We expected the Bush administration's 11th hour Endangered Species Act rule changes to hit the federal register this morning. They did not. But we did get some classic stuff from the White House when Press Secretary Dana Perino had this odd exchange in yesterday's press briefing:

Q The first one is the Endangered Species Act. Could you just clarify what the administration is seeking by way of a rule change? Would it, in fact, eliminate the requirement that agencies consult with independent scientists before moving forward with --

MS. PERINO: I don't have it with me, Elaine. I mean, I know conceptually what we support, and I know that the Endangered Species Act is a tangled web that doesn't actually help support any species, including our own. So I'll refer you to Interior Department for that. (Laughter.)

Q So you're proposing eliminating the agency? (Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: No.

Perhaps the White House staff hasn't noticed that big bird pictured on the Oval Office's floor---it's a bald eagle. Besides being a national symbol and the image on the Presidential Seal (assumedly, Perino sees it all the time); the bald eagle is an Endangered Species Act poster boy.

A quick review...in the 1970's bald eagle populations dropped near extinction in the continental US. Among other things, their habitat was shrinking and the chemical DDT was destroying their population. The pesticide built up in momma eagles' systems making them either sterile or prevented them from producing eggshells strong enough to support an incubating parent in the nest.

Woah, sounds dire. What happened to save them? Rachel Carson and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Thanks to pressure coming from the outcry reaction to Silent Spring and the protections for bald eagle habitat from the new ESA, the birds were saved and regulatory action was taken to ban DDT in the U.S. The pesticide's removal helped other species besides eagles, including our own (DDT isn't too good for humans either, it is a toxic carcinogen)...

The Endangered Species Act also brought gray wolves back to the lower 48 states where they had been previously eradicated. (Check out our fantastic new video on this subject in the viewer window below.)

The American alligator, Whooping crane, Peregrine falcon, Gray whale, Grizzly bear, California condor, California southern sea otter, and an array of Hawaiian birds have all been kept from the brink thanks to the ESA's protections.

I recognize that Ms. Perino has a tough job. I have admittedly gotten carried away talking to reporters and said the wrong thing. It happens... But when your boss is pushing wildly unpopular, last minute rule changes that will expose America's most vulnerable plants and animals to an array of threats, you really should try to have a reasonable grasp of the issues... (or avoid a slippery rhetorical stance that implies you don't have that grasp....)