Delaying tactics endanger US wildlife: report - Reuters

Source: Reuters

Delaying tactics endanger US wildlife: report

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
1 hour, 10 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The case of the Hawaiian Haha is no
laughing matter to environmentalists, who say the rare plant
went extinct while waiting for U.S. wildlife officials to put it
on the Endangered Species list.

The Haha's fate is a symptom of wider problems at the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service, which oversees programs aimed at protecting
threatened species, according to a report for release on
Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The report, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, said that the Bush
administration has listed 57 species as protected since 2001, far
fewer than the 512 species listed in the Clinton administration
and less than the 234 species listed during the four-year
presidency of George H.W. Bush, the current president's father.

-snip-

"They're definitely in a pattern of waiting and waiting and waiting
until either the species does go extinct or the next administration
comes in," Snape said in a telephone interview.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070508/sc_nm/usa_wildlife_dc