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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 13:55 |
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PIERRE, S.D. (AP) _ A South Dakota House committee has killed a
measure that would have allowed ranchers to sue for damages if the
state failed to control the population of prairie dogs.
The State Affairs Committee voted 9-4 to reject the bill after
lawmakers said the state should not be sued for problems caused by
federal officials.
The proposal was written in response to a recent Supreme Court
ruling that said the state is immune from a lawsuit filed by
ranchers who contend the state has failed to follow laws requiring
the control of prairie dogs that move from public land to private
land.
State officials say they did all they could to control prairie
dogs near Badlands National Park, but control was limited because
poisoning was not allowed on some federal land.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) |
