Science back on the table for wildlife

It was a party for imperiled species at the Department of the Interior's 160th anniversary bash. Department employees cheered as President Obama announced that his administration has effectively halted Bush's lame duck siege on the Endangered Species Act.  

Bush's rule change exempted tens of thousands of federal, taxpayer-funded projects each year from independent reviews by biologists and input from the public. This would have allowed projects from high rises to roads to be built with no independent review of their potential harm to endangered plants and animals. In Washington State alone, 1,350 species were directly affected.

President Obama ordered federal agencies to once again consult with scientists on the impacts to endangered species before launching any projects. At the podium, he stressed the importance of science in all decisions, a stark change from Bush, who was accused of regularly squelching good science to benefit industry:

The work of scientist and experts in my administration...will be respected. For three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation's most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it.