Bush Administration Political Appointee Reverses Endangered Species Protections for Nation’s Wildlife

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 30, 2006

Bush Administration Political Appointee Reverses Endangered Species Protections for Nation’s Wildlife

Conservation Groups Call for Investigation of Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald

Washington, D.C. – Department of Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald and other Interior Department officials repeatedly distorted scientific findings to prevent the protection of species under the Endangered Species Act. Echoing a call from the Union of Concerned Scientists to restore scientific integrity to the Interior Department, conservation groups throughout the West have called upon Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to determine which other species may have been denied protection by MacDonald’s actions, to reconsider the decisions made with her interference, and to ask for MacDonald’s resignation.

While the Endangered Species Act requires that decisions be made solely on the basis of the best available science, MacDonald, an engineer with no biological training, reversed numerous scientific findings without any biological justification, and in some cases directly edited the documents herself.

“The Endangered Species Act’s wisdom is to provide protection for endangered wildlife and plants based on biological need, and to buffer them from political whims,” stated Nicole Rosmarino, conservation director of Forest Guardians. “Secretary Kempthorne has a duty to ensure agency biologists are not bullied and the best available science is upheld.”

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act confirm that internal findings produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the Gunnison sage-grouse, Gunnison’s prairie dog, white-tailed prairie dog, roundtail chub, Mexican garter snake, and a Mariana Islands plant should be considered for endangered species protection, but in each case, MacDonald or another high level official ordered the biologists to reverse their findings. For several of these species, MacDonald personally edited the findings to reverse their conclusions (documents available upon request).

"The Endangered Species Act works well precisely because it is rooted in the best available science," said Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. "How can we ever hope to achieve good stewardship for our most critically endangered plants and wildlife, when the scientific findings are being reversed by a political appointee?"

“That a high level political appointee with no training in biology is rewriting the conclusions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists to deny protection to some of the nation’s most imperiled species is a travesty,” added Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bush administration has an unwritten policy to systematically deny wildlife protection, dooming them to extinction.”

A 2005 survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility exposed pervasive political interference in scientific decision-making at the agency. Over 300 agency scientists responded that they knew of cases where political appointees at the Department of Interior had interfered with scientific determinations, and 84 scientists reported having been directed to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientific documents.

“Endangered plants and wildlife have a tough enough time without politicians manipulating the science,” said Erin Robertson, staff biologist with Center for Native Ecosystems. “It’s time for Secretary Kempthorne to dismiss Julie MacDonald and fix her illegal decisions.”

The Bush administration has listed fewer species under the Endangered Species Act than any other administration since the law was enacted in 1973, to date only listing 56 species compared to 512 under the Clinton administration and 234 under the first Bush administration. The Bush administration has listed so few species in part because it has been denying species protection at record rates. Of all the endangered species listing decisions made under the Bush administration, forty-seven percent denied protection as compared to only 13% during the last five years of the Clinton Administration. Meanwhile, nearly 300 species languish on the candidate list without protection.

“The Endangered Species Act is incredibly effective at saving species from extinction, but can only work if imperiled species are actually provided the protections of the Act by being listed as threatened or endangered,” stated Mark Salvo, Director of the Sagebrush Sea Campaign.

For a complete listing and additional information on the many species that were subjected to reversals, please see the full version of the release on our Native Ecosystems web site
For additional documents on the white-tailed prairie dog, please visit Native Ecosystems - Species
Contact Information
Erin Robertson, Staff Biologist, Center for Native Ecosystems, (303) 546-0214
Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, (307) 742-7978
Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Forest Guardians, (505) 988-9126 x156
Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495
Mark Salvo, Sagebrush Sea Campaign, (503) 757-4221

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073
(307) 742-7978 - maggie@voiceforthewild.org