Did I read this right? Obama wants end to critical habitat for marbled murrelet

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ready to throw out the birdy with the lawsuit. The federal government's principal wildlife conservation agency said this week that it wants to withdraw a 16-year old designation of protected habitat for a Pacific Northwest bird species in order to resolve settle an industry lawsuit. In a proposed consent decree filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Washington, the Obama administration, an Oregon county, a timber industry organization, and a carpenter's union agreed that a series of court decisions requires that critical habitat for the endangered marbled murrelet be "reconsidered." The industry lawsuit alleges that FWS improperly included in the designation land that is not actually needed by the bird species for survival. A coalition of environmental organizations said that the administration has "given up" in the face of the lawsuit. “Given the precarious plight of the murrelet, the administration’s decision to remove critical habitat is the height of recklessness,” Bob Sallinger, conservation director at the Audubon Society of Portland, said. “The murrelet cannot withstand increased logging on BLM lands or anywhere else.” A government spokesman said that other provisions of the Endangered Species Act and a management plan for Pacific Northwest national forests would provide enough protection for the bird. Gary Frazer, the FWS assistant director for endangered species, said in an affidavit filed in court that removing the critical habitat designation "will not result in significant harm to the murrelet."...more