The U.S. Department of the Interior yesterday released modifications to ease the consultation process regarding the Endangered Species Act. The changes are allegedly based on comments received from the public after the proposed regulations were published in August, and allow federal agencies to make decisions under ESA without consulting independent scientific reviews.

The agencies still need to follow existing consultation procedures, except in cases where a certain action is not expected to have negative impacts on a listed species and fulfills the following criteria:

-It has no effect on a listed species or habitat, or it is wholly beneficial

-The effects of the action cannot be measured or detected in a manner that allows meaningful evaluation using the best available science

-Where the effects of the action are the result of global processes and cannot be reliably predicted or measured on the scale of species current page, or would result in an insignificant impact to a listed species, or are such that the potential risk of harm to a species is remote.

If an agency has any limitations, or considers it lacks the expertise to make the necessary assessments, they will still be able to request the expertise offered by the US Fish and Wildlife Services.

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said the new rules strengthen the regulations so as to allow the government to focus on protecting endangered species as it strives to rebuild the American economy.

But if the Department of the Interior seems pleased with its regulations, environmentalists are not, claiming the measure will put the faith of endangered species into the hand of agencies that are more interested in continuing a project than in assessing the real impact of that project on wildlife.

The announcement came shortly before the Obama administration takes over, but it will probably take a while before the regulations will be revised. For now, wildlife advocates threatened with a lawsuit.