PLATFORM : The Right to Know
The Endangered Species Act wasn’t to stop all progress. The Public Trust Doctrine is not to stop all progress. It’s to put it in line with the stewardship role of governments. Governments are not supposed to be in there selling off the trusts because they want to make a buck today.
In an agency that is supposed to be a trustee agency, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, we have a basic obligation to protect the trust. The public has a right to know precisely how their resources are being managed; what is and is not being done.
The old story, “You shouldn’t foul your own nest,” I think is very true. And it applies whether you’re talking bureaucrats in protecting species, or you’re talking bureaucrats trying to protect the savings and loan industry.
What we’re doing here is not blowing the whistle, but telling the truth, and in a democratic government the public has a right to know. But many agency heads will tell you, “We’ll tell ‘em what we want, and we’ll hide the rest.”
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