Monroe Chat

OneWorld US – Thu Apr 30, 4:41 pm ET
WASHINGTON, Apr 30 (OneWorld.net) - The Obama administration restored Tuesday a regulation requiring U.S. federal wildlife experts to review before implementation any government project that may impact threatened or endangered species.
"The Obama administration has given a great gift to wildlife and to future generations," applauded Betsy Loyless, senior vice president for advocacy and policy at the conservation organization Audubon. "Once again, our nation will follow the letter of the law and the advice of its own best experts before jeopardizing the future of threatened and endangered species. The president has capped his first hundred days with a serious step toward restoring our commitment to this nation's great natural heritage."
The regulation -- revoked by former President George W. Bush in the eleventh hour of his last term -- requires federal agencies to consult experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before moving ahead with projects such as the construction of roads, dams, and mines that could harm endangered species.
"For decades, the Endangered Species Act [ESA] has protected threatened species and their habitats," said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. Signed into law in 1973, the ESA serves to "protect imperiled species from extinction, as well as conserve the ecosystems and habitats necessary for their survival," according to the NOAA, one of the agencies charged with administering the ESA.