Commentary

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.

COMMENTARY | East Wing Demolition Metaphor for Trump Governance

by Jeff Ruch | October 27, 2025
The bulldozers and backhoes have razed the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Trump’s big, beautiful ballroom. Characteristically, Trump has barreled ahead, heedless of the law, tradition, or concerns about historic protection and good taste ...

COMMENTARY | EPA’s Rollback of Endangerment Finding is Cloaked in Secrecy and Science-Denial

by Kaylee Rodriguez | October 23, 2025
The proposal to repeal the endangerment finding is part of a concentrated effort by the Trump administration to abandon science in favor of a political agenda ...

COMMENTARY | Alaska Can No Longer Ignore Climate Change: Latest Disaster Should Be Wake-Up Call

by Jeff Ruch | October 21, 2025
Remnants of typhoon Halong battered Alaska with hellacious winds and record-breaking storm surges, yet national and even state policies are unlikely to change in its aftermath ...

COMMENTARY | What RIF Notices Mean for Federal Employees

by Guest Contributor | October 20, 2025
Mass firings won’t meaningfully reduce the federal budget, but they will strip federal agencies of invaluable expertise and leadership ...

COMMENTARY | Shutdown Could Provide Glimpse into the Future of Public Lands

by Kaylee Rodriguez | October 9, 2025
The Department of Interior is gearing up to slash its workforce, and as past shutdowns indicate, this means danger ahead for our parks and public lands ...

COMMENTARY | The Supreme Court Must Stop the Slide to Authoritarian Rule

by Peter Jenkins | October 7, 2025
The Supreme Court, whose 2025-2026 Term began on October 6, has set the stage for a descent to authoritarian rule in a series of quick rulings that favored President Trump over the last nine months ...
Phone: 202-265-7337

962 Wayne Avenue, Suite 610
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4453

Copyright 2001–2025 Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility

PEER is a 501(c)(3) organization
EIN: 93-1102740