Big cats and copycats: Margaret Good follows Vern Buchanan defending endangered species
Margaret Good slammed a vote by Vern Buchanan against extending the deadline for ratifying the ERA.

Buchanan Good
"Essential to safeguarding our most vulnerable wildlife."

Democratic Congressional candidate Margaret Good slammed plans by President Donald Trump’s administration to gut the Endangered Species Act.

But that came a day after U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, the Republican that Good seeks to unseat, did the same.

Buchanan on Monday morning released a letter calling proposed rule changes “an assault against nature.” Buchanan demanded Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asking agencies reconsider changes.

“This landmark law has been essential to safeguarding our most vulnerable wildlife, which includes the American bald eagle, the California condor and the Florida manatee,” Buchanan wrote.

“Since being enacted, the ESA has been so successful that 99 percent of the species placed under its purview have been saved from extinction.”

Proposed changes include eliminating automatic protections for plants and animals, removing review requirements before oil and gas drilling in habitats with endangered species, and watering down requirements for delisting a species.

Environmental groups like EarthJustice have slammed the rollback in protections.

Buchanan asserted such shifts will hurt such beloved Florida fauna as the Florida Panther. That species is under review regarding its space on federal lists.

“If the Fish and Wildlife Service chooses to downgrade the panther from endangered to threatened, despite my strong opposition, it could be subject to this new rule and lose many of the vital protections it needs to survive,” Buchanan wrote.

Now, it appears his Democratic challenger agrees.

Good on Tuesday released her own statement dissing the Trump administration.

“There are very few states where the endangered species act has had more impact than Florida,” Good said. “Preserving our natural heritage is a key part of keeping our environment strong and preserving our tourism economy.

“Recent efforts to roll back decades-long and bi-partisan supported efforts are bad for our economy and our environment.”

The campaign also pushed back a bit on Buchanan painting himself an environmental champion. The League of Conservation Voters gives Buchanan a lifetime score of just 22 percent.

Good suggested as a member of a Democratic majority in the House, she will prevent any watering down of the ESA.

“As a member of Congress, I’ll fight for our endangered species, to protect our natural environment and water, and I will fight against oil drilling in the Gulf and Everglades,” Good said.

Buchanan also has opposed offshore oil drilling.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


One comment

  • Jan

    August 27, 2019 at 4:08 pm

    Ms. Good might want to complete her first term as a state rep in Tallahassee before aspiring for U.S. Congress, the U.S. Senate and beyond. How shallow.

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories