It’s been widely reported that the Bush Administration, as one of their final acts, are looking to remove independent scientific review from the Endangered Species Act. They would prefer that each agency monitor the impact of their own projects on habitat loss and species impact. From the AP article,

“If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years,” said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative.”

The changes sought aim to streamline Federal construction timelines possibly at the expense of rigorous review. the article continues,

The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, according to the 30-page draft obtained by the AP. “We believe federal action agencies will err on the side of caution in making these determinations,” the proposal said.

The ‘fox guarding the hen house’ analogy seems very appropriate here. It seems that the changes the administration is trying to make does not require the consent of Congress. This is likely a battle that will be fought in the media instead. So please talk about this issue with your friends and neighbors. Awareness and agitation from the populace are likely all that would prevent these changes from occurring.

It’s probably also time to contact my friendly neighborhood congress critter to remind them that, even if they aren’t in the discussion, species diversity and preservation is something that we need to keep at the top of our priority list… Not construction schedules.

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