Bush law will threaten wildlife

WASHINGTON – Bears, birds and other creatures could be put at greater risk under proposed Bush administration changes to the Endangered Species Act, according to a US government document released on Tuesday by environmentalists.

The proposed rewrite to the landmark law that protects American wildlife would weaken the act so much that about 80 per cent of the 1 300 species now on the endangered list would lose protection, said Kieran Suckling of the Centre for Biological Diversity. “Efforts to restore the California condor into new states would be stopped under these regulations,” Suckling said in a telephone interview from Tucson, Arizona.”Efforts to reintroduce grizzly bears to new areas would be stopped …This suite of regulations rewrites the Endangered Species Act from top to bottom.”Environmental groups said the proposed new regulations would allow damaging projects to go ahead even after they have been shown to threaten species with extinction; limit the listing of new endangered species; allow states to take over critical functions such as listing species, overseeing federal agencies and issuing habitat conservation plans.Nampa-Reuters”Efforts to restore the California condor into new states would be stopped under these regulations,” Suckling said in a telephone interview from Tucson, Arizona.”Efforts to reintroduce grizzly bears to new areas would be stopped …This suite of regulations rewrites the Endangered Species Act from top to bottom.”Environmental groups said the proposed new regulations would allow damaging projects to go ahead even after they have been shown to threaten species with extinction; limit the listing of new endangered species; allow states to take over critical functions such as listing species, overseeing federal agencies and issuing habitat conservation plans.Nampa-Reuters