Obama Administration, Wind Lobby fighting for right to shred eagles

Yes, you read that right. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and wind energy lobbyists are in federal court fighting for the right of wind energy developers to kill protected bald and golden eagles without facing repercussions. Robert Bryce at the Wall Street Journal explains —

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh, an Obama appointee, ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the American Bird Conservancy, and against the FWS’s “eagle take” rule. Judge Koh found that the FWS violated the National Environmental Policy Act in 2013 when the agency’s director, Dan Ashe, decided that the agency could issue permits to wind-energy companies that would have allowed them to lawfully kill eagles for up to 30 years without first doing an environmental-impact assessment. Permits were previously limited to five years.

Mr. Ashe, an Obama nominee who has headed the FWS since 2011, ignored the advice of a staff member who warned him, according to the ruling, that “real, significant, and cumulative biological impacts will result” if the eagle-kill permits were extended from five to 30 years. Rather than listen to his staff, Mr. Ashe sided with the wind-energy lobby, which pushed hard for the 30-year permits. More than a dozen wind companies have applied for eagle-kill permits.

I guess environmental causes are all fine and good until they get in the way of the Obama administration’s preferred industries and lobbyists. One can only imagine the Leftist outrage that would certainly be erupting nationwide if coal and oil interests were in court fighting for the right to shred our nation’s protected national symbol.