NYT: Interior Dept. Gets Reprieve on Its Decision on Bald Eagle

[DeepModem Mom]

Interior Dept. Gets Reprieve on Its Decision on Bald Eagle
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: February 8, 2007

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — With a court-ordered deadline looming for removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list, the Interior Department, rejecting the advice of its staff wildlife biologists, tried to limit a separate set of protections for the majestic bird that has served as a national symbol for centuries.

Public reaction, however, to its December proposal was so sharp that the department had sought a reprieve from the deadline, which it received Wednesday. It now has until June 29 to make its final decision on the eagle’s status and the extent of its continuing protections.

Rebounding from a historically low population in the early 1960s, the eagle has become a symbol of the success of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. In 1963, there were barely more than 400 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states. Today, the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Interior Department estimates there are more than 7,000 breeding pairs.

But even before the widespread use of pesticides in the 1940s and 1950s caused the drop in the population, the eagle had been a target for people coveting its feathers, so Congress passed a law preventing the “taking” of any eagle. This word was broadly defined to include everything from hunting the bird to simply disturbing it.

Now, the department has proposed regulatory language narrowing that definition and making it harder to prove that human actions disturbed the bird. Under the new language, landowners and developers could cut down trees, build and engage in other activities in the vicinity of the bird and its nest as long as eagles were not killed or injured and did not abandon their nests....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/washington/08eagle.html

[alarimer]

1. "Rejecting the adivce of its staff wildlife biologist"

Who probably actually know better than the idiot political appointees who make these decisions. More of the Bush war on science. Absolutely disgusting. I hate this administration so much.

Biological criteria are the only ones that should matter. Fuck landowners and developers.

[Cass]

2. Absolutely disgraceful.

"...rejecting the advice of its staff wildlife biologists..."

Ignoring the experts seems to be standard procedure with this Administration. It will take decades to undo the damage and destruction this bunch of thugs has done to this country.