Endangered Species Act Under Attack // Current

Serious concern for Florida manatees

Who Else Wants To Help Save The 3,200 That Occupy The Florida Coast? American Tourism, Leisure Water Activities, and the... more

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Bush Administration Rushes Regulatory Changes Before Time Is Up - WSJ.com

The White House is rushing to enact regulatory changes in species protection, mining and other sensitive areas. WASHINGTON --... more

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Palin's barbaric record on killing America's 'protected' wildlife

We’re getting the word out to voters about Governor Sarah Palin’s barbaric record on killing America’s wildlife,... more

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Our Polar Bears, Ourselves...OUR FUTURE

It wasn't much noticed at the time, but three weeks before she was chosen as John McCain's vice presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin played a key supporting role in the latest episode of the Bush Administration's eight-year war on the Endangered Species Act, one of the cornerstones of American environmental law. On August 4 Alaska sued the government for listing the polar bear as a "threatened" species, an action, the lawsuit asserted, that would harm "oil and gas...development" in the state. In an accompanying statement, Palin complained that the listing "was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available" and should be rescinded.

The Bush Administration had not wanted to designate the polar bear as threatened in the first place; now Palin's lawsuit provided cover to backtrack on the decision. The Interior Department had issued the listing only after environmental groups filed two lawsuits, and the courts ordered compliance. While the polar bear population was currently stable, the plaintiffs argued, greenhouse gas emissions were melting the Arctic ice that polar bears rely on to hunt seals, their main food source. A study by the US Geological Survey supported this argument, concluding that two-thirds of all polar bears could be gone by 2050 if Arctic ice continues to melt as scientists project. The listing was the first time global warming had been cited as the sole premise in an Endangered Species Act case, and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne clearly wanted it to be the last. When Kempthorne announced the polar bear listing on May 14, he emphasized that it would not affect federal policy on global warming or block development of "our natural resources in the Arctic."

A week after Palin's lawsuit, Kempthorne delivered on that pledge. On August 11 he proposed new rules that could allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether their actions will imperil a threatened or endangered species. The rule reverses precedent: since passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service have made such determinations independent of the agency involved. Under the new rule, if the Army Corps of Engineers is building a dam, the corps can decide whether it is putting species at risk. To make sure no one missed the point, Kempthorne told reporters that the new rule, which he termed "a narrow regulatory change," would keep the Endangered Species Act from becoming "a back door" to making climate change policy.

Kempthorne's proposal nevertheless seems likely to go forward. An obligatory thirty-day period for public comment expires September 15, after which Interior can begin to implement the rule. Congress could block funding, but few expect that to happen. Lawsuits are certain to follow, but critics say the quickest solution would be for the next administration to withdraw the rule. Barack Obama seems likely to do that; he immediately condemned Kempthorne's proposal. John McCain was silent. But his choice of Palin--who does not believe global warming is caused by humans but does think it's acceptable for humans to gun down wolves from airplanes--suggests that Arctic creatures have much to fear from a McCain administration.

FOR THE REST OF THIS REPORT, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/hertsgaardIt wasn't much noticed at the time, but three weeks before she was chosen as John McCain's vice presidential running... more

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3 months ago

America's Endangered Species Under Attack

The Bush administration is proposing new rules that would weaken species protections and eliminate independent scientific review of development projects that could threaten species habit.

The changes ("tweaks") that the President Bush and the Bush Administration are proposing would weaken Section 7 of the landmark Endangered Species Act.

For more than three decades, this key provision of the ESA has safeguarded imperiled species from the impacts of potentially harmful federal projects.

Key to the success of this provision has been the requirement for interagency consultation between "action agencies" that build dams or highways, issue oil and gas leases or timber cutting contracts, etc., and the "conservation agencies" that have the primary responsibility for protecting endangered species (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service).

The conservation agencies have always had the opportunity and responsibility to take a second look at the projects proposed by the action agencies. As a result of taking that independent look, the conservation agencies have often been able to suggest project modifications that avoid harmful impacts to rare species.

