It's common knowledge that red tape often prevents things from being accomplished in a timely manner, if at all, in a bureaucracy. But the Bush Administration is now being charged with erecting such barriers to purposefully prevent species from qualifying for placement on the Endangered Species List.

And here we thought that Republicans were bastions of small, uncomplicated governments.

In what has become a familiar refrain under the Bush II Administration, the Interior Department -- which is responsible for the listing and enforcement of endangered species -- is being accused of disregarding scientific evidence for listing species, and de-listing animals against scientific judgment.

Documents uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act show intent to reduce the number of species that can be classified as endangered, including a memo from the head of the Endangered Species listing office advising his employees to only utilize scientific evidence that would reduce the likelihood of a species being listed. Yeah, we did a double take on that one too.

But you don't have to take our snarky words on the administration's intentions, let's go to the numbers:

• 0: The number of domestic (indigenous to the US) species listed as endangered since Dirk Kempthorne became Secretary of the Interior two years ago.
• 59: The total number of domestic species listed as endangered during the Bush presidency to date.
• 6: The number of foreign species in the US listed as endangered during the Bush presidency to date.
• 58-62: The number of species listed as endangered each year during the Bush I and Clinton Administrations.
• 280+: The number of species that are thought to deserve Endangered Species status.
• 184: Lawsuits filed under the Clinton Administration over endangered species listings.
• 369: Lawsuits filed under the current administration over endangered species listings.

The current administration does have one of the highest listings though -- emergency listings of species on the brink of extinction. It's gotten to the point that extreme actions are being taken to preserve remaining populations. So how does one get what they want when things aren't going their way? that's right, they sue.

While the Justice Department won't comment on how the government has fared in such cases, or how much such litigation is costing us taxpayers, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the judicial branch is actually in favor of having laws implemented as they were designed, siding against the federal government when it comes to listing, or even re-listing species that were prematurely removed from their protected status.

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Well that was fast
written by Samantha Hulkower, March 24, 2008

I figured if it wasn't the Humane Society, it would be PETA.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2428478020080325?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews

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