Other military exemptions to the Endangered Species Act would do significant harm to America's natural heritage. "Although [Defense Department]-managed lands represent only about 3 percent of the total federal land inventory, there is strong evidence that they have disproportionate value in terms of biodiversity," states a 1996 Defense Department report. The report, jointly written by the Pentagon and the Nature Conservancy, goes on to say that there are "more than 220 Federally listed species as confirmed residents on, or migrants through, military lands." The new Endangered Species Act exemption would put all of those species at risk, while offering no significant benefit to national security.

"With regard to the Endangered Species Act, the military again seeks to have exemptions for which no other federal agencies are eligible," said Dingell. The act "requires that land where threatened or endangered species live be designated critical habitat. The military does not want to comply with this law like every other federal agency and every other American citizen does. As the author of [the Endangered Species Act], I can assure you that exemptions are available for reasons of national security. In fact, Section 7 of [the act] allows agencies to get waivers from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Ironically, the Pentagon wants a blanket waiver even though they have never sought a Section 7 exemption."

Critics of the Bush exemption plan have concluded that none of the blanket exemptions are necessary, noting that the Pentagon has failed to make a compelling case that existing environmental laws impede military readiness. Rep. Nick J. Rahall II of West Virginia, the senior Democrat on the House Resources Committee, adds that existing exemptions "have worked quite well to ensure that our armed services remain combat-ready and that our homeland environment remains safe and healthy," reported the Washington Post.

A 2002 General Accounting Office study of military training, the Post also noted, found that training readiness remained high for most units and that military readiness data does not support the Pentagon's assertion of being hurt by environmental laws.

Also dissenting from the Pentagon view is Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. "I don't believe there is any training mission in the United States that is being held up because of environmental regulations," she said last month in remarks reported by Environment and Energy Daily.

The National Park Service, too, has weighed in against the Pentagon exemption plan. Criticizing an early draft of the bill, the Park Service said its provisions "would cause substantial degradation of natural resources, including migratory birds, marine mammals  and water quality."

While conservation groups expect a tough battle, they are unwilling to surrender any ground. Last year's congressional approval of a single component of the Defense Department's 2002 exemption package tells why. That measure led to a waiver freeing the Pentagon from adherence to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects 859 species of birds from harm.

"The provision, which was inserted at the Bush administration's request, will effectively give the Defense Department license to bomb and destroy at will the natural habitats of migratory birds, endangering more than 1 million birds and curtailing the enjoyment of more than 50 million bird enthusiasts in this country," said Dingell.

The first victim of last year's congressional surrender to Rumsfeld's Migratory Bird Treaty "clarification" may be the endangered Micronesian megapode, a pigeon-size gray-brown bird with a rough crest that uses solar energy to incubate its eggs. Fewer than 2,000 of the birds are known to exist on U.S.-controlled Pacific islands. Paradoxically, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to conserve and nurture the bird on some islands, the Navy is reserving the right to bomb it into oblivion on others.

Last year, the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental group, blocked Navy bombing exercises on the Pacific atoll of Farallon de Medinilla to protect the endangered bird. During the ensuing court case, the Bush administration's disdain for nature became clear with a now famous remark: A government lawyer argued that killing birds should not be considered a bad thing, because "bird watchers get more enjoyment spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one." The judge in the case ordered the Defense Department to stop bombing until it came into compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

But congressional approval of the Bird Treaty exemption last autumn means that court judgment is now moot, and the Micronesian megapode may be headed toward extinction on Farallon de Medinilla. Large numbers of frigate birds and masked red-footed and brown boobies would also be targeted within the Navy's bombing sights.

The Bird Treaty waiver offers another example of Bush's disregard for international law. The treaty has been in effect since 1918, and it never presented an issue of national security in World War II, the Korean or Vietnam wars, or during the first war with Iraq.

In response to the Defense Department's chief claim that it is seeking a balance between military readiness and environmental protection, Jasny responds: "There is no balance in letting the military contaminate our drinking water, as they have done on Cape Cod; neglecting or abandoning deadly toxic waste sites, as they have done in minority communities like Anniston, Ala.; and causing whales to strand and die on our beaches."

Even in this time of great national uncertainty and fear of terror, the Pentagon might take a cue from an observation made in the mid-1990s by then-Defense Secretary William J. Perry. "Protecting our national security in the post-Cold War era," Perry said, "includes integrating the best environmental practices into all Department of Defense activities."

Recent Stories