Protecting Public Employees

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 | Endangered Species Day: In Praise of the Combat Biologists

by Peter Jenkins | May 21, 2021
Combat biologists have helped ensure the success of the Endangered Species Act, working tirelessly for even the most humble creature ...

EPA Scientist Wins Award Amid Fight To Win Her Job Back  

by PEER | April 27, 2021
Dr. Etzel Seeks Return to Helm of Office of Children’s Health Protection ...

USGS Restores Fired Lab Biosafety Whistleblower 

by PEER | April 14, 2021
Scientist Had Raised Alarms about Wildlife Disease Lab Biosecurity Breaches ...

COMMENTARY | Biden Administration Choices will Determine the Future of the Federal Workforce

by Guest Contributor | March 30, 2021
Guest Contributor: John Martin - Department of Interior leadership and missions have been severely compromised and highly polarized over the past four years ...

BLOG | Schedule F: America’s Toxic Politics is Killing Us

by Tim Whitehouse | November 3, 2020
Giving political appointees the ability to easily hire and fire civil servants in policy positions put the American people at risk by politicizing the civil service ...

PEERMail | Rocky Road Ahead

by Tim Whitehouse | October 29, 2020
The President’s “Schedule F” order – which is most likely illegal -- is just the latest example of our political system spinning out of control ...