President Obama yesterday announced he will restore key endangered species protections that were stripped away by the Bush administration during its last days in office.
An administration official said the President will restore rules that require federal agencies like the Department of Transportation to consult with wildlife experts at Fish and Wildlife Services and the National Marine Fisheries Service before moving ahead with projects that could cause harm to endangered species.
The changes, made by the Bush administration in December 2008, weakened and limited the use of the landmark wildlife protection law. They would have allowed agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams or other construction projects harmed wildlife, withouth consulting scientific experts.
Furthermore, it prohibited federal agencies from considering global warming as a threat to endangered species when determining whether a project that would increase emissions should be permitted.
"The Bush rules would have allowed agencies with little or no wildlife expertise to make decisions that could mean life or death for animals like the polar bear," Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said. "When it comes to protecting wildlife, we should listen to the scientists who spend their lives studying these animals."
Speaking at an Interior Department ceremony to mark the department’s 160th anniversary, President Obama said, "We should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it."
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