The Endangered Species Act Is Endangered

The agencies responsible for the welfare of endangered species are proposing rule changes that would cut through all the red tape keeping animals such as the bald eagle alive. True to the administration’s tradition of considering the fox before the hen house, officials hope the changes will assist frustrated developers.

AP via Google:

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 changes would apply to any project a federal agency would fund, build or authorize. Government wildlife experts currently 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.

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NASA