The
Center for Biological Diversity and other groups
have filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in their
suit challenging the Bush administration's refusal
to protect
Puget Sound’s killer whales under the Endangered
Species Act. The administration admits that the whale
population is unique and headed for extinction, but
argues that its demise is "not significant."
The Bush administration is the first in the history
of the Endangered Species Act to argue that extinction
is insignificant. The Puget Sound killer whale was
the first, but not the last, it also deemed the looming
extinction of the Kootenai river burbot in Idaho to
be insignificant.
If our motion is granted, the administration will
be compelled to afford the fullest protections possible
to save the orcas of Puget Sound, and to stop declaring
that extinction is acceptable.
For
more information.