Endangered Species Rulings Reversed

[ELKCHSR]

Rulings on Endangered Species Are Reversed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS National Briefing | Science and Health

The Fish and Wildlife Service reversed seven rulings that denied increased protection for endangered species, after an inquiry found that the actions had been tainted by political pressure from a former Interior Department official. In a letter to Representative Nick J. Rahall II, Democrat of West Virginia, the agency acknowledged that the actions had been “inappropriately influenced” and that “revising the seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the proper legal standards.” The ruling affects species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.

 

[Oak]

So do you have an opinion on this story, Elkchsr? Here's a more in-depth article on the subject:

Reversal of Endangered Species Rulings
By H. JOSEF HEBERT – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed seven rulings that denied endangered species increased protection, after an investigation found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former senior Interior Department official.

In a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the agency acknowledged that the actions had been "inappropriately influenced" and that "revising the seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the proper legal standards." The reversal affects the protection for species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble's meadow jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.

The rulings came under scrutiny last spring after an Interior Department inspector general concluded that agency scientists were being pressured to alter their findings on endangered species by Julie MacDonald, then a deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service.

MacDonald resigned her position last May.

Rahall in a statement said that MacDonald, who was a civil engineer, "should never have been allowed near the endangered species program." He called MacDonald's involvement in species protection cases over her three-year tenure as an example of "this administration's penchant for torpedoing science."

Acting Fish and Wildlife Director Kenneth Stansell wrote Rahall that the cases were reviewed "after questions were raised about the integrity of scientific information used and whether the decisions were made consistent with the appropriate legal standards."

He did not refer to MacDonald specifically.

Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists said the acknowledgment of seven instances of wrongdoing "does not begin to plumb the depths of what's wrong" at the wildlife agency and its implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

There are at least 30 cases "where we have evidence of interference" over the last seven years, maintained Grifo, director of the group's scientific integrity program.

Problems were found in seven of the eight cases, taken up for review after MacDonald's resignation.

The wildlife agency said it will reconsider a petition to list as endangered the white-tailed prairie dog. The petition had been denied, but the agency said after its investigation "the Service believes this decision should be reconsidered."

It also said it will examine the continued listing of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, as well as a separate ruling that had been made concerning the mouse's critical habitat. The agency decision to take the mouse from under the protection of the Endangered Species Act was questioned after MacDonald's involvement became known.

Four other cases being reconsidered involved declarations of critical habitat for the Canada lynx, the Hawaiian picture-wing fly, the Arroyo toad, and the California red-legged frog.

The agency said it did not find any scientific evidence to warrant changes in another questioned critical habitat decision involving the Southwestern willow flycatcher, saying it was "scientifically supportable."

MacDonald resigned in May after the Interior Department's inspector general rebuked her for pressuring wildfire agency scientists to alter their findings about endangered species and leaking information about species decisions to industry officials. The IG found that she had broken federal rules by those actions.

In her three years on the job, MacDonald also was heavily involved in delisting the Sacramento splittail, a fish found only in California's Central Valley where she owned an 80-acre farm on which the fish live.

 

[ELKCHSR]

Thanks...

I looked around a little for more info than I posted...

Even this article didn't shed much light on this topic...

It's been posted here (the lynx topic any way) on occasion and what info there is, boiled down to individuals collecting information and data, doctored their findings

Maybe this is mistaken, but with what info is present and you asked my opinion of the topic

We as tax payers paying for these studies, expect no foul play from individuals or groups who are supposed to be objectively putting together data. Not skewing it with what ever agenda they are ultimately after (I understand it happens all the time, but that’s no excuse)...

What's your opinion?

 

[JoseCuervo]

Cheese,

He asked if you had an opinion on the subject. Are you too stupid to read?

 

[Oak]

It's been posted here (the lynx topic any way) on occasion and what info there is, boiled down to individuals collecting information and data, doctored their findings

Maybe this is mistaken, but with what info is present and you asked my opinion of the topic

We as tax payers paying for these studies, expect no foul play from individuals or groups who are supposed to be objectively putting together data. Not skewing it with what ever agenda they are ultimately after (I understand it happens all the time, but that’s no excuse)...

What's your opinion?

Did somebody do that in this instance? If so, who?

 

[mtmiller]

 

[BuzzH]

I think the cheese is confused.

 

[ELKCHSR]

Did somebody do that in this instance?

This was put up (seems like a couple +/- years ago) about what was going on with planted evidence with the lynx

I'm not sure, as I mentioned in the last post, there wasn't enough info in your post (I'm just assuming it's all the same topic carried out over time)

Besides, are we going to play the same game guner likes to play...

He asks all the questions but answers nothing, only looking for loop holes or dirt for an attack?

(I would've expected more from you...)

 

[BuzzH]

Oak,

I think the cheese just insulted you even though all you did was ask for proof IN THIS INSTANCE of any "doctored findings".

Come on Oak, Its YOUR fault the cheese doesnt know what he's talking about.

 

[ELKCHSR]

As usual Buzz...

You just can't read any thing right...

tsk...tsk...

