Climate Change and ESA -- Roundtable Pans DOI ESA Polar Bear Decision as Dangerous Precedent “Unsupported” By Real Data
A major focus of our attention in 2007-08 has been to mount an aggressive push-back on efforts by national environmental groups to establish climate change as a trigger for listings of species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Alaska polar bear was the precedent-setting case.
Ultimately, Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that DOI is listing the polar bear as "threatened'," but then tried to limit the listing's impact by asserting that the DOI does not view the increased protection afforded the bear under ESA as a backdoor to regulating greenhouse gases.
Our reaction was simple and shift. We believe this listing will lead to an avalanche of listing petitions, regardless of the spin put on this very bad decision by the Bush Administration. See our press statement here.
Sure enough, the petitions are lining up. In mid- October, WildEarth Guardians filed eight Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing petitions, covering 13 Western species. The group has termed the filings as its 'Western Ark' project. All the petitions attribute, in part, climate change as the reason for threats to the named species. Nearly all the energy-producing Western states are impacted.
Roundtable members may access the organization's detailed comments and other related information on this issue by logging onto the Roundtable Air Quality Committee Online Headquarters, through the "Members" tab of the home page.
