In September Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey and other leading administration officials wrapped up a series of 24 Cooperative Conservation listening sessions around on the country.  With Interior Secretary Kempthorne's life-long commitment to dismantling environmental protections,  Mark Rey's abysmal environmental record, and the implicit goal of making voluntary what is currently law, it's hard to imagine anything good coming out of these listening sessions.  This in spite of overwhelming public support for our legacy environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act  expressed at every listening session, including the one held in Colorado Springs September 15th. 

America has spoken
When all was said and done, more than 30,000 individuals and 138 organizations from across the country submitted written comments to the Department of the Interior in support of our nation’s conservation laws, representing an overwhelming majority of comments submitted.  Also, Aveda Corporation submitted 176,000 petition signatures addressed to President Bush in support of the Endangered Species Act and nineteen religious organizations signed a joint letter in support of environmental protections and conservation.

Administration officials attending the the listening sessions have admitted surprise at the level of support demonstrated for our nation's bedrock environmental laws.  So America has spoken, and Americans care about conservation. 

What's  next
It is likely that the administration will begin its efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws through administrative changes using the listening sessions as soon as Congress convenes this November.  For updates on this and related endangered species issues, keep visiting our new Critterthink Blog or sign up for our e-alerts. Meanwhile, a big hearty thank you to everyone who spoke in support of our nation’s environmental protections during the listening sessions!