Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a convening of the so-called ‘God Squad‘ on March 31 to discuss oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico. Officially called the Endangered Species Committee, the group consists of a high-level federal panel that has the power to override protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Notice of the meeting was published in the Federal Register on Monday and states, “The Committee is meeting regarding an exemption under the Endangered Species Act with respect to oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities in the Gulf of America.” The Gulf is home to the critically endangered Rice’s whale, a species that exists nowhere else. According to the latest available data, around 50 of the animals remain on Earth.
Last year, a biological opinion by the National Marine Fisheries Service found that oil and gas activities in the Gulf are “likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Rice’s whale.” Scientists estimate that as much as 22 percent of the Rice’s whale population died as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. Other threatened and endangered species stand to be harmed by oil and gas activities in the Gulf, including several sea turtles, sperm whales, and Gulf sturgeon.
Quick hits
Burgum to convene ‘God Squad’ to override endangered species protections
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Quote of the day
“The oil and gas industry’s financial strategy has been ‘pray for war,’ because those are the conditions under which they make money. They have to have a big price spike every few years literally to make ends meet.”
—Clark Williams-Derry, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, New York Times
Picture This
We’re celebrating #MarshMadness this week! 🏀While the teams duel it out on the basketball court, we’re keeping an eye on our brack …ish areas. We’re giving you a court-side look at how we protect and restore marsh habitat to sustain fisheries, recover protected species, and maintain resilient coastal ecosystems and communities.Learn more about these important habitats and how we’re helping them rebound at the link in bio ⛹️♂️
1) Marsh near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Credit: Hank Carter.
2) York River marsh. Credit: Chesapeake Bay Program/Will Parson
3) Tidal marshes, such as those seen in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, present a mosaic of productive habitats including tidal creeks, low marsh, and high marsh. Credit: Chesapeake Bay Program/Will Parson
4) The midnight sun washes over coastal mud flats in Anchorage, Alaska. Credit: Keifer Sroka
Featured image: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visits an oil rig in the ‘Gulf of America’ in May, 2025. Source: DOI Flickr.