The Hill

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.

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 ...

Lawyers question public lands chief move leaving himself in power

by Elizabeth Duan | August 19, 2020
“The Trump administration’s method of keeping the controversial acting head of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in power even after his nomination is withdrawn is likely not legal, according to experts who have reviewed the orders. Over the weekend, it was made public that ...

Democrats use vulnerable GOP senators to get rare win on environment

by Elizabeth Duan | August 17, 2020
“President Trump’s decision to withdraw his controversial nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a rare example of Democrats and conservation groups being able to leverage the vulnerability of Republican senators to their advantage. But the Department of the ...

National Parks chief exit sparks concerns over replacement

by Elizabeth Duan | August 7, 2020
“Acting National Park Service (NPS) Director David Vela is retiring, he announced Friday, leaving the job amid a lawsuit challenging the legality of his tenure in the post. The lawsuit from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) challenging continued use of ...

Enthusiasm over the environment is down — we must stay vigilant

by Tim Whitehouse | July 22, 2020
“As the presidential primaries began, a February Pew Research poll found that for the first time concern for environmental protection among two-thirds of Americans nearly equaled their concern for the economy. Concern over climate climbed to equal concern about jobs for half of ...