10 



Mr. Hansen. I would agree with that, and I think what you are 

 saying is reasonable; but the premise that you have put on the 

 table doesn't square with the law that we have now on the books. 



Mr. Dicks. When we do the reauthorizations of the Endangered 

 Species Act, we are going to have to look at a new strategy, an eco- 

 system strategy, some have characterized it, or you do a state-by- 

 state habitat plan. I think that is what we would rather do in 

 Washington. 



Mr. Hansen. That is excellent testimony. I couldn't agree more. 

 I think that idea ought to come forth — we ought to do that because 

 it sure isn't working the way it is going. 



Mr. Vento. Other questions? 



Mr. Dickey. 



Mr. Dickey. What is the summit? What is the form 



Mr. Dicks. We are calling it a conference now. 



Mr. Dickey. What is the conference format? Do you know? 



Mr. Dicks. I think what is going to happen is that the President 

 and Vice President and Secretaries are going to work up panels of 

 very constructive witnesses, like they did at Little Rock in the Eco- 

 nomic Summit, where they come in and lay out the problems, the 

 concerns, and the issues so that the administration can be better 

 informed, and then 



Mr. Dickey. Are you going to do that? 



Mr. Dicks. It is going to be on April 2, and we are going to be 

 in session on that day. We are working with the administration on 

 that, and we are discussing how to work around that. We have al- 

 ready had a chance to sit down. I have had three chances to sit 

 down with the President and Vice President Gore, so there is plen- 

 ty of input. 



What we want this to be is a chance for the people of the North- 

 west to talk directly to the leaders of this administration. Where 

 we got into trouble, the last administration let the BLM go one 

 way, the Forest Service go another way. The White House was 

 going another way; the Fish and Wildlife was going four different 

 ways, and we never had a comprehensive plan to deal with the 

 problem. 



That is what we need now and that is what they have pledged 

 to us, an interagency approach. And then I think we are going to 

 have to legislate it. But ultimately, the summit, like the Economic 

 Summit, is a chance to have input; and then the administration 

 and the Congress is going to have to come up with a plan. 



Mr. Dickey. Good statement. 



Mr. Calvert. I was very interested in your testimony regarding 

 species-by-species approaches presently being taken by the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service. I concur. I am from Riverside, California. We 

 have a problem with the Stevenson rat. 



Mr. Dicks. We did this. Congress did this. I can't blame the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service. 



Mr. Calvert. We have the black-tailed ratcatcher, which may 

 have a major impact on our area. We are putting together a 

 multihabitat plan now. We have it together. 



I can understand your frustration in that we can't transfer mon- 

 eys from one place to buy additional habitat, under the existing 



