密歇根新闻广播 特朗普削减保护濒危物种的预算

The Trump¹ administration’s detailed² budget proposal leaves fewer resources for protecting endangered species. Under the proposed plan, the budget for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be trimmed to $1.3 billion for 2018.

Brett Hartl, Government Affairs Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, says that’s about an 8% funding cut for conservation. He says the Trump administration’s cuts to the domestic side of the budget, in favor of defense³ spending, aren’t a surprise.

“This administration has shown overwhelming hostility⁴ to most things environmental. And basically the main thing they’ve done over the first few months of the administration is to roll back environmental regulations that were designed to protect human health and the environment. So it certainly doesn’t bode⁵ well,” Hartl says.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed 18 lawsuits⁶ against the Trump administration. A few deal directly with endangered species, like one to protect gray wolves and lynx from copper⁷ mining in Minnesota.

But Hartl says over the last six years, Congress has been leading the effort to roll back protections for endangered species.

“We’ve seen a lot of species-specific attacks where they say we want to end protection for a species even though it’s still endangered, even though it’s still potentially going to go extinct,” he says.

Hartl says under this new budget proposal, it could be slightly harder to get species added to the endangered species list, and it might make recovery harder for species that are already protected.

Some saw hope in the case of the rusty⁸ patched bumblebee. Earlier this year, the species became the first bumble bee listed under the Endangered Species Act.

“That species was in a unique position because it basically had crossed the finish line during the last days of the Obama administration,” says Hartl. “And the only thing left to do was to do final publication on the Federal Register to make it official. And they don’t really have a lot of legs to stand on to stop something like that.”

Hartl says it’s somewhat encouraging that the Trump administration is following the rule of law. He says that could be good news for the monarch⁹ butterfly. His group already has a legal agreement with the agency to consider the species as threatened.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not provide anyone for a taped interview for this story.

But in an email, an agency spokesperson says under the proposed budget plan, funding for listing new species under the Endangered Species Act is being reduced to fund conservation the administration considers a higher priority.

According to an agency press release, that includes protecting fish and wildlife habitat in National Refuge Areas for hunting and recreation.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

5 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

6 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

7 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

8 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

9 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。