The Center for Biological Diversity has given Interior Secretary David Bernhardt the 2019 Rubber Dodo award for a person or group who has most aggressively sought to destroy America’s natural heritage or drive endangered species extinct.
Bernhardt won the dis-honor for “gutting key provisions of the Endangered Species Act, suppressing data showing that pesticides harm species, opening vast tracts of public land to oil and gas drilling, and fueling the wildlife extinction crisis by delaying protections for imperiled animals and plants across the country.”
Bernhardt beat out Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Homeland Security Director Kirstjen Nielsen for recognition as top eco-villain.
Previous Rubber Dodo Awards went to President Donald Trump (2018), Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (2017) and Utah Rep. Rob Bishop (2016).
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This is an excerpt from our March EnviroNews column. View the full article here.