New Regulations Threaten Parts of Endangered Species Act
For years, Congress has resisted efforts to curtail the scope of the Endangered Species Act. But now, in an end run around the legislative process, the Bush administration has introduced planned new regulations that would have much the same effect.
The regs, which are now subject to a 30-day comment period, would allow federal agencies to determine for themselves whether an animal or plant species is threatened by a planned project. This approach would eliminate the independent scientific review by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that has been required for decades, reports the Washington Post.
Dale Hall, who directs the Fish and Wildlife Service, says the new rules won’t apply to major projects, and will allow federal review efforts to be focused on important concerns rather than spread thin over a lot of minor issues.
However, Bob Irvin, an official at the Defenders of Wildlife advocacy group, says most federal agencies aren’t equipped to make such assessments because they don’t have wildlife biologists on staff.
“Clearly, that’s a case of asking the fox to guard the chicken coop,” he says of the new regs. “What the Bush administration is telling those agencies is they don’t have to think about those impacts anymore.”
The new regs apparently were prompted by a controversial finding that the polar bear is threatened by global warming, according to the newspaper.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Wolverine Loses But Polar Bear Wins in Endangered Species Rulings”
ABAJournal.com: “Alaska Sues Feds Over Polar Bear Listing as Threatened Species”
