Well, you have to give them credit for persistence...

The Bush administration has had a string of defeats on wildlife issues lately. But they keep trying.

And trying.

And trying.

They lose on polar bears in Alaska, so they go after the Endangered Species Act.

They lose on wolves in the Northern Rockies, so they tweak and try again.

The repeated attacks on legal protections for our nation's few remaining wild animals have been noticed by plenty of folks besides NRDC and our cohorts in conservation. I've been doing a lot of press work on these issues lately and I keep getting the same questions:

"What is their deal?"

"Do they hate animals, or what?"

"Why are they going after this so hard?"

But don't take my word for it. Look at the scathing editorials that have been written of late. And these are not eastern media elites or west coast softies---the Las Vegas Sun was as harsh as anything I have seen (the editorial is entitled, A complete shame, ouch!).

Sadly, I don't think we've seen anything yet. Last week, the Bush administration was pilloried for the way they dealt with public comments from their dangerous proposed rule changes to the Endangered Species Act. So this week, they announced a much smaller window for the public to make those troublesome comments on the sorta-revamped wolf de-listing effort.

Let's be clear folks. These are YOUR public lands. In many cases, these are YOUR animals---paid for by YOUR tax dollars. Whether or not you agree with NRDC's positions on wolves, buffalo, bears, belugas or any other wildlife issue, you should have a voice in how those resources are managed. In the waning moments of the Bush administration, that voice is being taken away from you.

(Not that they were likely listening before...)