PUBLIC SUBMISSION | As of: March 15, 2009 Tracking No. 8074fa71 Comments Due: October 14, 2008 |
Docket: FWS-R9-ES-2008-0093
Revised Definitions for ESA Section 7 Consultations; 50 CFR Part 402
Comment On: FWS-R9-ES-2008-0093-0001
Interagency Cooperation Under the Endangered Species Act
Document: FWS-R9-ES-2008-0093-22925
Comment on FR Doc # E8-18938
arlington, TX, 76017
Organization: Center for Biological DiversityI am writing to urge you to stop the changes to longstanding regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act you recently proposed. These changes would drastically weaken the interagency consultation provision of the Endangered Species Act -- widely considered the most important and effective provision of the Act -- and also undercut the Endangered Species Act's proper role in addressing the impacts of climate change on our nation's most imperiled wildlife.
For 35 years the Endangered Species Act has protected imperiled species from the effects of potentially harmful federal projects. The strength of the Endangered Species Act has been the checks and balances created by interagency consultation between federal agencies that build roads, issue logging permits, and lease oil and gas rights among other projects, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Services, whose primary responsibility is the conservation of endangered species.
Interagency consultation ensures that federal projects that may impact America's most imperiled wildlife are independently reviewed by federal wildlife experts and project modifications are made where necessary. In the overwhelming majority of consultations federal projects move forward with little or no significant changes.
The regulations you recently proposed would eliminate interagency consultation on thousands of federal projects that pose a risk to endangered and threatened species each year. The changes will almost certainly result in detrimental impacts on endangered and imperiled species and a higher propensity to overlook opportunities to avoid such impacts.
Notwithstanding the fact that these are the most significant changes to regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act in more than 20 years, you have provided the public just 30 days in which to submit comments, not the traditional 90, and prevented anyone from sending their comments by email.
I request you set an additional 60 days to allow the public an opportunity to meaningfully comment on these proposed regulations.
I also urge you to not to finalize these regulatory changes.
Thank you.