Tuesday, December 16, 2008

On Getting McDonalded: Politics and Endangered Species

Huffington Post has an article on yet another blemish on what will be the Bush administration's legacy concerning non-human animals and the environment. It's kind of like dribbling a teaspoon of water into one of the Great Lakes at this point, isn't it? Anyway, it seems that a high-ranking Interior Department official exerted what's been deemed "improper political interference" in "nearly every decision made on the protection of endangered species over five years" to deny various endangered species increased protection.

Julie MacDonald, a former deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service, did pervasive harm to the department's morale and integrity and may have risked the well-being of species with her agenda, Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney said in his report out Monday.
Macdonald had no training in natural sciences whatsoever, and her interference was pervasive that Fish and Wildlife Service staff came to commonly refer to any political interference by senior management as "getting MacDonalded".

Read the rest of it here at Huffington Post.

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