Bush Set To Ease Endangered Species Rules

Policy Would Exclude Input Of Scientists; Rush To Enact It To Prevent Obama Reversal

(AP)  Animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways and other projects don't pose a threat, under regulations the Bush administration is set to put in place before President-elect Obama can reverse them.

The rules must be published Friday to take effect before Obama is sworn in Jan. 20. Otherwise, he can undo them with the stroke of a pen.

The Interior Department rushed to complete the rules in three months over the objections of lawmakers and environmentalists who argued that they would weaken how a landmark conservation law is applied.

A Nov. 12 version of the final rules obtained by the Associated Press has changed little from the original proposal, despite the more than 250,000 comments received since it was first proposed in August.

The rules eliminate the input of federal wildlife scientists in some endangered species cases, allowing the federal agency in charge of building, authorizing or funding a project to determine for itself if it is likely to harm endangered wildlife and plants.

Current regulations require independent wildlife biologists to sign off on these decisions before a project can go forward, at times modifying the design to better protect species.

The regulations also bar federal agencies from assessing emissions of the gases blamed for global warming on species and habitats, a tactic environmentalists have tried to use to block new coal-fired power plants.

Tina Kreisher, an Interior Department spokeswoman, could not confirm whether the rule would be published before the deadline, saying only that the White House was still reviewing it. But she said changes were being made based on the comments received.

"We started this; we want to finish this," said Kreisher.

If the rules go into effect before Obama takes office, they will be difficult to overturn since it would require the new administration to restart the rule-making process. Congress, however, could reverse the rules through the Congressional Review Act - a law that allows review of new federal regulations.

It's been used once in the last 12 years, but some Democratic lawmakers have said they may employ it to block the endangered species rules and other midnight regulations by the Bush administration.

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Wednesday that he and other Democrats were committed to "the change that is needed."

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will be looking at ways to overturn the endangered species rules and other midnight regulations.

"The House, in consultation with the incoming administration and relevant committees, will review what oversight tools are at our disposal regarding this and other last minute attempts to inflict severe damage to the law in the waning moments of the Bush administration," Hammill said.

The Bush administration has made no secret of its intent to complete the endangered species changes quickly.

When the proposal was first announced in August, the public was initially given 30 days to comment. That period was later doubled after Democratic lawmakers pressed for more time.

Then, last month, the head of the endangered species program corralled 15 experts in Washington to sort through 200,000 comments in 32 hours.

"This is definitely lightning quick," said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative. "I would be surprised that they spent all this time rushing it through if it wasn't greased."

If successful, the Bush administration will accomplish through rules 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.

Supporters of the changes also expected it to be finalized later this week.

The Pacific Legal Foundation, which advocates for property rights, urged that the rules be approved.

"Litigious activists have used the Endangered Species Act to fight projects," Reed Hopper, the foundation's principal attorney, said in a statement. "The administration's current proposal is a step toward curbing these abuses."

TIMELINE:

In one of the quickest turnarounds for rewriting federal regulations, the Bush administration is changing a rule to cut out government wildlife experts in some endangered species decisions. The new rule has to be published by Friday to deny President-elect Barack Obama the ability to reverse it when he takes office.

Aug. 15: Proposed rule appears in the Federal Register with 30-day public comment period.

Sept. 11: Interior Department announces 30-day extension of public comment period.

Oct. 15: Public comment period ends. Interior receives about 300,000 comments.

Oct. 16: Bryan Arroyo, the chief of the endangered species program, sends e-mail asking for help to review comments in 32 hours.

Oct. 27: Department releases draft analysis of rule's environmental impacts, giving public 10 days to comment.

Nov. 6: Comment period on draft environmental impact statement ends.

Nov. 13: Rule submitted to White House Office of Management and Budget for final review.

Sources: Interior Department, Office of Management and Budget

[shoebox119]

Can this menace we call the president do any more harm to the nation he was sworn to uphold and protect? Only 62 days to go, and this moron and his henchmen are doing everything possible to leave their ugly-*ss paw prints on nearly everything Americans hold precious.