I looked thru the board and couldn't find the article of the planted evidence from the bio's doing the research, I'm sure it was here some where as there was a pretty good debate over it...

 

[BuzzH]

Cheese,

Maybe when you find the article...there will be a clue for you to find as well.

 

[1_pointer]

It's in the bottom of a shelter...er, hole...outside of Butte.

 

[Oak]

Elkchsr, you posted the topic. I'm just trying to figure out where you're coming from on this one, that's all. Here is my article again, with the points that I think are important highlighted. What do you think about it?

Reversal of Endangered Species Rulings
By H. JOSEF HEBERT – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed seven rulings that denied endangered species increased protection, after an investigation found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former senior Interior Department official.

In a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the agency acknowledged that the actions had been "inappropriately influenced" and that "revising the seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the proper legal standards." The reversal affects the protection for species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble's meadow jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.

The rulings came under scrutiny last spring after an Interior Department inspector general concluded that agency scientists were being pressured to alter their findings on endangered species by Julie MacDonald, then a deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service.

MacDonald resigned her position last May.

Rahall in a statement said that MacDonald, who was a civil engineer, "should never have been allowed near the endangered species program." He called MacDonald's involvement in species protection cases over her three-year tenure as an example of "this administration's penchant for torpedoing science."

Acting Fish and Wildlife Director Kenneth Stansell wrote Rahall that the cases were reviewed "after questions were raised about the integrity of scientific information used and whether the decisions were made consistent with the appropriate legal standards."

He did not refer to MacDonald specifically.

Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists said the acknowledgment of seven instances of wrongdoing "does not begin to plumb the depths of what's wrong" at the wildlife agency and its implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

There are at least 30 cases "where we have evidence of interference" over the last seven years, maintained Grifo, director of the group's scientific integrity program.

Problems were found in seven of the eight cases, taken up for review after MacDonald's resignation.

The wildlife agency said it will reconsider a petition to list as endangered the white-tailed prairie dog. The petition had been denied, but the agency said after its investigation "the Service believes this decision should be reconsidered."

It also said it will examine the continued listing of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, as well as a separate ruling that had been made concerning the mouse's critical habitat. The agency decision to take the mouse from under the protection of the Endangered Species Act was questioned after MacDonald's involvement became known.

Four other cases being reconsidered involved declarations of critical habitat for the Canada lynx, the Hawaiian picture-wing fly, the Arroyo toad, and the California red-legged frog.

The agency said it did not find any scientific evidence to warrant changes in another questioned critical habitat decision involving the Southwestern willow flycatcher, saying it was "scientifically supportable."

MacDonald resigned in May after the Interior Department's inspector general rebuked her for pressuring wildfire agency scientists to alter their findings about endangered species and leaking information about species decisions to industry officials. The IG found that she had broken federal rules by those actions.

In her three years on the job, MacDonald also was heavily involved in delisting the Sacramento splittail, a fish found only in California's Central Valley where she owned an 80-acre farm on which the fish live.

 

[mtmiller]

More info for you 'chsr.

Feds ordered to take another look at protecting sage grouse
Judge says 'best science' wasn't used in decision not to list the species

Winmill's decision on sage grouse
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The federal government will have to reconsider protecting sage grouse after a federal judge on Tuesday tossed out a 2004 decision not to list the species as threatened or endangered.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to review what he called a "tainted" decision by the Bush administration.

Winmill blamed the meddling of Julie MacDonald, a former deputy assistant interior secretary, who Winmill said kept the best scientists from direct involvement in the decision.

If the agency ultimately protects the sage grouse, it could have the impact on public land ranching that the listing of the spotted owl had on logging in the Pacific Northwest's old-growth forests in the late 1980s. It also could slow oil and gas development and affect utility transmission line placement and real estate development on the edge of cities like Boise.

The sage grouse is one of nearly a dozen species that depend on sagebrush, a defining feature of the Western landscape. About 50 percent of the sagebrush habitat has been replaced by farms and communities, intentionally removed on federal land or replaced by invasive species after frequent fires.

MacDonald, an engineer and a lawyer but not a biologist, rewrote the decision documents in 2004. She added scientific references to studies the agencies' biologists did not include, and she removed references to research done by sage grouse experts, including Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Jack Connelly of Pocatello and U.S. Geological Survey biologist Steve Knick of Boise.

After MacDonald's interference, the agency ruled that listing sage grouse as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act was not warranted.

"MacDonald had extensive involvement in the sage grouse listing decision, used her intimidation tactics in this case, and altered the 'best science' to fit a not-warranted decision," Winmill wrote.

Winmill also said Fish and Wildlife failed to adequately address the vast threats to sage grouse and their sagebrush habitat across the West, including oil and gas development, large range fires, livestock grazing and expanding transportation corridors.

The decision was left to a team of senior agency officials, not sage grouse biologists.

"First, the team was not comprised of experts on sage grouse habitat," Winmill wrote. "What did the expert panelists say specifically about sage grouse habitat and its 'rate' of decline? We don't know because their discussions were off-the-record."

