Senior Bush Appointee Rejected Scientists’ Recommendations In Favor Of Industry Positions
Senior Bush Appointee Rejected Scientists’ Recommendations In Favor Of Industry Positions
Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, has consistently “rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act.” A civil engineer with no training in biology, she has overruled and disparaged the findings of her staff, instead relying on the recommendations of political and industry groups. Some highlights:
– MacDonald presented industry positions as equivalent to scientific studies. In 2004, a panel of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) biologists recommended giving the greater sage grouse protection under the Endangered Species Act. But in her review of the panel’s report, she denigrated many scientific studies as mere “opinion,” and stated, “We should treat [them] as we would treat an industry publication,” she wrote.
– MacDonald pressed staff biologists to more seriously consider industry positions. During a dicussion of the great sage grouse population, MacDonald wrote, “This paragraph completely ignores the comments received by the Owyhee Cattlemen’s Association and the Idaho Cattle Association.” As the Washington Post notes, the organizations “opposed the listing on the grounds that it would limit their use of land where the birds live.”
– Under MacDonald, the Department of the Interior (DOI) reversed a staff ruling based on comments from the Air Force. In 2000, FWS published recognized Tabernaemontana rotensis as a species and proposed to list it as an endangered species. The T. rotensis tree has been reduced to approximately 30 plants found primarily on lands managed by the Air Force. In 2004, the decision to list was reversed, “prompted in part by a comment from the Air Force.”
Under the Bush administration, just 56 species have been listed under the Endangered Species Act, for a rate of about 10 a year. Under Clinton, officials listed 512 species, or 64 a year, and under George H.W. Bush, the department listed 234, or 59 a year.
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Union of Concerned Scientists have more.
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It think it is very important to discuss with industry any new law or regulation you may put on there land. This stuff effects them more then anyone. If you make this bird an endagered species, you may destroy many small cattle ranches that rely on that same land. I am not saying you shouldn’t still protect certain species, but you should strongly consider the industries position before making a decision.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:34 pmThis is so typical of this administration, put dummies with no knoledge of anything in a position of control…Letting big business and polluters have the say and the end will be nothing will be speaking, including us….If we learn nothing else it will be to never let the neocons and big business run our country again….That is providing we survuve this administration and get them all in jail……Blessings, we need them
October 30th, 2006 at 2:51 pmCareful Ms. Macdonald, Dems may have subpoena power next January and you may have to testify under oath about your thinking process and decision-making. Your next job might be making license plates.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:53 pm#1 Roger Roger:
“A civil engineer with no training in biology, she has overruled and disparaged the findings of her staff, instead relying on the recommendations of political and industry groups.”
Not to worry, I think that she is DEFINITELY “strongly considering the industry’s position.” To the exclusion of all others.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:54 pmThe adminstration favors a Team A and Team B approach to Science, with Team A being, well, scientists and Team B being industry shills. Of course, the Team A-Team B approach to Science is an attack on Science. Politics, corrupt politics, is all for the Bush adminstration.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:56 pmSlash and burn mentality. Typical Bush administration policy.
October 30th, 2006 at 2:58 pmA civil engineer??
October 30th, 2006 at 3:01 pmYou’re needed in Iraq, Ms. MacDonald…
Any sane person would ask the opinion of the land owner and those that actually use the land. There opinion is much more important then those from any person/scientist that doesn’t live on or use the land. We need to make politics more local anyways. I could care less what those in San Fransisco think about how I live and they should care less about how we live in the midwest. They certainly shouldn’t have a say in how I use my land as I shouldn’t have a say in how they use theres.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:05 pmRepublicans are pro-superstition and anti-science.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:05 pmActually, no animal species should ever be protected if it costs anything to protect it.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:06 pmAfter all, the almighty buck dicatates how all government should be run.
Even man shouldn’t be any kind of protected feces.
Rog, please tell us what town you live in, so we can make sure a nukular waste dumping ground gets situated right next to your village. Idiot.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:08 pmOK mr fish,mr rabbit and the rest of you.. are you a republican or democrat? what a sick joke…..this woman has been brain washed.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:08 pmMs. MacDonald seems to be preparing for a nice lobbying position. I feel for the people that work under her. They get degrees in the field that interests them, gain experience, try to apply all of their knowledge and expertise to problems and then a politically appointed hack undercuts all of their work. I would be steaming.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:08 pmSakes alive, what a stooge.
