Delay in ruling on endangered right whales criticized
WASHINGTON—Efforts to protect the endangered right whale from being killed by commercial ships have languished for more than a year in part because of White House objections.
Documents show Vice President Dick Cheney's office and White House economists have questioned the conclusions of marine scientists.
The documents were released yesterday by California Democratic Representative Henry Waxman.
He questioned why White House officials had raised "baseless objections" to findings by government scientists who have spent years studying the dangers posed to the whale by commercial shipping.
Only about 300 to 350 of the whales remain in Atlantic waters off the eastern seaboard. The whales, which migrate to the Gulf of Maine each summer, are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
