A WHITE House spokeswoman was probably joking when she told reporters that the Endangered Species Act “;is a tangled web that doesn't actually help support any species, including our own.”;

Even an administration indifferent to environmental protection would have to acknowledge that the law has been key in rescuing, among other animals, the bald eagle, the national bird and symbol of the United States. For Hawaii, often called the endangered species capital of the world, the law has been particularly important.

The flippant remark by Press Secretary Dana Perino reflects the Bush administration's disdain for the act it is determined to eviscerate. Having had little success through legal challenges and stifling scientific reviews, the administration is accelerating regulatory changes as it heads out the door.

It wants to eliminate independent scientific review of federal projects for effects on endangered species, evaluations that frustrated the administration and led to purging of material pointing to environmental harms.

Another change would eliminate consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when evaluating risks to endangered species.

So intent on making the changes quickly, the Interior Department called to Washington a group of employees from field offices to read through 300,000 public comments in less than a week, an extraordinary effort given the usual plodding pace of bureaucracy.

Though the regulation has had major economic effects in the past, it has been categorized as minor, which allows it to become effective in 30 days rather than 60 days, to put it out of reach of simple reversal by a new administration. Congress might be able to overturn the regulation, but the process would be cumbersome and vulnerable to legal challenges.