Roger_Roger, I mean.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:10 pmI could care less what those in San Fransisco think about how I live and they should care less about how we live in the midwest. They certainly shouldn’t have a say in how I use my land as I shouldn’t have a say in how they use theres.
Comment by Roger_Roger
I had no idea that all the staff scientist were from San Francisco. RRooggeerr, why do you always sound like a crochety old man that sits on his porch yelling at the kids and kicks his dog when he gets frustrated?
October 30th, 2006 at 3:19 pmNice to see Bush for what he is.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:19 pmANd finally we get confirmation that Roger_Roger is a retarded bible belt republican red neck. Thanks for verifying what we already knew. Go tip a cow and leave politics to educated people.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:19 pmAnd I just read that the EPA is closing its libraries across the nation making it more difficult to do research to force compliance with existing laws. The Bush Administration is looking more like the old Soviet Union everyday.
Vote early and vote absentee if you live in diebold country. This country needs the Democrats.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:23 pmAnti-social thinking:
We humans don’t have to care about non-humans.
October 30th, 2006 at 3:38 pmWe Americans don’t have to care about non-Americans.
We whites don’t have to care about non-whites.
We males don’t have to care about females.
We heterosexuals don’t have to care about homosexuals.
We who are rich don’t have to care about you who are not rich.
I don’t have to care about you.
If you at Thinkprogress are truly concerned about saving a certain bird, simply go buy out the landowners at the market value. You are the entitled to do whatever you want with the land (or you should be). Forcing people to use there property how you see fit isn’t American. Buying there land so you can “save” it is very American. So, get your check books out and go buy some land in “fly over” country. Hell, you may some day venture out of your metro areas and actually see the world if you owned some of it. :)
October 30th, 2006 at 3:52 pmEverything this administration has done has been for big business….Much of our BLM and state land’s that we use to hunt and fish in is now being distroyed by huge cattle concerns and large mining or oil leases for cheap or near nothing returns….
From Washington, Idaho, Montana and Nevada and probably all the other states as well…I am only aware of these states since I have lived in these and wondered all over the back wood’s and public land’s..The streams are mucked up and distroyed from the huge cow calf herd’s, trees are knocked down and even the road’s are needing constant repair….From spring untill fall it is a mess…..Get out there, check it out for you’re self. Wildlife forage is cut by 2/3 and rapidly dieing off and some species like the grouse we use to have to kick out of our way is hardley ever seen in many areas….Don’t trust me, get out there on a drive and hike into these places, you’ll see…Don’t wait, it will be gone…The parks and wilderness is going to be sold out and off…..Get rid of bush and pombo, it will be a good start…..Blessings
October 30th, 2006 at 4:03 pmYou are the entitled to do whatever you want with the land (or you should be). comment by Roger Roger
Really? Like dump raw sewage from our toilets? Like make crystal meth? Like launch missles? Like human sacrifice?
See how ridiculous your absolute statement is? No, no one has a right to do things that has serious adverse effects on the rights or welfare of others – and this can and should include the total ecosystem. Now, we need to be reasonable because extinction is a natural process. But then, so is cancer and human greed and killing hurricanes – and we humans try to manage the negative consequence which result from these conditions.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:04 pm#23
Farmers have been dumbing raw sewage on there land for over 100 years. Gold courses also use raw human sewage on there greens. This isn’t new to us “country” folks. Why do you think there was a big stink so to say about not licking gold balls……. Yup, human dooky. Anyways, good luck with that “not allowed to dump human sewage on your land thing”. Farmers will never stop that practice.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:16 pmThat is what is wrong with these dip shites. They actually think the mid-West is the world. I tell you what you retarded piece of crap. I have lots of relatives where you are. Your piece of crap property ain’t all that great to look at. You need to get out and see the real world. And guess what genius? It ain’t in America. Some of it is, but not all of it. Some geologists would sya that America is a fraction of one of the seven continents. Making the US, less than one seventh of “the world.”
October 30th, 2006 at 4:24 pmYup, human dooky. Anyways, good luck with that “not allowed to dump human sewage on your land thingâ€. Farmers will never stop that practice.
