Snap-O Fact #69

In December 2008, as one of his final acts as president, George Bush authorized private organizations to take actions to complete their projects and programs without clearing through the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both of these agencies exist to protect our environment which includes protection of endangered species.

 President Bush's decision to do this would have a great long and short term negative effect on our fragile environment and would cause damage to, and perhaps loss of, many species in the United States.  

In 2009, as one of his first official acts in the White House, President Obama overturned this Bush-era rule that weakened the Endangered Species Act. The President's order required the U.S. agencies to consult with the federal experts in order to examine and determine whether their actions and decisions have threatened the life of endangered species. According to CNS News, “the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service already has issued decisions advancing more than 500 species toward potential new protections under the Endangered Species Act.”