George W. Bush belongs before an international war crimes tribunal. I see no reason why proceedings cannot begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. on January 20, 2009.

[forever1973]

Bush Set To Ease Endangered Species Rules

Gee Whiz, is that stupid?

Or maybe just Evil.

[alpine42]

There you go. Exclude the ones that know the most about it. Can''t wait till he''s out!

[smurfcrusher]

Worse president ever.
He''ll be remembered - every time I step on something in the yard.

[gramto8]

I just went to whitehouse.gov and emailed Bush and let him know what I thought of his stupid idea. I am sure I will soon be on a fecal material list.

[strangeworld]

These are the modern republicans, seeing that they''re gluttonous rape of America and it''s citizens is coming to an end, seperately grasping at every opportunity to ensure that the rich get richer even as the country circles the drain. Remeber these republicans when you vote from now on - there;s no way that I''ll ever be casting a ballot for a member of the GOP again. It''s evident that the GOP is nothing more than a traitorous group of businessmen who care little what they do to the country as long as they can continue to fill their bank accounts at the taxpayers expense. Don''t ever vote for another republican, from the local courthouse to the Whitehouse...they have done nothing but harm to the US for the last 28 years.

[dbstevens]

Good Lord...this evil creep is trying to sabotage the planet as much as he can before he leaves office. I have never despised the actions of one of our leaders as much as this...he has to be stopped. Maybe we should just draw a pentogram in front of the Whitehouse and sprinkle some eye of newt...his actions are demonic. And demented. How did we let this sphincter get into office?

Dear God in Heaven, stop this man and let him fade into oblivion, with his only legacy being a mention in history books that he was the worst president we''ve ever had. And don''t let him benefit from his actions once he''s out of office. Amen.

[kansas1946]

Fortunately, congress can block any of this nonsense and probably will. The Democrats have the majority, so now is the time to use it. God it will be good to see Bush and his evil regime out of the Whitehouse.

[shurch4truth]

keepin mind the people behind him...they are just as bad.

....

[shurch4truth]

OMG!

[gotagrip]

I guess Bush figures its not too late to polish up his legacy. If this was so important, why did he wait until after the election? It''s unanimous so far, Bush is evil incarnate. And a coward. And a complete idiot. And lacks any sense of honor. An embarrassment to the American people and the human race. I''m guessing once he''s out of office, his new hobby will be water-boarding kittens, if he doesn''t take up alcoholism again!

[jm_rvel]

Great legacy Bush is leaving, isn''t it?

[legacyabq]

Jesus,

the madness just never ends, does it?

It''s hard to believe this guy is real, it''s so nightmarish sometimes it is just beyond belief what a human wrecking-ball Bush is..
What a ^%&*(* moron..

[fairandbal]

Not only is he the WORST president in history, he will also go down as the most EVIL president in history. Total utter disdain for common people (war in Iraq) and for our planet. The GOP should never be allowed to hold power in this country again. NEVER!!!

[troutfisher4]

This is so wrong.

[clathrate]

My question is, why is this even necessary? This is nothing more than an idiotic practical joke. It serves no legitimate purpose, it only means Obama and Conress has to waste time reversing this stupid ruling.

Bush has forever proven himself to be a man child, incapable of doing anything magnanimous or benevolent. Instead, he is simply a tool of some very mentally deranged special interest groups.

What a pathetic legacy. Shame on Bush and all of his moronic, amoral lackeys.

[gglenc]

What IS it with GW Bush? Why DOES he hate wildlife and the "great outdoors?" GW is the one who appointed "Alberto Gonzales" as A.G. and LOOK at the mess THAT created. GW has FAILED at everything he has attempted in life. Now, he is taking it out on the "least of these," the defenseless "critters" among us.

[clathrate]

Tis true that most Republican-aligned special interest groups are wealthy. But notice that many of his legion of fans are die hard po'' white trash that belong to other choice special interest groups such as the KKK and the Aryan Nations.