Comment by Roger_Roger
If you think that the farmers and golf courses aren’t regulated with how much of the “treated” raw sewage they can use as fertilizer then you are very mistaken. Its known as Class B sludge and it is pretreated and it is made available by the government. If you think anyone can just dump their crap on their crops you need to do some more fact checking.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:37 pmRoger Roger
“Golf” courses tell you not to lick golf balls because of the weed control chemicals (poison) they use, not because of human waste. And farmers who dump any feces onto their lands, do not just affect their property as that feces leaches into the water table and into streams. I don’t know ANY farmer, from my uncles to my neighbors, who have dumped human waste onto their fields (in the last 50 years anyway).
You just keep posting – there is no better promotion for environmental regulations than your “dooky” views.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:40 pmSpeaking of RogerRoger and his fertilizing crops with shit reminds me of the old saying “you are what you eat”.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:48 pm#25,
I have been to all but 1 state (Maine). I have been to Africa (South Africa, Ghana, B Faso, Niger, and The Congo), I have also been to Ireland, England, China, Japan, the Middle East, Mexico, Alaska (ANWAR), Canada, and the Artic Circle. Is that “worldly” enough for you? I am heading to Siberia next fall to “round” out my world view.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:49 pm1. Any sane person would ask the opinion of the land owner and those that actually use the land. There opinion is much more important then those from any person/scientist that doesn’t live on or use the land. We need to make politics more local anyways. I could care less what those in San Francisco think about how I live and they should care less about how we live in the Midwest. They certainly shouldn’t have a say in how I use my land as I shouldn’t have a say in how they use theirs.
Comment by Roger_Roger
Actually RR if you consult with the land owner they will always pick what seemingly may cost them the least. But your assertion that the land owner knows best is not always accurate. What if your upwind, neighbors decide the best use for their land is a chicken farm? That is fine with you using your logic. Then suppose they decide that they don’t need to comply with environmental laws governing the disposal of the waste and just hose it off and it runs into the aquifer upstream from your water source? That’s a go by your book. Lets go more extreme. Lets say the aquifer for your water is hundreds of miles away and a landowner, who by your description, knows how to use his land best, decides to store spent Nuclear fuel rods in his own fashion. The rods leak into the aquifer and is get pumped to your sink. You your wife and kids get cancer, but that is OK because the land owner knows what use is best for his land and you, as a republican, don’t believe in suing for damages.
Your comments about waste being sprayed onto golf courses is wrong. You make it sound like untreated waste is spread, which is wrong, and that is not even close to the truth. At least be honest.
With the land owners knowing the best use for the land, you do know that out west the land owner is typically the US government (i.e. you and me, we the people if you will…) and that many of those ranchers are using our land at cut rate rates, so ultimately they are using our land. I actually trust a scientist (or expert) on something more than I trust the business person. But as a republican you have to support business over all else, so keep up the good work.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:53 pmWell Roger-Roger, maybe where you live it’s that way but not in the four states I have lived in..Golf courses in those states do not use raw fertalizer at all…My x husband was a green’s keeper in several of these states and we were both golfer’s….Doe’s not happen, first off it burns the green’s if it were used and second the golfers would not tolerate the smell….They all used specialy prepaired and processed bagged or bulk fertelizer for their indavadule soil needs and type of grass……Next, all the small farmers I knew then and know now (under a section, that’s 660 acres) are very careful of stream run off and application..It’s the huge corprate farmers along with the dinky hobby farmers that don’t take care of their herd’s that are a problem……So now you know how it is on the west coast for the most part and all of us know how it is where you are……Still not good enough.. If we continue to allow these people to lease our wilderness on the cheap with no accountability and pollute our world there will be no water to drink and no wildlife or life of any kind……Blessings
October 30th, 2006 at 4:59 pm#31,
I never said the landowner is the last word in the matter, I simply said they should consult them. For the very least, we should figure out how big the burden will be for them so we compensate them accordingly. If we shut down a 1 million dollar revenue ranch to save a bird, we should be paying that rancher 1 million each and every year. It isn’t fair to strap normal citizens with unneeded burdens to save 1 bird. If the burden is very light and reasonable, then the project won’t be as hard. I am simply stating that we need to analyze the “cost” on the property owner. It is very easy to sit back and make laws and demands on property owners, but we need to be talking with them and paying them for any burden our government puts on them. It is only fair.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:00 pmWay to stick to the issue people.
