Massachusetts AG Maura Healey plans to sue feds to protect wildlife
As if we needed another reminder about how important Democratic State AGs are...
BOSTON – The Trump administration on Monday rolled out plans to change the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, prompting Attorney General Maura Healey to announce she will sue over the move, saying it would dismantle important protections for at-risk wildlife and their habitats.
“By gutting key components of the Endangered Species Act, one of our country’s most successful environmental laws, the Trump administration is putting our most imperiled species and our vibrant local tourism and recreation industries at risk,” Healey said in a statement. “We will be taking the administration to court to defend federal law and protect our rare animals, plants, and the environment.”
Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the new rules would allow federal agencies to ignore “serious threats to endangered animals and plants,” limit the circumstances when a species can be listed as threatened, and eliminate a requirement that agencies consider a species’ ability to recover before removing it from the endangered or threatened list.
Healey’s office said she believes the rules “would pave the way for approval of oil and gas and other development projects despite any species impacts.” U.S. Sen. Ed Markey took a similar stance, saying the changes came “at the behest of the oil, gas, and mining industries” and “will put countless species in the crosshairs of extinction.”
https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20190812/ag-maura-healey-plans-to-sue-feds-to-protect-wildlife