Tom's Turn: Notes from our Senior Editor

Manipulating Science

March 15, 2005

Frequently people express surprise that we spend so much of our time dragging government agencies into court.

"I thought the Environmental Protection Agency protected the environment," they'll say. "I thought the Fish and Wildlife Service protected fish and wildlife and the Forest Service protected forests." These are perfectly reasonable assumptions, but they are often quite wrong, especially when political appointees suppress or interfere with science at these agencies where decisions are supposed to be based on science.

The Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility recently sent a survey to 1,400 biologists employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Even though many were encouraged by their bosses to ignore the survey, 414 biologists responded, which is quite extraordinary. More than half of those who responded, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, reported that agency officials have reversed or withdrawn scientific conclusions under pressure from industry groups. Others spoke of being told to omit data or change conclusions to justify a predetermined recommendation.

So what is a citizen to do? We found the following observation by one biologist particularly gratifying:

"I have never seen so many findings and recommendations by the field be turned around at the regional and Washington level. All we can do at the field level is ensure that our administrative record is complete and hope we get sued by an environmental or conservation organization."

Emphasis added. This is what we do.

Tom Turner, Senior Editor
yourturn@earthjustice.org