As we get closer to winning this year's legislative fight on the Endangered Species Act, we expect to see the Bush Administration turn its attention to attacking the Act by weakening the regulations that govern its implementation.  Late last week, the Administration suffered a serious setback to this "if we can't gut the law itself then we'll just gut the regulations" strategy when a federal court threw out its new rules regarding pesticides and endangered species.

“Pesticides are driving America’s wildlife toward extinction, and this administration wants to remove the checks and balances that hold them accountable,” Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman told the L.A. Times in an August 25 story.  “It’s time for them to stop trying to sidestep the law, and start addressing this problem in a serious and systematic way.”

The court found that the Bush Administration "plainly violated" the Endangered Species Act by eliminating reviews by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for new pesticides.