As many readers may already know, the Bush administration has decided to make one last assault on the Endangered Species Act before leaving office for good. Apparently it’s not enough that the Bush administration has repeatedly refused to list endangered species during the last eight years unless forced to by a court of law — now the administration is trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act with a backdoor stunt made out of desperation — not sound wildlife management.

The following is a statement made by Bob Irvin, Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs at Defenders of Wildlife, right after the announcement:

Yesterday’s announcement by the Bush Administration regarding changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was a last-ditch effort by a near-extinct administration to impose the same fate on America’s endangered species.

The so-called “narrow revisions” are just wide enough to ensure that agencies can go ahead with projects without being subject to checks and balances, or consultation. This calculated and political decision leaves America’s most threatened species at the mercy of a wholly inadequate review process, with no requirement for a scientific understanding of the impact on affected species. In fact, many of the agencies now required to determine the impact of an action on a species do not even have biologists on staff.

By unilaterally allowing agencies to decide that consultation is not necessary, the burden of liability is placed wholly on the individual agencies, leaving them open to citizen suits. And, by putting a 60 day limit (subject to a 60 day extension by FWS) on completion of informal consultations, the proposal will increase the likelihood that harmful agency actions could slip through, again necessitating more citizen suits.

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s narrow definition of what actions would actually be subject to consultation means that consideration of the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on polar bears or other wildlife affected by global warming is completely off limits. This narrow definition will also affect all listed species and critical habitat from being protected from a host of indirect effects resulting from federal actions, permits, or funding.

Proposing these drastic changes with only five months to go in the administration is clearly an effort to secure changes that the administration has been unable to achieve through legislation. The concepts of self-consultation and deadlines that place the burden of delay on listed species protection were both key elements of the Pombo bill that died in the Senate. This is an egregious example of leaving the fox to guard the chicken coop.

By allowing these changes to take place, the chances of qualified species gaining federal protection diminishes greatly. Which is exactly what George W. Bush and Dick Cheney both hope will happen.

National wildlife refuges protect a great many endangered species, and as supporters of the Refuge System, we have an obligation to comment on this assault made on a law that gave us back the American bald eagle.

The comment period for the public has been limited to 30 days — another trick that the Bush administration hopes will result in fewer comments. The deadline for comments is September 15, so be sure to comment now by following these two steps:

Go to Regulations.gov and search for the term: “50 CFR Part 402 proposed rule”. When your search results appear, you should see FR Doc # EB – 18938.

Click on the “Send a comment or submission” link to submit your comments. Say that you strongly oppose the recently announced plan to weaken protections for threatened and endangered wildlife under the Endangered Species Act, and that you believe wildlife protection should be carried out by trained wildlife professionals. If you have personal feelings or observations about the importance of the Endangered Species Act, be sure to include those as well.

Tags:
wildlife, wildlife refuge, conservation, National Wildlife Refuge System, Endangered Species Act