Obama Freezes Pending Bush Regulations, Good News for Wolves

In one of his first moves upon taking office, President Obama has ordered a freeze on all new or pending regulations from the Bush administration. The bold action could delay, and possibly even prevent, the removal of gray wolves from endangered species lists in more than a dozen states.

In a memorandum released by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Obama has informed all department and agency heads that “…no proposed or final regulation should be sent to the Office of Federal Register for publication unless and until it has been reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2009.”

According to Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, the hiatus will give President Obama and new Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar the chance to reconsider the Bush administration’s plans to remove wolves from the endangered species list.

Officials from the outgoing administration had argued that numbers of gray wolves in many areas had stabilized enough to allow the removal of federal conservation safeguards. However, many wildlife conservationists disagree, arguing that the creatures have disappeared from over 95 percent of their historic range, including on millions of acres of national forests, national parks and Bureau of Land Management public lands.

According to Robinson, in the northern Rocky Mountains, wolf numbers are too low and populations too fragmented to ensure long-term survival.

Either way, Obama’s move is sure to enourage conservationists and send out a clear message that the new administration fully intends to make a clean break with the past.

Image Credit - dalliedee via flickr on a Creative Commons license

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