WASHINGTON — Federal agencies again will have to consult with government wildlife experts before taking actions that could have an impact on threatened or endangered species. The Obama administration said Tuesday that it was overturning a rule change made in the final weeks of the Bush presidency.
Officials at the Interior and Commerce departments said they have reimposed the consultation requirement that assured the government’s top biologists involved in species protection will have a say in federal action that could harm plants, animals and fish that are at risk of extinction. Such consultation had been required for more than two decades until the Bush administration made it optional in rules issued in December.
Among the Colorado species that have required consultations and could again are the Canada lynx, the Uinta basin cactus and the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse.
“By rolling back this eleventh- hour regulation, we are ensuring that threatened and endangered species continue to receive the full protection of the law,” and that science will be the foundation of the decisions made, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
Staff writer Mark Jaffe contributed to this report.
