the two presidential terms served by George W. Bush — amount to what might be called the Dark Ages for endangered species across the country.
This administration was hands-down the worst in history for listing species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, with only 61 species earning federal protection throughout the entire eight years — compared to 522 under the Clinton administration and 231 under Bush 41. Besides dragging its feet on responding to listing petitions, fighting stubbornly against protecting species in court, and constantly using the “candidate list” to put off protections indefinitely for fast-fading plants and animals, the Bush administration regularly stooped to corrupt tactics that let politics dictate endangered species decisions to put industry interests over conservation. Even for species that did earn Endangered Species Act status under Bush, true protections weren’t guaranteed — take the polar bear for example, which was robbed of protections from global warming by a special "4(d)" rule finalized in late 2008. And in case all that wasn’t enough to ensure Bush’s eco-infamy for ages,just before he left office he finalized changes gutting the rules that have made the Endangered Species Act successful for 35 years.
Thankfully, current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rescinded the rules eviscerating the Act — but he retained the 4(d) rule, which would doom the polar bear to extinction.Needless to say, the Center was very busy throughout George W. Bush’s regrettable presidency,
not only with lawsuits for individual species but also leading the way in exposing the administration’s bad actions to the media and policymakers and pushing the drive to reform.Unfortunately, the mess Bush made of our planet and wildlife-protection laws is a big one, and we’re still cleaning it up.
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