DELAYING TACTICS ENDANGER U.S. WILDLIFE

BY DEBORAH ZABARENKO
REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The case of the Hawaiian Haha is no laughing matter to environmentalists, who say the rare plant went extinct while waiting for U.S. wildlife officials to put it on the Endangered Species list.

The Haha's fate is a symptom of wider problems at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which oversees programs aimed at protecting threatened species, according to a report for release on Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The report, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, said that the Bush administration has listed 57 species as protected since 2001, far fewer than the 512 species listed in the Clinton administration and less than the 234 species listed during the four-year presidency of George H.W. Bush , the current president's father.

At least two species -- the Haha of Hawaii and the Lake Sammamish Kokonee, a fish native to Washington state -- went extinct while waiting for protection during this administration, the report said.

"There are a certain number of species on the candidate list right now that are close to extinction, and that ought to be listed, and what the administration has done to date is to say that they don't have enough money and resources to list these species," said Bill Snape, senior counsel for the biodiversity center.

"They're definitely in a pattern of waiting and waiting and waiting until either the species does go extinct or the next administration comes in," Snape said in a telephone interview.