Wildlife Official Reign Ended in Disgrace

Wildlife Official Reign Ended in Disgrace



May 2007 -   Monday's resignation of a high-ranking 
Interior Department official who manipulated the work of government 
scientists was applauded today by environmentalists and scientists, but 
they cautioned that this single resignation does not solve the problem of 
political interference with the work of scientists at federal agencies. 
Julie MacDonald left her position as the Department of Interior’s deputy 
assistant secretary of fish, wildlife and parks, from which she controlled 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program. 
Her resignation follows a finding March 29 by the agency's Inspector 
General Earl Devaney that she violated federal ethics rules by sending 
"nonpublic information" to industry lobbyists. 

Department of the Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney 
MacDonald repeatedly leaked internal Fish and Wildlife Service documents 
to business groups who opposed the Service and its environmental decision 
making in court. Some of these internal documents later surfaced as 
evidence in lawsuits filed against the Service. 
She sent draft studies and preliminary discussions about application of 
the Endangered Species Act to the California Farm Bureau Federation and 
the Pacific Legal Foundation; to two people with e-mail addresses at 
Chevron; and to the father of an online role-playing game partner, who had 
no legitimate reason for access to internal Interior Department records. 
In addition, the Inspector General's report criticized Macdonald, a civil 
engineer with no formal education in the natural sciences, for overriding 
recommendations of Fish and Wildlife Service scientists about how to 
protect endangered species. 
The Inspector General found that MacDonald interfered with field reports 
such as the sage grouse risk analysis, a critical habitat decision for 
endangered bull trout, a designation of California's northern and southern 
tiger salamanders as distinct populations, a decision about California's 
delta smelt, and an analysis of California's vernal pools as critical 
habitat. 
A male sage grouse performs the species' mating ritual. Conservationists 
have repeatedly petitioned to list this bird as endangered. (Photo 
courtesy Utah DWR)
MacDonald stepped down days before a May 9 congressional oversight hearing 
by the House Resources Committee into the Bush administration's violations 
of the Endangered Species Act and censorship of endangered species 
science. 
Citing serious ethics transgressions committed by MacDonald, U.S. Senator 
Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said Monday that he will place a hold on 
Senate confirmation of Lyle Laverty, the president’s nominee as assistant 
interior secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, until he is satisfied 
that such transgressions will not happen again. 
"Ms. MacDonald has betrayed the mission she swore to uphold," said Wyden, 
a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 
"Her actions have undermined both the work and the integrity of the Fish 
and Wildlife Service and its many dedicated employees. By placing a hold 
on Mr. Laverty’s nomination, I want the administration to get the message 
that this behavior must come to a stop for the duration of the Bush 
administration.” 
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon 
In a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne sent Monday, Wyden says 
Macdonald forced Fish and Wildlife Service scientists and staff to alter 
their findings, often with no scientific basis. 
"In one case, she demanded that the determined nesting range of the 
Southwest Willow Flycatcher be shrunk from a 2.1 mile radius to 1.8 miles, 
so that it would not cross into the state of California, where her 
husband’s family owned a ranch," said Wyden. 
The Union of Concerned Scientists, UCS, a nonprofit group based in 
Washington, said Macdonald's departure does not solve the "pervasive 
problem" of political interference with scientists employed by federal 
agencies. 
"We welcome Julie MacDonald's resignation," said UCS Scientific Integrity 
Program Director Francesca Grifo, "but she represents a much larger 
problem of widespread political interference at federal agencies." 
UCS is calling for Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to take action to 
ensure the work of federal scientists will not be subject to political 
manipulation. 
Federally listed threatened smelt in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin 
River Delta 
"Secretary Kempthorne should guarantee Interior Department scientists 
final review of their work before it is released," said Dr. Grifo, who 
will testify May 9 about political interference in the work of federal 
scientists before the House Natural Resources Committee. 
"Julie MacDonald's reign of terror over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
is finally over," said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for 
Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation group based in Tucson, 
Arizona. "Endangered species and scientists everywhere are breathing a 
sigh of relief." 
"But MacDonald was the administration's attack dog, not its general," 
Suckling said. "The contempt for science and law that she came to 
symbolize goes much deeper than a single Department of Interior employee." 

"When I woke up this morning and I thought I heard the birds and wildlife 
cheering," said Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles, who faced MacDonald 
in her official capacity on many occasions. "Now I know why."  
  

       
      

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