony on the effects of wetlands and endangered species laws on the local area.
Jones, a Republican member of the Wetlands Reform Task Force, said the hearings are the ``first step in restoring a reasonable balance'' in wetlands and endangered species matters.
But one coastal environmental group takes a different view of the hearing.
In a press release, the North Carolina Coastal Federation claims witnesses for the task force have been deliberately chosen to favor those who oppose wetlands and endangered species regulations.
``The committee chairmen have stacked the deck with hand-picked speakers,'' the press release says. ``Only one fisherman, for instance, has been invited to speak about the need to protect wetlands to safeguard our recreational and commercial fisheries.
``Dozens of opponents of environmental protection have been working with the subcommittees secretly planning a program that tells the congressmen what they want to hear.''
The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Craven County Courthouse Annex in New Bern.
The Endangered Species Act Task Force is chaired by Rep. Richard Pombo, a California Republican. The Wetlands Reform Task Force is headed by Rep. John Doolittle, another California Republican. by CNB