Environmentalists fear Ken Salazar's complacency will drive extinctions

his week the Fish and Wildlife Service released the Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR) on the status of species waiting for ESA protection. The news was somber for animals and plants that have been languishing on the same list for years. The report revealed that 251 species have been stalled on the “candidate” list, although many have been on the same list for decades. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Obama administration has provided Endangered Species Act protection to just 51 plants and animals and most of them were in the state of Hawaii. By comparison, the Clinton administration protected 522 species; the George H.W. Bush administration protected 231. The conservation group WildEarth Guardians has filed 130 lawsuits or petitions to pressure Salazar to utilize the powerful Endangered Species Act for the purpose it was intended; to protect species from extinction. “It’s time for Ken Salazar to realize there’s an extinction crisis unfolding right here in the U.S. The best way to stop it is to bring more imperiled species under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, rather than leaving them out in the cold,” stated Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. In addition, the Center for Biological Diversity has joined other groups in an active lawsuit against the government’s continued delays. The suit focuses on the illegality of not making timely progress on listing threatened species for ESA protection, as required by the law...more

Given this and other recent stories, it is clear the enviros are after Salazar and actively seeking to have him replaced with a Secretary more to their liking.