WASHINGTON — The landmark law passed 32 years ago to save America's wildlife from extinction would dramatically change under a bill passed yesterday by the House. The bill requires Senate approval before it becomes law.

The Endangered Species Act protects many species in Hawai'i and on the Mainland and has helped save the condor, bald eagle, wolf, grizzly bear and manatee.

But it also has pitted landowners wanting to develop their property against federal officials trying to protect habitat in lengthy court battles.

The bill by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., would pay private landowners who are blocked from developing their land because of the act. The bill also would narrow the definition of habitat that must be protected to save a species.

The vote was 229-193, with 34 Republicans opposed. There were 36 Democrats in favor, including Hawai'i Rep. Neil Abercrombie. Hawai'i's other representative, Ed Case, also a Democrat, voted against the bill.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where it may not be considered until next year. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., a key subcommittee chairman, has said he would not favor eliminating the provisions requiring species protection in their critical habitats.

"If you gut the habitat, you're really gutting the act," he said.

Supporters of the changes say the act needs to be overhauled to increase the rights of private property owners. Environmentalists say the changes would put developers in a position to extort billions from taxpayers.

Pombo has long pushed changes to help ranchers, farmers and timber companies that he believes have been harmed by the law. About 90 percent of endangered species in the United States live on private land.

Timber companies in the Pacific Northwest have been stopped from logging trees that are home to spotted owls. Developers in Southern California have been unable to build in some areas because of dime-sized fairy shrimp that breed in small puddles of water during the fall and winter rains.

Montana sheep rancher Joe Helle says gray wolves have killed his sheep and maimed his guard dogs, hurting his livelihood.

"Some common sense needs to be put into the act," he said. "The Endangered Species Act gives more consideration to animals than people."

Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., a co-sponsor of Pombo's bill, said, "Over the years, the unintended consequences that have accompanied each discovery of an endangered species have forced families, farmers and ranchers to forfeit their land or business or both, with no recompense."

While environmentalists support the use of tax breaks and other incentives to encourage landowners to preserve habitat, they fear that Pombo's bill would bankrupt the program. Essentially, the government would be paying people not to break the law, said members of the Endangered Species Coalition.

For example, developers who want to build a shopping mall on land occupied by endangered birds could demand that the federal government pay them what the land would cost if it could be turned into a mall.

"It would reward developers who plan the maximum and most potentially profitable projects for the most ecologically important habitat," said Liz Godfrey of the Endangered Species Coalition. "In short, it begs developers to plan projects that allow them to extort payment from the government."

Several Democrats touted the unexpected benefits of protecting endangered plants — including some that provide crucial ingredients in medicines used to treat devastating illnesses.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noted that the yew tree was a source for the breast-cancer drug Taxol.

The Los Angeles Times provided the quotations by Chafee and Pelosi. The Associated Press provided the votes of Hawai'i's representatives.