So, remember that proposed rule change for the Endangered Species Act, the one that would effectively gut it?
A few interesting details. Normally, the Fish and Wildlife Service has a 90-day comment period for a rule change like this. When the draft of this rule change was first released, it was cut to 60. Now it's down to 30. "In this case, it was determined that we need to move forward in a timely fashion," said Interior Department spokeswoman Tina Kreisher. Mm hm.
Also, they're not having any public hearings on this. And if that's not enough, the FWS instituted a little change in its own rules, back in Dec. '07. It seems they'll no longer accept comments over email. For real. (For more on this, see Andrew Wetlzler.)
Clearly the Bush administration is keen to hear what you have to say!
Speaking of the ESA debacle, what do our valiant presidential candidates think about it?
"This 11th-hour ruling from the Bush administration is highly problematic. After over 30 years of successfully protecting our nation's most endangered wildlife like the bald eagle, we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it," said Obama campaign spokesman Nick Shapiro. "As president, Senator Obama will fight to maintain the strong protections of the Endangered Species Act and undo this proposal from President Bush."
McCain:
A spokesman for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, said he had no comment on Bush's revisions.
Carbon trading: Worthy of Feinstein’s ire?
Rural county asks EPA chief not to make it ‘The Ash Hole of Alabama’
Comments
View as Flat
Trebuchet Posted 4:18 am
14 Aug 2008
It's the first rule
Of course McBush has no comment.
The first rule of being in the Bush Club is don't talk about the Bush Club.
And while I'm at it, anyone else notice that the GOP website (rnc.org) has 8 mentions of Obama and NONE of McBush? Funny that! I guess the RNC wants to elect Obama, too!
Permalink
Wolverine Posted 6:38 am
14 Aug 2008
Public Comments Rarely Matter
Once in awhile an agency will react to public comments if they are overwhelming in number. But the vast majority of the time, the agency's mind is made up before it receives public comments and it only takes those comments because it's legally required to do so. And the only comments that matter legally are the ones that the lawyers use in the subsequent lawsuit. So what's really important here is that the lawyers for the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups that might want to sue get their comments in. The rest is just for show, folks.
Permalink