FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2009
Contact: Kristina Johnson
415.977.5619
President Obama To Restore Key Endangered Species Protections
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, President Obama will restore key endangered species protections that were stripped away by the Bush administration in 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.
Statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope
Today's announcement marks the unequivocal return of science to the agencies that govern our fish, wildlife, and natural resources.
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. When it comes to protecting wildlife, we should listen to the scientists who spend their lives studying these animals.
These midnight regulations represented all the disdain for science and political trumping of expertise that characterized the Bush Administration's efforts to dismantle fundamental environmental laws.
Our wildlife are clearly in much better hands now. President Obama is bringing science back into decision-making.