Today, Threatened and Endangered species regained protections lost under the Bush Administration.
Interior and Commerce Secretaries Ken Salazar and Gary Locke, announced that both departments are revoking a Bush Administration 11th hour rule that severely weakened protections for Threatened and Endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The rule reinstated today, commonly known as Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, requires that any agency proposing an action that might affect Threatened or Endangered species must consult with independent experts before proceeding.
Duane Short of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance noted, “given that most state and federal agencies do not employ endangered species experts, it makes sense that these agencies are required to consult with the independent experts within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
Short added, “Public support for reinstating Section 7 has been overwhelming. As of today, the Secretaries had been delivered over 100,000 signatures from citizens, including those from Biodiversity Conservation Alliance members and Wyoming residents, urging them to reverse the Bush rule that essentially eliminated the Endangered Species Act's consultation requirement.”
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