By Trimmel Gomes, Florida News Connection
The Endangered Species Act has helped bring some Florida animals and plants back from the brink, from the Florida panther to the West Indian manatee but the Trump administration could change it as soon as this week.
The White House is convening a special committee, nicknamed the “God Squad,” to pursue an exemption which would allow Gulf drilling without full consideration of its effects on wildlife. One species at risk is the Rice’s whale, with only about 50 remaining.
Marilu Flores, communications and digital associate for the Endangered Species Coalition, said the law has been a bedrock of conservation.
“The Endangered Species Act has really been the cornerstone conservation law that has really helped us protect numerous species, including the American bald eagle, over the course of its existence,” Flores explained. “It really does play a special role in conservation in South Florida.”
The “God Squad” has only been convened three times in nearly 50 years. Critics said the administration is bypassing required steps, including public hearings. A federal judge has allowed the meeting to proceed as the legal challenge continues. The meeting is set for Tuesday at the U.S. Interior Department in Washington, D.C. The meeting is scheduled to be livestreamed on YouTube.
Flores noted species across the Southeast face mounting pressures from development, pollution and aging infrastructure. She pointed to the West Indian manatee as another example.
“West Indian manatees have been suffering from starvation in numerous parts of Florida,” Flores underscored. “There was actually a feeding program that was established by the state of Florida to try and bolster their nutritional supplements, because seagrass beds have died off due to pollution and algal blooms and have left them starving.”
According to a letter signed in January by 87 members of Congress, the Endangered Species Act has prevented more than 99% of listed species from going extinct. They urged the Trump administration to withdraw proposals they said would weaken the law.
Florida News Connection is a bureau of the Public News Service. Banner photo: A mother manatee and her calf swimming (Sam Farkas/NOAA Photo Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
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