US Fish and Wildlife Service scientists claim commercial and political pressures

Nearly half the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientists responding to a survey say they have been directed, for non-scientific reasons, to refrain from making findings that would have protected species, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The UCS reports that 56 percent of all respondents reported cases where "commercial interests have inappropriately induced the reversal or withdrawal of scientific conclusions or decisions through political intervention."

The LA Times has a good article on this survey, which points out that the assistant secretary of the Interior in charge the Fish and Wildlife Service, has been critical of the Endangered Species Act, because it has created hardships for developers while failing to restore healthy populations of wildlife.