WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Interior Department will review eight decisions on land use and wildlife that might have improperly elbowed out the opinions of its scientists.
The decisions were made by Julie McDonald, a political appointee found to have violated federal rules by giving department documents to industry lobbyists.
The New York Times said Saturday the decisions were likely to be overturned since they had been compiled by department officials who were reviewing McDonald decisions suspected of being geared toward landowners and industry for political purposes.
"We wouldn't be doing them if we didn't suspect the decision would be different," H. Dale Hall, head of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said on a conference call. "It's a blemish on the scientific integrity of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior."
McDonald resigned in May as a deputy secretary of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Her controversial decisions irked agency scientists who accused her of political meddling.
The Times said the controversial decisions involved animals including the Canada lynx, arroyo toad, white-tailed prairie dog and other species.
