Hearing on the Endangered Species Act
May 9th, 2007 by Jesse LeeThe Natural Resources Committee, led by Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), is currently holding an oversight hearing: “Endangered Species Act Implementation: Science or Politics?” Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks in the Interior Department was scheduled to testify, but resigned last week.
Chairman Rahall: “Last week, Julie MacDonald resigned her position as deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the Department of Interior, ending what many on her staff thought was a ‘reign of terror.’ Unfortunately, when she picked up, she left behind a lot of baggage, including an agency that seems bent on abdicating its mandated responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act to protect God’s creatures for future generations.” |
Background:
Embattled Interior Official Resigns Post
Matthew Daly, Associated Press - May 1, 2007
An Interior Department official accused of pressuring government scientists to make their research fit her policy goals has resigned.
Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, submitted her resignation letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a department spokesman said Tuesday.
MacDonald resigned a week before a House congressional oversight committee was to hold a hearing on accusations that she violated the Endangered Species Act, censored science and mistreated staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bush Appointee Said to Reject Advice on Endangered Species
Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post - October 30, 2006
A senior Bush political appointee at the Interior Department has rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act at least six times in the past three years, documents show.
In addition, staff complaints that their scientific findings were frequently overruled or disparaged at the behest of landowners or industry have led the agency’s inspector general to look into the role of Julie MacDonald, who has been deputy assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks since 2004, in decisions on protecting endangered species.
The documents show that MacDonald has repeatedly refused to go along with staff reports concluding that species such as the white-tailed prairie dog and the Gunnison sage grouse are at risk of extinction. Career officials and scientists urged the department to identify the species as either threatened or endangered.