Good news!
The DOI has just released an update stating that Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. This decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - the two agencies that administer the ESA – before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species.
From the DOI release:
"By rolling back this 11th hour regulation, we are ensuring that threatened and endangered species continue to receive the full protection of the law,"Salazar said. "Because science must serve as the foundation for decisions we make, federal agencies proposing to take actions that might affect threatened and endangered species will once again have to consult with biologists at the two departments."
"For decades, the Endangered Species Act has protected threatened species
and their habitats," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. "Our decision
affirms the Administration’s commitment to using sound science to promote
conservation and protect the environment."
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973 to protect imperiled
species from extinction, as well as conserve the ecosystems and habitats
necessary for their survival. Hopefully, with a Democratic administration at the helm, ESA and other environmental statutes will once again help protect the environment and wildlife.