| July 20, 2007 |  |
FWS Acknowledges "Inappropriate Influence" In Decision-Making; Actions Insufficient to Restore Scientific Integrity to Policy Making
Statement By Francesca Grifo, Union Of Concerned Scientists Scientific Integrity Program Director
WASHINGTON (July 20, 2007) – Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it would review a small number of the Endangered Species Act decisions in which disgraced former Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald had participated, acknowledging for the first time that MacDonald had "inappropriate influence" over endangered species science.
FWS will review eight cases, approximately one third of those in which misconduct has been alleged. Notably, the agency decided not to review the bull trout decision, where an economic analysis was distorted and censored, and the marbled murrelet decision, where officials overruled the scientific determinations of FWS scientists.
Numerous investigations found that MacDonald, a political appointee with no relevant scientific background, had bullied scientists and personally rewritten scientific documents to prevent the protection of imperiled species. Today's announcement comes just a week after former Surgeon General Richard Carmona testified that he had been muzzled for political reasons. Political interference in science has been reported on scores of issues across multiple federal agencies.
Political interference in science at FWS has become pervasive. In a 2005 Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) survey of FWS scientists, 84 scientists reported having been directed to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information from FWS scientific documents. Furthermore, 303 scientists, or two thirds of those who responded to the survey, knew of cases where Interior Department political appointees had interfered with scientific determinations.
Below is a statement by Francesca Grifo, UCS Scientific Integrity Program director:
"While we welcome the revisiting of decisions where political interference has been documented, the list of species under consideration is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive.
If the agency truly wants to get to the bottom of this, then asking the regional directors to identify the problems is not enough. Any agency scientist should have been able to provide input.
The real culprit here is not a renegade political appointee. The real culprit is a process where decisions are made behind closed doors. Information is the currency of democracy.
Americans have the right to know the scientific basis of decisions that affect the survival of species they care about. Until the decision-making process is open to public scrutiny, science will continue to be endangered at the Interior Department.
Months have gone by since these allegations came to light without a clear signal from Secretary Kempthorne that manipulation of science will not occur under his watch. Secretary Kempthorne should send a clear message to all Interior appointees that substituting opinion for science is unacceptable.
The Interior Department should engage in a systematic review of all Bush administration decisions—not just those where interference has been exposed—to ensure that the science behind those decisions was not altered or distorted."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