Winmill's decision came in a lawsuit filed by the Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project. Laird Lucas, chief attorney of Advocates for the West, which represented the environmental group, said conditions for sage grouse have gotten worse, especially because of the habitat degradation from oil and gas development in Wyoming, Utah and other states.

Range fires tied to climate change, like southern Idaho's 650,000-acre Murphy Complex, also have destroyed habitat, Lucas said. He hopes the decision will force the region to start developing a recovery plan for the sagebrush steppe habitat on which the sage grouse rely.

"I really think the sage grouse is going to help us face the future," Lucas said.

Sage grouse numbers suffered sharp declines in the early 1900s and after World War II. Since 1986, after two decades of consistent decline, the population of the birds in Idaho and several states had stabilized. But fires and development have continued to destroy the sagebrush steppes where the birds live.

Grazing and road-building have fragmented the remaining habitat so that sage grouse cannot migrate seasonally from summer to winter habitat.

Since the last population review in 2004, gas drillers have punched into some of the best sage grouse habitat left in the West - without being required to study the impacts on sage grouse and other species.

And West Nile virus has swept across the West, killing sage grouse all the way. Its impact on the population is just becoming known.

Rocky Barker: 377-6484

Recent CommentsWednesday, December 5, 2007 - 10:54am | dakbala
Sage Grouch
So a Bushee meddled with government information to help keep the good ol boys rich and happy? What a shock. Think of all the instances that this kind of stuff happens without anyone knowing or caring. Listing a species like the Sage Grouse will have long reaching effects on grazing, oil and gas exploration, and other land management issues here in Idaho and the West. Many of these land ...
read more
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - 11:45am | star
In Idaho
In Idaho when all else fails "shoot 'em"
See all 3 comments

 

[the nikster]

I seem to recall a couple of years ago some staffers being repri, rep, reprim, chewed out because they altered some evidence in eastern Washington state. I may have the location wrong, but it did happen.

 

[BigHornRam]

MacDonald was fired.....as she should have been. The Lynx Bio's who were caught playing games, were only reprimanded.

 

[BigHornRam]

You guy's (Buzz, Oak, Jose, Miller, Pointer) are so busy going after CHSR, I don't think you bother to read what he actually say's. This paragraph seems fairly straight forward to me.....

"We as tax payers paying for these studies, expect no foul play from individuals or groups who are supposed to be objectively putting together data. Not skewing it with what ever agenda they are ultimately after (I understand it happens all the time, but that’s no excuse)..."

That means politics, left or right, should be left out.

For those that want to defend the lynx biologist actions by claiming nothing was ever proven, you have a point. But you have to admit, their story was about as credible as Larry Craig's bathroom story.

 

[noharleyyet]

I seem to recall a couple of years ago some staffers being repri, rep, reprim, chewed out because they altered some evidence in eastern Washington state. I may have the location wrong, but it did happen.

LMAO....

 

[JoseCuervo]

You guy's (Buzz, Oak, Jose, Miller, Pointer) are so busy going after CHSR, I don't think you bother to read what he actually say's. This paragraph seems fairly straight forward to me.....

"We as tax payers paying for these studies, expect no foul play from individuals or groups who are supposed to be objectively putting together data. Not skewing it with what ever agenda they are ultimately after (I understand it happens all the time, but that’s no excuse)..."

That means politics, left or right, should be left out.

BigWhore,
How stupid are you to think that politics should or could be left out? How often have you seen Republican/Drilling/Lumber interests whining about the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and how Dubya needs to appoint Republicans to the Circuit or that the 9th should be split into another circuit with Idaho/Montana/Oregon because some big bellied anti-hunter like yourself doesn't like a court ruling from the 9th that overturned the Dubya Administrations illegal activities?

Politics get left out when we get these cases appeals into the court system and we can apply the law instead of allowing corrupt administration officials in the Dubya WhiteHouse to disregard the Law, SCience, and Hunters and continually side with those who want to end hunting on My Public Lands in the West.

 

[mtmiller]

You guy's (Buzz, Oak, Jose, Miller, Pointer) are so busy going after CHSR, I don't think you bother to read what he actually say's.

Speaking for myself, yep...most of the time, can't disagree with you there. When I do bother to read chsr's posts there are some things I agree with, but I gotta be honest, I usually only click on his threads to see the train wrecks usually associated with his theories.

Let's face it, chsr had an agenda when he threw out his bait. Unfortunately he forgot to launch the boat before he cast his line. Another one of those posts that the subject is changed when it can be seen the battle can't be won.

Did chsr's initial post have anything to do with the lynx bamboozle? Um, no. But when called on his post, he reels in the red herring.

For those that want to defend the lynx biologist actions by claiming nothing was ever proven, you have a point. But you have to admit, their story was about as credible as Larry Craig's bathroom story.

Has anyone other than you and chsr typed the word "lynx" in this thread.

We agree, McDonald should have been fired. I also agree that the bios should have been more than reprimanded.

That means politics, left or right, should be left out.

I tend to agree with you on this, but looking back on the majority of post in here, looks like the pot calling the kettle black.