The 1, 875-acre site is a refuge to native and endangered plants, birds and fish.

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The rules eliminate the input of federal wildlife scientists in some endangered species cases, allowing the federal agency in charge of building, authorizing or funding a project to determine for itself if it is likely to harm endangered wildlife and plants.

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The problem has long been recognized, and the aforementioned Habitats Directive -- a corollary of the 1979 Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats -- introduced a range of measures aimed at protecting endangered species (including plants, birds and fish as well as mammals).

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Over the past four years, WildEarth Guardians and another environmental group, the Center for Biological Diversity, have filed petitions to add more than a thousand plants and plants to the endangered species list.

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In addition, a wide range of laws protecting wildlife and plants, including the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, also were significant accomplishments.

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"We're not going to be able to protect endangered species in the future -- whether it's elephants in Africa or whether it's rare plants that might be producing the cure for cancer, " said Jim Jontz of the Endangered Species Coalition.

CNN: Is Endangered Species Act in danger? - Sept. 26, 1995