An influential Bush appointee at the Interior Department who altered scientific reports in an attempt to undermine legal protections for endangered species resigned yesterday, according to department sources.
Julie MacDonald, a deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, had made herself increasingly rare over the last year. She was the subject of an internal investigation into charges that she browbeat and muzzled department scientists, altered scientific reports to undermine the Endangered Species Act and released sensitive documents to her friends at ChevronTexaco and other industries that have historically been less-than-concerned about whether the white-tailed prairie dog and the Gunnison sage grouse shuffle off into extinction.
"We welcome Julie MacDonald's resignation," said Francesca Grifo, a spokeswoman for the Union of Concerned Scientists. "But she represents a much larger problem of widespread political interference at federal agencies."
MacDonald was scheduled to appear before a House oversight committee next week to answer a few questions. The Washington Post reports that she resigned for "personal reasons," including an illness in her family.