Carol — can you tell me where you found this info?
I would be interested in learning more.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:05 pm32 Roger Roger
It took you 2 1/2 hours to post something remotely reasonable and nuanced, as opposed to your earlier nonsense. Maybe, you need to think awhile before you post your first comment.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:13 pmAbout the EPA libraries closing.
This has been in the works for a while but only made the MSM a little while back.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:14 pm#35
October 30th, 2006 at 5:14 pmwas for sistereinstein……sorry long day.
To the endangered species list, don’t forget to add “truth”.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:18 pmRoger: “we should figure out how big the burden will be for them so we compensate them accordingly.”
How about when a corporation ruins a community’s environment. Shouldn’t the corporation compensate the community accordingly? What about when a community spends a lot of money on infrastructure and tax breaks to help a corporation build a factory in that community and then after a few years, the corporation fires everyone and moves manufacturing to the far east. Shouldn’t the corporation pay the community back for the help it got setting up?
The problem with conservatism today is that it’s turned into corporatism. Conservatives are all about personal responsibility and accountability, but they see no reason to insist on corporate accountability to a community even though they believe corporations have the same rights as individuals.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:28 pmEasy, dlet, we flyover states are not all inbred hillbilly states. As a matter of fact, here in Wisconsin, we fought Bush’s government’s environmental regulations because ours were stronger.
October 30th, 2006 at 9:12 pmDemocrats have been an endangered species for toooooo many years.
THEN THIS TUMBLING WEED WAS “SELECTED” PRESIDENT. George W. Bush is a gift that is going to keep on giving for years, decades, and centuries. Thank you, George.
Now, the Republicans will be the endangered “SPECIES.” As far as I’m concerned, they are “FECES.” Pardon my language, but these scumbags are rotten to the core.
Sadly, the endangered species list is the human race–you and I. Global warming will be one of the lasting legacies of the Bush administration.
This president is just unbelievable. He’s now talking about same-sex marriage a lot. Denying gays and lesbians the right to marry their companions is not a real issue.
I’ll tell you what will be real issues. Palm trees in Fairbanks, Alaska. Ozone depletion with millions dying of skin cancer annually. Your lovely beach house is no longer there, due to the sea level rising 30, 50, 100, 1000 feet. Pikes Peak will be a coastal city.
John
October 30th, 2006 at 9:43 pm[...] Think Progress » Senior Bush Appointee Rejected Scientists’ Recommendations In Favor Of Industry Positions Bookmark this:| del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | Netscape | StumbleUpon | Yahoo MyWeb [...]
October 31st, 2006 at 1:20 am[...] Senior Bush appointee has rejected scientists’ recommendations in favor of industry positions - Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, has consistently “rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act.†A civil engineer with no training in biology, she has overruled and disparaged the findings of her staff, instead relying on the recommendations of political and industry groups. [...]
October 31st, 2006 at 9:06 am#25,
I have been to all but 1 state (Maine). I have been to Africa (South Africa, Ghana, B Faso, Niger, and The Congo), I have also been to Ireland, England, China, Japan, the Middle East, Mexico, Alaska (ANWAR), Canada, and the Artic Circle. Is that “worldly†enough for you? I am heading to Siberia next fall to “round†out my world view.
Comment by Roger_Roger — October 30, 2006 @ 4:49 pm
So? There’s no law that says worldly people can’t be dorks.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:29 pmRR said:
Yeah, Rog, that’s called a “taking” and takings are compensated. Remember all the ballywho about the “Kelo” decision? That was a takings case. The philosophical debate here, Rog, is not whether the landowner has any say in the matter or whether they are compensated for their losses — that happens . . . it’s required by US law. The debate here is, when making the decision whether or not there is a biological need to affect a “taking,” the information you rely on to make that decision comes from scientists (who have done objective, peer-reviewed studies) or industry representatievs (whose opinion is entirely subjective and based on the interests of those they represent — industry and $$$).
It’s not a question of being “fair” by giving the landowner a voice. It’s a question of whether the decision should be influenced by scientists, who have no ulterior motive or than scientific, or by industry shills, who have nothing but an ulterior motive — money.
November 1st, 2006 at 7:49 amJessie
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