Lynx, Lies and Media Hype

In his public apologies, WDFW director Jeffrey Koenings all but licked the floor. "The two WDFW employees involved have been barred from further research work," he announced in a December 20 press release. "The behavior of these biologists is not only extremely embarrassing but unprofessional, and cannot be tolerated." At the hearing in Olympia he proclaimed that his biologists had "violated the public's trust," and accused them of having "a cavalier attitude."

Bowing and scraping at the same hearing was Phil Mattson, from the Forest Service's regional office. He accused the biologists of submitting "unauthorized samples"--even though his own agency had determined they'd had permission--and vowed to "emphasize the importance of ethical behavior," as if someone other than politicians, reporters, and editors had behaved unethically.

There are some nasty internal politics at play here. For 20 years the brass of all three agencies have done everything in their power to prevent the lynx from being listed, failing only because environmental groups have successfully sued Interior four times. A 1994 petition to list the lynx as endangered was overwhelmingly supported by the public and state and federal biologists. Accordingly, the Fish and Wildlife Service's Rocky Mountain regional office approved the rule. Then, in an unprecedented move, the D.C. office contradicted its own scientists as well as itself, proclaiming that listing was "not warranted" because (1) lynx were too common, and (2) lynx were so rare that populations weren't viable. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the agency had acted illegally, and that its premises were "glaringly faulty" and "contradicted the entire administrative record."

So the service had to list the lynx. But, again silencing its own biologists, it listed it only as threatened. Then it redefined the lynx's habitat, virtually excluding Oregon and thus making it unnecessary to consult with the Forest Service on timber sales in that state. Since then the service has ignored its legal obligation to define critical habitat, so it's being sued again.

During the entire process, field biologists from the three agencies have bitterly complained to their regional offices about being ignored. The regional offices resent this; and one of their ways of dealing with dissenters is to dispense only unofficial discipline. The biologists who submitted the blind samples have been scolded in writing by their superiors, but that's it. And in the case of the three Forest Service biologists, the "letters of counseling" didn't even make it into their files; they were read to them, then ripped up. Some of the biologists were taken off lynx research and forbidden to do any kind of sampling; others have apparently been laterally transferred. But those actions aren't technically punishments. Meanwhile, the biologists can't defend themselves because they've been forbidden to speak in detail due to "on-going investigations." Neat trick.

Might the bad blood between bureaucrats and biologists explain the former's vicious and untruthful statements? The FSEEE's Stahl thinks so. "This incident has given the Forest Service's regional office the opportunity it's been looking for to slap some people down," he said. "It has sent this message: Don't ask questions. But a scientist's duty is to question everything."

Another astonishing aspect: How did politicians on Capitol Hill get an internal personnel investigation? These documents are strictly confidential. "Someone in the Forest Service had to have briefed them," said Stahl. "Why? The Democrats weren't briefed. The Forest Service leaked the lynx issue to The Washington Times, through western Republicans."

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect is the circulation of lies by America's mainstream media. Of all the reasons to disregard or at least rigorously vet a story, few are better than reading it in The Washington Times. Whatever possessed the Associated Press to recycle it 24 hours later? The investigation report that vindicates the biologists had already been leaked--it has been available to the public since at least January 1. Why haven't the AP, The Wall Street Journal, and the hundreds of newspapers and TV and radio stations that ran the fiction apologized and issued retractions? Why would anyone, especially mainstream reporters and editors, put stock in wind vented by politicians who traditionally have used all means, foul and fair, to gut the Endangered Species Act? The AP's editor for the West, Bill Kronholm, told me the wire service won't be publishing any retractions or apologies, explaining that this would be too difficult.

As PEER's attorneys have informed the Interior and Agriculture departments, communications from Representatives James Hansen, Scott McInnis, Richard Pombo, Barbara Cubin, and Senator Larry Craig to Interior Secretary Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann. M. Veneman asking that they terminate the biologists are unlawful under the Whistleblower Protection Act. The secretaries can be investigated and punished if they comply. Herewith, a credibility check of the biofraud tale's main sources.

Hansen. On taking over the House Resources Committee, he announced that his first priority is "changing" the ESA, which he calls "a ham-fisted law [that] frightens private landowners, intimidates businesses," and causes "personal financial ruin."