The Bush administration issued revised endangered species regulations that will eliminate some of the mandatory, independent reviews that government scientists have performed for 35 years on dams, power plants, timber sales and other projects. In a rush to make the change before Barack Obama takes over, the administration brought in 15 experts to sort through 250,000 written comments from the public in 32 hours. In a related development, the Interior Department finalized a special rule for the polar bear, a species that was listed as threatened in May because of global warming. The rule would allow oil and gas exploration in areas where the bears live, as long as the companies comply with the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  

 

Bush Revises Protections for Endangered Species (by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press)