Parts of the Endangered Species Act, which has protected nature in the US for more than three decades, may soon be extinct. The new regulations, which do not require Congress’ approval, would reduce the numbers of mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.
In a hastily arranged news conference, US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said on Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a “back door” to regulate gases blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species officially threatened because of climate change.
Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear needs for survival.
PHOTO: AP
The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.
“We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good,” Kempthorne said in the press conference organized after details of the proposal broke. “It is important to use our time and resources to protect the most vulnerable species. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species.”
The draft rules would also bar federal agencies from assessing emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.
If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through new federal regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: an end to some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost increases on many projects.
The changes would apply to any project a federal agency would fund, build or authorize that may harm endangered wildlife and their habitat. Government wildlife experts perform tens of thousands of such reviews each year.
“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.
Under current law, federal agencies must consult with experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine the probability that a project would jeopardize any endangered species or damage habitat, even if no harm would be likely to occur.
This initial review usually results in accommodations that protect better the 1,353 animals and plants listed in the US as threatened or endangered. It also determines whether a more formal analysis is warranted.
The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, a 30-page draft showed.
“We believe federal action agencies will err on the side of caution in making these determinations,” the proposal said.
The director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, H. Dale Hall, said the changes would help focus expertise on “where we know we don’t have a negative effect on the species, but where the agency is vulnerable if we don’t complete a consultation.”
Responding to questions about the process, Hall said: “We will not do anything that leaves the public out of this process.”
The new rules are expected to be proposed formally immediately, officials said. They will be subject to a 60-day public comment period before being final, which would give the administration enough time to impose them before the Nov. 4 presidential election.
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