Ashland, OR      Media Advisory

Who: Dominick DellaSala, President and Chief Scientist at GEOS Institute

What: Experts on endangered species will be joining together in Washington D.C. to call for needed reform and oversight in the process used to protect endangered and threatened species.  Scientists will be meeting with key members and staff of the U.S. Congress, as well as officials in the Department of Interior, its Inspector Generals office and the Governmental Accountability Office.

When: Monday, January 14^th and Tuesday January 15^th.

Where: Washington D.C.

Why: Bush Administration political appointees are interfering in and undermining the scientific integrity of many decisions under the Endangered Species Act.  At least 18 endangered species decisions have been tainted by political manipulation and the true number may be in the dozens.  Participants of this event will be seeking ethics reforms, increased congressional oversight, and other actions to begin restoring scientific integrity to the protection of the nation’s most vulnerable wildlife, fish, and plants.

What Else: Scientists participating include:

Stuart Pimm, Ph.D. – Professor of Conservation Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC

John Young – Former USFWS and NOAA Fisheries Biologist, Bull Trout Coordinator, Pacific Region, Wisconsin

Mike Kelly, Former USFWS and NOAA Fisheries Biologist, California

Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D. – Executive Director of Conservation Science & Policy Programs, National Center for Conservation Science and Policy, Ashland, OR

Kim Nelson, M.S. – Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

This event is being coordinated by the Endangered Species Coalition and Union of Concerned Scientists.  For more information on the event or to talk with other participants, please contact Lisa Nurnberger with Union of Concerned Scientists at 202-331-6959 or Jon Hunter with the Endangered Species Coalition at 202-476-0669.