Paging Julie McDonald. On Wednesday, the Fish & Wildlife Service reversed seven decisions in which she was involved. Now the Interior Department's Inspector General is looking into 18 more.
The Interior Department's inspector general will expand an investigation into the alleged political manipulation of decisions on 18 endangered species, including the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet and bull trout.In a letter Friday to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who requested the investigation, Inspector General Earl Devaney said he will look into whether “improper political influence” by department officials led to reduced protections for those key Northwest species and others. (Michael Milstein, Endangered species questions expand, The Oregonian, 1 December 2007)
The article also quotes a forest ecologist from Ashland, Oregon who served on a federal panel developing a recovery plan for the spotted owl as saying that political manipulation may “run a lot deeper than what they're looking at...I don't think it stops with Julie MacDonald.”
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