Earth Equity News

Obama's Restoration Species Protection Unlikely to Trigger Climate Regulation. By Juliet Eilperin, WashPost, March 5, 2009. "In a move that will subject a number of government projects to enhanced environmental and scientific scrutiny, President Obama is restoring a requirement that U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine whether their actions might harm threatened and endangered species. The presidential memorandum issued yesterday, which marks yet another reversal of former president George W. Bush's environmental legacy, will revive a decades-old practice under the Endangered Species Act that calls for agencies to consult with either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on whether their projects could affect imperiled species. On Dec. 16, the Bush administration allowed agencies to waive such reviews if they decided, on their own, that the actions would not harm vulnerable plants and animals... House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.), who had been seeking to overturn Bush's endangered species rule through legislation, called the announcement 'one more indication that the new administration truly represents change for the better and is committed to the protection of our natural resources and our environment'... Officials said the move is unlikely to trigger broad use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions. While the Bush rule specifically prohibited endangered species consultations on the basis of 'global processes' such as climate change, an Interior official speaking on the condition of anonymity said that under the new policy, such a review would be triggered only if scientific evidence suggested 'a causal connection' between emissions from a federal project and its effect on an imperiled species or an identifiable part of its habitat."