The proposed regulatory changes would eliminate the requirement for an independent review by the conservation agencies. The result will almost certainly mean that both harmful impacts on rare wildlife, and opportunities to avoid those impacts, will be overlooked.

Conservation is not the mission of federal action agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, and others. To make sure that their projects (and the projects of many other federal agencies as well) do not cause needless harm to rare species, the existing requirement for independent review by federal conservation agencies should not be abandoned.

Please follow the link for the petition to President Bush. If these regulatory changes are made, it will be as if the Endangered Species Act does not exist... not to mention the horrific impact on the environment.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION!
http://action.edf.org/campaign/esa_action

I will be posting more news release on this issue.The Bush administration is proposing new rules that would weaken species protections and eliminate independent scientific review... more

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4 months ago

Hundreds of Species Endangered by Bush Administration Proposal

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We partner with businesses, governments and communities to find practical environmental solutions.

Hundreds of Species Endangered by Bush Administration Proposal
Conservation Group Assails Broad Consequences of So-Called "Narrow Changes" to Endangered Species Act

(Washington, DC; August 12, 2008) A proposal by the Bush Administration that would allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects would harm endangered animals and plants would seriously weaken protection for rare wildlife, according to a leading conservation group. According to a draft of the proposed new regulations obtained by the Associated Press, the regulations would allow many federal projects to bypass the mandatory, independent reviews that independent scientists have been performing for 35 years. The proposed changes do not require approval by Congress.

This disastrous proposal makes about as much sense as eliminating homeland security at airports; said Michael J. Bean, an attorney who is chairman of the wildlife program at Environmental Defense Fund and the lead author of The Evolution of National Wildlife Law; (Praeger, 1997), a comprehensive analysis of federal wildlife conservation law. Sure, it would make air travel more convenient, but it would put passengers at greater risk, just as this proposal would put wildlife at greater risk.

The very agencies that have often resisted efforts to adjust their projects to accommodate the needs of rare wildlife would now be put in charge of deciding whether any adjustment is needed concluded Bean. Although the Bush administration claims its proposal would make only narrow changes to existing regulations, these unprecedented changes would have broad consequences, imperiling hundreds of endangered species nationwide

Contact:
Sean Crowley, (202) 572-3331-w, scrowley@edf.org
Michael Bean, (202) 572-3312-w, mbean@edf.org

http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=8214ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We partner with businesses, governments and communities to find practical environmental solutions. ... more

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4 months ago

IMPACT: Bush to relax protected species rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival.

The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.

"We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good," Kempthorne said in a news conference organized quickly after AP reported details of the proposal. "It is important to use our time and resources to protect the most vulnerable species. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species

The Bush administration and Congress have attempted with mixed success to change the law.

In 2003, the administration imposed similar rules that would have allowed agencies to approve new pesticides and projects to reduce wildfire risks without asking the opinion of government scientists about whether threatened or endangered species and habitats might be affected. The pesticide rule was later overturned in court. The Interior Department, along with the Forest Service, is currently being sued over the rule governing wildfire prevention.

But internal reviews by the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that about half the unilateral evaluations by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that determined wildfire prevention projects were unlikely to harm protected species were not legally or scientifically valid.

"This is the fox guarding the hen house. The interests of agencies will outweigh species protection interests," said Eric Glitzenstein, the attorney representing environmental groups in the lawsuit over the wildfire prevention regulations. "What they are talking about doing is eviscerating the Endangered Species Act."

Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/endangered
National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/
National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/newsWASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to... more

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4 months ago

Endangered Species Act Under Attack

Serious concern for Florida manatees

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Bush Administration Rushes Regulatory Changes Before Time Is Up - WSJ.com

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Palin's barbaric record on killing America's 'protected' wildlife

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Our Polar Bears, Ourselves...OUR FUTURE

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America's Endangered Species Under Attack

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Hundreds of Species Endangered by Bush Administration Proposal

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IMPACT: Bush to relax protected species rules

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