Concern mounts over lame duck effort to gut Endangered Species Act

Editorial boards across the country are criticizing a proposed Bush administration rule change that they say will gut the Endangered Species Act by allowing agencies to avoid independent scientific review of projects.

Under the rule change proposed by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, federal agencies would be allowed to decide for themselves whether their projects are “reasonably certain” to harm endangered species, and only then would they be required to seek input from scientists. Current rules require them to do so if harm is “reasonably forseeable.”

Administration regard for endangered species “hit a new low” with this proposal, the Los Angeles Times opined, and noted that Bush administration efforts to sidestep environmental law have been repeatedly overturned in court.

The New York Times urged people to submit comments in opposition to the change.

A 30 day public comment period on the rule change is expected to begin when official notice of the change is published in the federal register on Friday.

“Make no mistake, there is a reason they chose to do this in August when Congress is out of session and Members are in their districts working,” Democratic Rep. John Dingell of Detroit, said in a statement.

Dingell authored the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and called its enactment one of his proudest moments in the US Congress.

“The changes sought by the Bush Administration would seriously weaken the law, eliminating the requirement that scientists be the ones making decisions regarding science, instead giving political hacks and unsympathetic bureaucrats another opportunity to attack the scientific community,” Dingell added.

In Michigan the Kirtland warbler has expanded its range under protections required by the Endangered Species Act.