[fairandbal]

The silence on this blog from Bush/McCain supporters is deafening...

[fairandbal]

Cheney indicted in Texas.... hopefully Bush is NEXT!!!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9PvQtj8plxTnRZS7hHmJap_Rt2AD94ICFU00

[enlightenu]

It will take decades to undo the damage this president has inflicted on the well being of this planet and it''s inhabitants over the last 8 years. It will take even longer if a conservative is ever voted back into office.

[clathrate]

It will take decades to undo the damage this president has inflicted on the well being of this planet and it''''s inhabitants over the last 8 years. It will take even longer if a conservative is ever voted back into office.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by enlightenu

Have faith. Mother nature has a way of killing off the stupid amoung a species.

[enlightenu]

Bush''s favorite hobby is clearing brush

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001326.html

[lemonskink]

Why does George Bush Jr, hate America so much? Was it because he despised his short and AWOL military career? Why is he hell bent on destroying the nation with bad economic policies. Why does the lunatic hate animals so much that he wants to destroy them as well? He''s a known sociopath, but even the worse of them don''t act like crazy George.

[kaylag04]

The Fish and Wildlife Service and Congress had over 30 years to address the problems with ESA implementation and concise objectives. A conservative backlash has been inevitable and could have been precluded by addressing vague objectives in the Act, and by streamlining the process of Section 7 Consultation. Unfortunately, Environmental groups ate thier young, and thwarted efforts toward meaningful reform and clarification that could have kept some scientific objectivity in the process.

[asamiller]

This is not only incredible arrogrance on the part of the outgoing administration in that they are clearly blocking the will of the people, it is stupid policy. Leaving politicians and contractors as the only ones who can judge the environmental impact of public works projects is like leaving the fox the keys to the hen house. But then again that is what they did in banking and health care. No wonder we''re in the mess we''re in.

[mirthiam]

A federal agency cannot make substantive rule changes legally enabling it to contravene an Act of Congress. In order to make the proposed changes, the Department of the Interior would need to cite SPECIFIC legal authority. Has the agency done this yet? What specific provisions authorize these sweeping changes?

Bush has no pride, no honor, no sense of stewardship! He is bent on leaving a scorched earth legacy which epitomizes the worst of the Republican Party. He is utterly despicable!

[pirmin3]

He''s throwing a tantrum because the GOP lost. Trash the earth on the way out. Obama can just as quickly reverse this immature nonsense.

[used2bfedup1]

Bush has no pride, no honor, no sense of stewardship! He is bent on leaving a scorched earth legacy which epitomizes the worst of the Republican Party. He is utterly despicable!

Posted by sesanders1 at 01:22 AM : Nov 20, 2008

agreed 100%

[used2bfedup1]

I just wonder how many wealthy criminals he will pardon before he leaves office.
Posted by cbsfan7331 at 12:08 AM : Nov 20, 2008

Ol scooter dawg is at the top of the list fer keepin his mouth shut!

[used2bfedup1]

Awww heck i didnt want those animals to be around for my kids to worry about anyhow.

[p1tey1]

You reap what you sow. George Bush will pay for his sins.

[berkshirerez]

BUSH is just unbelievable!!!! As if he wasn''t able to do enough damage in 8 yrs he has to rush in his final weeks to continue to destroy this country and this planet. It amazes me that the religious right practically idolizes this guy. Ironically Christ is probably just as saddened by this man and the damage he has done in the name of Christianity as he was by the Crusades that decimated civilzations. How can Christians justify this man''s actions when the Bible teaches the importance of stewardship and responsibility? THANK GOD he is running out of time in office!

[slader999]

George Bush displays all the characteristics of the sociopath.

http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

[gramto8]

Dubya is pulling this cra.p, but if you go to whitehouse.gov all you see is a bunch of malarky about all the ''good'' he supposedly has done about the environment. What a bunch of hooey! He has done everything he can possibly imagine to destroy our country and our planet. And is now taking his final pot shot at us.

