EAGLES AND CRANES, FORGET 'EM

The George W. Bush administration may be in its final months. But that's no indication with how much damage it still do to the environment.
Now the W. boys want to undo regulations that have been protecting endangered species.
Under proposed new rules, which do NOT require Congressional approval, the administration would let federal agencies decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might possibly harm endangered animals and plants.
These new regulations would severely cut back on the now-required, independent reviews that government scientists have been doing for 35 years, according to a 30-page draft proposal obtained by the Associated Press.
And more -- the proposal also would block the scientists from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and the impact on plants, animals and habitats.
Well, the president never much believed in global warming anyway.
With a go-ahead from the Department of the Interior, this proposal would create the biggest change in the Endangered Species Act since 1988.
Basically this is a dodge around Congress.
If approved, Republican conservatives would get by -- instituting these regulations--what they could never get approved with legislation. The conservatives blame these scientific reviews for causing delays and cost increases on projects.
The new rules' impact would be sweeping. They would apply to any project that a federal agency might fund, build or authorize.
Under the current law -- the one that the administration hopes to undo -- federal agencies are required to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine if a project is likely to threaten any endangered species or to damage their habitat.
Once the scientific studies are completed, these reviews often require accommodations that will protect the 1,353 plants and animals on the endangered list. The scientific reviews also determine whether more formal analyses are needed.
Just what Congress intended.
In the draft, the U.S. Department of Interior contends that America can now just skip those old, cumbersome tests because federal agencies now have plenty of expertise to review their own construction and development projects.
Right. And the fox will offer no more than tender loving care once the hen house door swings open.
One does not have to look too far back in history to note the number of dams -- some now being torn down -- that were built by an unfettered U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Over the years, these scientific reviews have helped to protect such species as bald eagles, Florida panthers and whooping cranes, to name just a few.
The AP reports that the draft will be formally proposed sometime in the coming weeks.
The public will be given 30 days to comment before the Interior Department finalizes the new regulations.
In what might be considered part of the president's legacy, this quick approval would give the administration plenty of time to enact the rules before leaving office.
Could a new administration undo this change? Could Congress?
Well yes, but it would probably take some time.
It would likely require months for a new administration to either freeze or reverse these proposed rules, the AP reports. As for Congress overturning them, that could take even longer.

It has been stunning to watch how over two terms the administration has managed to subvert and pervert any rule or law that would protect the environment.
And time still remains. What next? I'd almost believe new additions to the endangered species act that included zebra mussels and quaga mussels.