Category Archives: President Obama

White House Invites Pollinators to Its Garden

The White House has for six years planted a garden on the South Lawn, first planted in 2009 to promote a nationwide conversation about healthy eating. This year marks the inauguration of an addition to the garden that we hope will spur a conversation about bees, butterflies, and other vital yet imperiled species: a pollinator garden. The White House has kept bees for several years but this is the first year that they have included plants designed to attract native… Continue reading →

Obama Administration Restores Endangered Species Act Protections!

Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the restoration of rules under the Endangered Species Act that help protect endangered species when government decisions or projects are implemented. The rules were weakened in the final days of the Bush administration. The Department of Interior sent out this press release announcing the decision today. Their decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National… Continue reading →

President Obama Restores Endangered Species Protections

Great news – President Obama announced today a restoration of independent, outside reviews for how government projects and decisions impact endangered species. President Bush changed when these reviews are implemented with a set of new regulations that went into effects just five days before Barack Obama became President. At a celebration for the Department of the Interior’s 160th anniversary, President Obama included this announcement: Finally, today I’ve signed a memorandum that will help restore the scientific process to its rightful… Continue reading →

Congress Restores Endangered Species Protections

Yesterday, Congress passed a bill that will allow President Obama to quickly and easily overturn the Bush Administration rules that weakened the Endangered Species Act. They rejected the efforts of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to strip the provision from the bill. Last week, President Obama announced that he will reconsider the Bush Administration’s regulations that weakened the Endangered Species Act. Now, he will have an opportunity to overturn the harmful regulations quickly and easily. This… Continue reading →

Congress, scientists, conservationists call on President Obama to restore the Endangered Species Act

Today, Members of Congress, scientists, law professors, conservation organizations, scientific associations and citizens called on President Obama to restore endangered species protections. The Endangered Species Coalition organized a press event today at the Capitol with Representative Raul Grijalva to urge the Obama Administration to use the authority that Congress gave them to to repeal two last-minute Bush administration rule changes that weaken the Endangered Species Act by diminishing scientific consultation requirements for federal agencies and restricting protections for the polar… Continue reading →

Obama Administration close to decision on ESA regs

According to the New York Times and Greenwire, the Obama Administration is preparing their decision on whether to overturn the Bush Endangered Species Act regulations. Greenwire writes, “the Interior Department is proceeding with a final rule revamping changes that the Bush administration made to Endangered Species Act regulations in its final months.” To see the article, visit https://tinyurl.com/interiorarticle The Department of Interior has sent a revised rule to the Office of Management and Budget. The rule could be released as… Continue reading →

Obama Administration close to decision on ESA regs

According to the New York Times and Greenwire, the Obama Administration is preparing their decision on whether to overturn the Bush Endangered Species Act regulations. Greenwire writes, “the Interior Department is proceeding with a final rule revamping changes that the Bush administration made to Endangered Species Act regulations in its final months.” To see the article, visit https://tinyurl.com/interiorarticle The Department of Interior has sent a revised rule to the Office of Management and Budget. The rule could be released as… Continue reading →

Omnibus Land Bill Becomes Law

Today, President Obama signed into law the legislation commonly referred to as the Omnibus Public Lands Bill. I’ll admit, given the name, I didn’t really think about the endangered species implications of the legislation until someone pointed out that this bill is about so much more than rearranging various geographic boundaries. It is perhaps the greatest lands protections bill in my lifetime. This law contains over 160 separate pieces of legislation, ranging for the designation of three new national parks… Continue reading →

Time is Running Out for the Polar Bear

Time is running out for the polar bear. As their sea ice habitat disappears, polar bears are starving and drowning, and mothers and cubs are dying as their snow dens collapse on them due to a warming climate. In addition, pollution from oil and gas drilling threatens to destroy what’s left of the polar bear’s disappearing habitat. The fate of the polar bears and other endangered species relies on their Endangered Species Act protections being restored. In their last days,… Continue reading →

Oil and Polar Bears Don’t Mix

By Liz VanDenzen, Director of Field Operations, Alaska Wilderness League BP might be the only oil company that’s glad that all eyes are on Copenhagen this month… Last week, BP reported its second oil spill in four days on Alaska‘s North Slope. News reports indicate that the first of these spills is one of the worst ever in North Slope history. As a result, BP now holds the dubious honor of earning the gold and silver medals for oil spills… Continue reading →