[scallywag8]

Is this guy and his administration insane!!!! OMG!!! This guy is a Terrorist. He never uses common sense for anything and his followers are just as guilty. Total Unbelievable!!!

[alphaa10000]

CBS/AP comments, "The rules eliminate the input of federal wildlife scientists in some endangered species cases, allowing the federal agency in charge of building, authorizing or funding a project to determine for itself...
---

James Hansen, NOAA scientist, courageously exposed the censorship Bush tried to apply when Hansen first sounded the alarm about global warming, based on incoming scientific data.

As it turned out, Bush political appointees with no scientific credentials actually censored and changed wording on reports from the federal scientific community on this issue.

To the last, Bush symbolizes the politics of greed, monied special interests and sheer deceit, at one time, even claiming he is an environmentalist.

Bush''s last gasp is to *** the public interest in species preservation so developers can continue to pave over America with shopping malls. Bush has no concept of science at all, nor any interest in the idea of passing a natural resources legacy to posterity.

Fortunately, Bush is one species soon to become extinct-- and should.

[skarrzpapi]

why didnt somebody fly a plane into BUSH himself..?..what a totaly terrorist this man has become...

[alphaa10000]

michaelt3032 said, "... I was really looking forward to watching the habitat for the 3-headed brown-ruffled red-tongued river skink take priority over the building of a orphanage in my little Ohio town...
---

Your quip doesn''t fly, won''t even taxi. And the reason you lack another site for an orphanage is your builder "heroes" took all the choice land for themselves, to pave over for shopping malls.

You deceitfully (and lamely) suggest the choice is preservation of wildlife or orphans-- a halfhearted attempt at evading the issue.

You must be GOP-- and you bozos have a heavy burden of shame to carry. Eight years of greed, corruption and incompetence, in a continuous litany of national disasters.

[antepamfe200]

What does he have against animals? We don''t need anymore dams or whatever else he plans to do. Leave the animals alone. Thank you.

[airboatboy1]

Hopefully there will be a time when lying, crooked, dishonest politicians like Bush will be on an endangered species list.

[cheetah-man7]

Bush is an idiot. I hope he rots in Hell for all he has done to our great nation and to its people. And now the most vulnerable of animals too? What a mess we''ve had for the past eight years. This guy is no Christian at all. Good riddance, Georgie!

[connapa]

Bush is the "perfect" example of a Christian. He''s just doing what the Bible directs us to do in Genesis where God gave us "dominion" over all the animals. In other words, God says its OK to kill animals, even if that means there will be no animals left. That''s what Fundamentalism is all about.

Of course. What else would you expect from this fool?

[jbright9]

His last destructive, evil act. Thank God he is almost gone.

[goboblue]

No WONDER the "LATTE LIBERAL" Pelosi is slamming this decision--SHE **WILL** be the one to benefit because CALIFORNIA is the biggest consumer of EXPANSION HIGHWAY AND BRIDGE projects.

Liberal DUMMIES can''t see that Democrat vs. Republican DOES NOT EXIST--THEY''RE ALL THEIVES!!

[omnibus66]

There are going to be some real eye-openers in these final days of the evil empire. You ain''t seen nothing yet.

[gotagrip]

This must be a bad decision. 7 pages of comments and only 2 pro-Bush. (I don''t count goboblue''s since it makes no sense.) Yes, the dirt-bag Repukes are even too embarrassed to comment on this outrage. I hope Bush builds his library so we can burn it down. This is beyond words but that''s all we have.

[panhandlpete]

The midnight cowboy rides with haste to leave a path of further destruction to our laws as he heads on down to Texas.

Could it be that he and his other ''free trade'' buddies are trying to remove any/all obstacles that they may expect to encounter in the building of that superhighway going from Texas to Canada to haul China imports from Mexico City port to Canada? Or, has it been cancelled/held up by the citizens who will lose their land along the planned route via use of this Endangered Species Act, (probably now in litigation)?

You can bet your bootie that some rich developer somewhere is being ''repaid'' for a campaign contribution, or lots of money will be made in a future transaction. Follow the money trail.