“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exists to conserve nature. In Collier County, Florida, money from developers may be interfering with that mission.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is failing in its duty to protect endangered species.
- Fish and Wildlife Service officials — in part funded by developers — have short-circuited environmental review of development projects.
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- A “habitat conservation plan” proposed by the landowners could be approved soon, paving the way for 45,000 acres worth of development.
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- “It’s pretty rare that the federal government puts employees performing environmental reviews up for auction,” Kevin Bell, staff counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told the Intercept, an investigative reporting operation. “It isn’t hard to guess how that review will come out when the McMansion lobby is literally paying their salary.””
