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:: 11.07.2003 ::
Gah! Just saw this in yesterday's Daily Grist: Administration pulls scientists off near-complete river project
By LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The long-running dispute over management of the nation's longest river took another twist when the Bush administration yanked government scientists off a project to study the waterway's ecosystem.
The team had been on the job for years and was within weeks of producing what could have been its final report. Conservation groups criticized last week's unreported decision to remove the scientists, which they said was to protect business interests at the expense of the Endangered Species Act.
The move may block changes to the Missouri River's flow, because the scientists had ordered the switch. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has resisted changing river operations but is under a December deadline to come up with a new plan that meets requirements of the Endangered Species Act.
A different team of scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will say whether the corps can avoid major changes - such as a previously ordered switch to a more natural spring rise and low summer flow - and remain in compliance with the act. My favorite part is the quote from the Interior Dep't spokesman: "The bottom line is, this will go where the science leads. There is no predetermination." Uh huh. So, why then did you remove the scientists that knew the river best?
:: Deb 5:57 PM :: permalink ::
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