Trump's Wildlife Service pick has ties to anti-animal protection groups
Aurelia Skipwith, nominee to lead US Fish and Wildlife Service, linked to groups opposed to protections for endangered species. Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Fish and Wildlife Service has links to powerful agricultural interests opposed to protections for endangered species she would oversee. Aurelia Skipwith, who is already a top official at the interior department, formerly worked at the agrochemical giant Monsanto.
New revelations show she also has ties to the Westlands Water District, a political powerhouse with a history of chafing against Endangered Species Act regulations that can interfere with farmers’ demands for water in California. Yet a Senate committee approved Skipwith’s nomination Wednesday in a party-line vote of 11-10.
The interior department is currently working to loosen protections for imperiled fish in California, which would be a boon to Westlands and other irrigators who want to pull more water out of regional rivers and reservoirs. The rollback would likely harm endangered salmon, delta smelt, and other aquatic species in California. As the director of the FWS, Skipwith would be crucially placed to shape the outcome of those efforts.
At her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse highlighted Skipwith’s past work for Monsanto, a leading producer of an herbicide that has been linked to negative effects on honeybees and other wildlife. Skipwith worked for Monsanto between January 2006 and July 2012, according to her resumé, mainly in crop science and corporate affairs.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/25/trump-wildlife-service-pick-anti-animal-protection-groups-aurelia-skipwith
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