[birdky] Congress is Poised to Gut Key Wildlife Laws, including Endangered Species Act
- From: "Mann, Jon" <JMann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,"'birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 09:48:04 -0600
Sorry if this not an appropriate forum for this, but it has major potential
impact for the Birding Community.
The most pertinent portion of the article is at the end - a provision to
exempt the military from following Endangered Species Act rules and
regulations. As we know, Fort Campbell provides critical grassland habitat
that could be at risk now.
Please contact your Congressmen and Senators, and let them know this is
unacceptable!
Thanks,
Jon Mann
Nashville, TN
Congress is Poised to Gut Key Wildlife Laws
SAN FRANCISCO - November 6 - Congress is poised to gut key wildlife laws in
the next few days, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Using the National Defense Authorization Bill,
a must-pass funding bill for the Pentagon, a House/Senate Conference
Committee has reportedly adopted anti-environmental amendments to the MMPA
and ESA as riders, pushed by the Bush Administration.
Voting on the package is scheduled on the House Floor as soon as tomorrow
and will likely be before the Senate early next week.
"This is the most egregious assault on wildlife laws in this country,"
stated David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute. "These amendments
will roll back 30 years of progress in federal protection of whales, seals,
dolphins, and endangered species."
"Congress and Bush Administration should be ashamed of themselves," added
Phillips.
According to information from the Conference Committee, the new amendments
would:
* Allow Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to exempt ANY ACTIVITY of the
military from the MMPA, regardless of the impact on whales, seals, and
dolphins.
* Weaken the MMPA definition of "harassment" of marine mammals for the
military, making enforcement of the MMPA virtually impossible.
* Extend exemptions to scientists working on federal research, essentially
eliminating any restrictions on harm to whales, seals and dolphins from such
research sponsored by the Navy and other federal agencies.
* Eliminate language in the MMPA designed to protect marine mammals with
permit conditions, undoing a number of recent key lawsuits brought by
environmentalists to protect whales and dolphins from intense Navy sonars,
invasive research, and other future activities, such as bombing in whale
habitat.
* Exempt U.S. military bases and lands from ESA language that protects
endangered wildlife habitat, effectively removing any incentives to preserve
millions of acres of wildlands under military use that are critical to
preventing the extinction of myriad species.
"The Bush Administration is using the Defense Authorization Bill to gut
these environmental laws in order to keep the issues out of sight of the
public behind the closed doors of the Republican Congress," explained David
Phillips. "The Bush Administration and the Pentagon know that the public
would never stand for these exemptions in the light of day. The Defense Bill
cannot be filibustered and includes important defense spending budgets for
the Pentagon, so any members of Congress who speak out will be branded as
unpatriotic. This process stinks to high heaven."
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