Endangered Species Act Foe Tangled In Abramoff Scandal

[Richard W. Pombo] is a tax-cutting, anti-abortion, anti-gun-control conservative. But it is the 33-year-old species law that has been his political obsession...he finds himself facing questions about his efforts on behalf of Abramoff clients. And a series of legislative maneuvers late last year called attention to what critics say is his record of pushing proposals that benefit his primary campaign contributors: agribusiness, the oil and gas industry, builders, utilities and mining...In environmental circles, Pombo's efforts cemented his reputation as the most dangerous man in Congress... He argues that the best way to conserve natural resources is to give society an economic incentive to protect them by allowing their use rather than barring it."