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.

BLOG | Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Autocratic Power Grab

by Peter Jenkins | August 3, 2020
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Autocratic Power Grab In an obscure announcement on July 22nd about President Trump’s border wall obsession, the Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, stated that he was handing 66 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the ...

BLOG | Don’t Mention COVID-19 at NOAA

by Kyla Bennett | July 22, 2020
NOAA has informed its employees to avoid mentions of COVID-19 in publicly available documents as the hyper-political White House attempts to win reelection ...

Statement | Uplisting of North Atlantic Right Whales

by Susan Sargent | July 9, 2020
The IUCN has uplisted the North Atlantic right whales from endangered to critically endangered which means is it "facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild ...

BLOG | How GAO Is Helping Shine A Light on My Former Federal Agency

by Guest Contributor | July 8, 2020
Former DOE scientist Bill Dam reveals groundwater contamination coming from several former uranium mills in Wyoming, endangering two Native American tribes ...

BLOG | Reforming Whistleblower Protection Laws 

by Paula Dinerstein | July 7, 2020
In light of the dangerous pattern of retaliation by the Trump Administration against those who report wrongdoing, it is more important than ever to preserve and reform federal whistleblower protections ...

BLOG | Trump’s Dangerous Salute to Toadyism at Mt. Rushmore

by Jeff Ruch | June 29, 2020
Trump plans to stage a dangerous distraction disguised as fireworks at Mt. Rushmore, risking both wildfires and potentially, public health from the crowds ...