"The most concentrated and consequential Endangered Species Act fight in a generation starts tomorrow [July 25].
The opening bell rings with the formal publication of far-reaching proposals from NOAA Fisheries and the Fish and Wildlife Service to reform enforcement of the law. Over the next 60 days, tens of thousands of public comments will flood in. Many will be heated; many already have been.
"In proposing to undermine key, time-tested ESA processes and protections, [Interior Secretary Ryan] Zinke is pandering to fringe elements of the extraction industry that consider any protection for wildlife an unacceptable constraint on profits," former Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes declared yesterday.
The agencies will weigh the public comments, although it's not a ballot measure where majority rules or even matters much. Then, the agencies will act, significantly rewriting ESA regulations for the first time since 1986."
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