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Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

The Savaging of Detlev Helmig, Citizen

by Elizabeth Duan | September 3, 2020
“Dr. Helmig worked at the University of Colorado-Boulder for 25 years as both a teacher and atmospheric scientist. Never had he received anything but an above satisfactory performance review from his bosses. Yet, on one recent spring morning he was told to expect a Zoom call from the ...

NPS, FAA Develop Framework For Air Tour Management Plans

by Elizabeth Duan | August 31, 2020
“Sprawling across across 244,000 acres of prairie, canyons, buttes, and wondrous multi-colored geologic formations, Badlands National Park in South Dakota can be hard to fully grasp and navigate if you’re on foot or even in a vehicle. That’s where taking a flight over the ...

Dissenter Weekly: EPA’s Trump Propaganda, Whistleblower Challenges Police Use of Ketamine

by Elizabeth Duan | August 28, 2020
“On this edition of the “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola highlights an effort by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to challenge the EPA and its administrator’s “illegal political self-promotion.” PEER wants Congress to ...

William Perry Pendley Must Go

by Elizabeth Duan | August 27, 2020
“William Perry Pendley’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management has been withdrawn and while President Trump offered no explanation for withdrawing Pendley’s nomination, it seems he didn’t have the votes necessary for Senate confirmation. The Senate Democrats were ...

PEER: Margaret Everson Illegally Was Put In Charge Of National Park Service

“Margaret Everson, counselor to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, was illegally placed in charge of the National Park Service, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Everson was named acting director for the Park Service on August 7 when Bernhardt announced ...

Pence’s use of Fort McHenry threatens Park Service employees

by Peter Jenkins | August 26, 2020
“Using the Park Service for a blatantly political speech, such as accepting a nomination for a political role, presents a major hazard of violating the Hatch Act, which forbids any federal employee other than the president or vice president from engaging in political activity at ...
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