As a parting gift to the nation before he vacates the bunker, the Charlatan is wearing out his executive order pen reducing or eliminating regulations intended to protect workers, consumers and the environment. His favorite target has been the Endangered Species Act, one of the most successful pieces of environmental protection legislation passed during the Nixon era. The effectiveness of the law explains why developers want it weakened or abolished. Former Congressman Pombo's legislative attempt to gut the law failed in the Senate, so now in a last ditch effort to give his supporters what they want, the Charlatan is using executive regulatory power to eliminate required consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service for federal projects that may impact protected species. The change is seen by most wildlife experts as significant weakening of the Act since it takes the independent agencies out of the decision making process and allows project managers who have no in-house biological expertise to make decisions affecting protected species. According to the loyalist lawyers at the Interior Department, such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects. Imagine some manager in the Minerals Management Service responsible for issuing oil and gas leases in Chesapeake Bay, the home of oysters, mussels and crabs enjoyed by gourmands in DC. Is there any doubt about how he or she would decide the question of going ahead with a project or protecting the shortnose sturgeon? The change also gives the severely understaffed wildlife and fisheries agencies only 60 days to reach a decision when consulted on whether a proposed project impacts protected species, or the project moves ahead without such a decision. Between 1998 and 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted 300,000 consultations. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which evaluates projects affecting marine species, conducts about 1,300 reviews each year. The reviews have helped safeguard protected species such as bald eagles, Florida panthers, and whooping cranes. A federal government handbook from 1998 described the consultations as "some of the most valuable and powerful tools to conserve listed species." When the federal agency I worked for was planning a new medical center in Florida, our project managers had no problems asking me to consult FWS to protect wetlands on the proposed hospital site. The Charlatan's parting shots as president are true to form--the triumph of narrow, blind ideology over the common good. It will take a long time to repair all the damage done.[photo: Florida panther and cub courtesy www.sweetmagnoliaphoto.com]