You can read our press release and other news about the Washington Post revelations regarding political manipulation in the Department of the Interior, but we also wanted to give you this opportunity to hear more about how the story came to light in the first place.

Washington Post reveals political interference in endangered species protection

Under the headline “Bush Appointee Said to Reject Advice on Endangered Species,” the Washington Post exposed the manipulation of recent Fish and Wildlife Service decisions by a political appointee in the Department of the Interior.

It’s a distressing but true story.  The Washington Post revealed that a key Bush administration political appointee, Julie MacDonald, regularly suppressed the recommendations of her staff scientists to protect highly imperiled plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act.  Her interference has left the white-tailed prairie dog, the Gunnison sage grouse, the Gunnison’s prairie dog, the roundtail chub, and other species languishing without the protection they need to survive.

Her level of disregard for the future of these wildlife species and for the expertise of her staff is truly astounding.  MacDonald, not a biologist herself by training, simply reversed the findings of her staff biologists in order to deny protection to these embattled creatures.  In some cases, she also mocked the expert opinions of her staff, ridiculing them for identifying well-understood threats that they said would lead to extinction.

Taking Action

Fortunately, the Post’s exposé has alerted the rest of the country to this travesty.  In dozens of followup articles, reporters around the West are exploring how such biased manipulation has affected our region’s most imperiled native fish, mammals, and other wildlife.  Representative Nick J. Rahal (D-WV) has pledged to conduct an oversight hearing in the next Congress.  The scandal has also not escaped the attention of the government’s own internal police:  the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General is currently investigating staff allegations of MacDonald’s interference.  Meanwhile, Center for Native Ecosystems and many other conservation groups are calling on the Fish and Wildlife Service to correct its tainted decisions and protect the affected species as they deserve.

Behind the Scenes with CNE

There is a story behind this story, one that says a lot about how CNE works and why we have been so effective over the years.  It begins with our tireless staff biologist, Erin Robertson, who wrote our petition to protect the white-tailed prairie dog back in 2002.

Erin found out about Julie MacDonald’s role in reversing the decision her staff planned to make supporting the findings in her white-tailed prairie dog petition.  She contacted some of our partner organizations to strategize about going public with the revelation and found out about the illegal tampering in other decisions they had uncovered—decisions that left the Gunnison sage grouse, the Gunnison’s prairie dog, and other western wildlife unprotected from the massive habitat loss they all faced.  Realizing they had unearthed a bombshell, Erin and our partner organizations contacted the Union of Concerned Scientists, who could provide the muscle in Washington, D.C., to ensure the story was heard.  Together, we supplied the Washington Post with hundreds of pages of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showing MacDonald’s undue influence.

Were it not for Erin’s reputation as a careful scientist and stalwart defender of imperiled species, not to mention Center for Native Ecosystems’ reputation as a respected and effective advocate, this story would not have happened.  Over the years, Center for Native Ecosystems staff have become known for their credibility, professionalism, and their steadfast commitment to both sound science and strong defense of our region’s most defenseless creatures.  Through long-term relationships with many agency staff people, conservation partners, diverse allies such as ranchers and farmers, and even the local media, we have become a trusted voice in the conservation community.  We regularly receive valuable information about the needs of our region’s most imperiled animals and plants, whether through official requests, informal phone conversations, or even the occasional unmarked manila envelope in our mailbox.

Making Good Things Happen

This is not the sort of story we tell you about often, but we want you to know that behind every public success of on behalf of endangered wild things, there are hundred of hours of quiet relationship building, research, and subtle organizing that brings together the right allies, gets the right information into the right hands, and lays the groundwork for the right action.  We have been combining all that to get the right results for seven years now, and with your support we are poised to do even more in the coming years.

We are working with Colorado farmers and ranchers to improve the ways endangered species and habitat are protected on private lands.  We are building relationships with our new Colorado State Legislature and our new governor to ensure better wildlife protection across the state.  We are reaching out to the public and to politicians to defend the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s strongest and most successful environmental law.  We are continuing to advance all our efforts to protect the most threatened of our region’s natives, like the Graham’s penstemon in Utah and the clay-loving wild buckwheat in Colorado.  Our region’s most endangered natives need a lot of help, and threats like the pillaging of our public lands for oil and gas drilling are continuing to grow.

Center for Native Ecosystems is up for the challenge, but we need your help to keep doing what we do well.  If your membership has lapsed, please renew your membership today.  If you are not yet a member, please consider joining this lean but effective advocate for endangered plants and animals and their habitats.  Finally, if you are a current member, thank you, and please consider making a special year-end gift to Center for Native Ecosystems.  Our supporters like you are the reason we are able to advocate so successfully for our region's imperiled plants and wildlife.