While expressing the deepest concern for maintaining biological diversity, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Thursday it is not necessary to try to protect every plant and animal that faces extinction.

Gingrich, appearing before a House task force that is reviewing the controversial 1973 Endangered Species Act, questioned the law’s “species-by-species approach” and suggested that it instead be reshaped to address overall biological diversity.

Gingrich said the current species-protection effort has been marked by government micro-management, bureaucratic meddling and sometimes “bad science” that has harmed large and small property owners alike.

The Speaker said he was committed to winning House passage of a revised Endangered Species Act that takes into account economic and biological concerns as well as protection of property rights of individuals.


A rewrite of the 1973 law has been a top priority of conservative Republicans as well as many Democrats from Western states in the House and Senate. They argue that the law often has been administered irrationally, giving greater weight to protecting plants and animals than people.