Stop the Bush/Cheney Attack on Endangered Species Act
The Bush/Cheney administration has just proposed sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act that would roll back decades of protection and prevent federal agencies from trying to protect endangered species from one of the biggest threats they face - global warming.
This new proposal, much of which has been previously rejected by Congress, would allow federal officials to bypass current requirements for independent, scientific review of development projects. Instead, federal officials could decide for themselves whether new development would harm endangered wildlife - with the burden of accountability falling on citizens to file lawsuits.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne admitted that these changes have been proposed to make sure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used to regulate the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions to protect polar bears and other species from global warming. In fact, agencies would be specifically forbidden from considering a project's emissions and the effect those would have on wildlife and habitat.
Proposing these drastic changes with only five months left in this administration is clearly an effort to secure changes that President Bush and Secretary Kempthorne have been unable to push through Congress. Tell Secretary Kempthorne to stop this back-door attack on our endangered wildlife!
To Secretary Kempthorne,
I am writing to oppose the Department of the Interior's proposal to weaken Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
Federal agencies are currently required to consult with either U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regarding federal projects that could potentially harm endangered species. But this weakening of the ESA would allow federal agencies to unilaterally decide that such consultation is not necessary, thus allowing agencies to regulate themselves. The only recourse the public would have to protect endangered species would be through litigation.
By narrowly defining which federal actions are subject to mandatory consultation, this proposal will also make consideration of the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on polar bears or other wildlife affected by global warming off limits. Limiting the ability of the government's expert wildlife scientists to provide input on how to minimize indirect impacts of federal actions, permits, or funding will negatively affect all listed species and critical habitat.
Proposing these drastic changes with only five months left in the Bush 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 former Representative Richard Pombo's bill that died in the Senate in 2006.
I strongly oppose this attempt to weaken our landmark Endangered Species Act and urge this administration to abandon this proposal.
