Bush Administration Launching Sneak Attack on Endangered Species Act

This news just broke:

WASHINGTON – Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction proje cts might harm endangered animals and plants…

If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: ending some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost increases on many projects.

The National Wildlife Federation is already pledging to fight hard to protect the Endangered Species Act:

“I have been working on the Endangered Species Act for 15 years and have never seen such a sneaky attack,” said John Kostyack, Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming at the National Wildlife Federation. “To suggest that our nation’s most important wildlife law could be gutted after a mere 60 day written comment period is the height of arrogance and disrespect for wildlife science. Elected officials have been saying no to proposals like this for 15 years.

“Do not be fooled when the Administration claims it is merely tweaking the law,” said Kostyack. “The cumulative impact of these changes equals a full blown attack on America’s premier conservation law. We owe it to future generations to stop this attack and continue our legacy of protecting wildlife on the brink of extinction.”

You can help protect the Endangered Species Act! Contact Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne right now and let him know you won’t stand for any weakening of endangered species protections.