Bush Admin seeks to make public comment extinct

From Plenty Magazine:

Bush Admin seeks to make public comment extinct

The public normally gets a chance to comment on new laws and regulations before they are enacted. But in the case of regulations about endangered species, the Bush Administration appears to be determined to do what they want to do, regardless of how the public feels.

Monday's proposed changes to Endangered Species Act regulations come with several rather extreme limitations on public comments. For one things, you need to comment within 30 days. For another, you can't do it by email or fax. You need to send an actual, paper letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Here's the address, dug up by Andrew Wetzler at the NRDC:

Public Comment Processing

Attention: 1018-AT50

Division of Policy and Directives Management

US Fish and Wildlife Service

4401 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 222

Arlington, VA 22203

The National Wildlife Federation also has an online form you can use to send a comment to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. But let's face it, he probably won't care or even blink an eye no matter how many letters come in.

I'd also suggest contacting your state representatives to vocalize your displeasure about the proposed changes. If we're going to defeat these outrageous changes, we need as much action as we can get.