A top official at the Department of the Interior (DOI), Vincent DeVito, appears to take credit for helping to delay federal protections for the species at the behest of fossil fuel industry groups, one of several examples of his willingness to prioritize the needs of extractive industries with business before the government, according to public records.

…”We really hope that you can intervene before this species gets listed next month,” Samantha McDonald, the IPAA’s government relations director, wrote to DeVito. In his reply, DeVito asked that McDonald keep him apprised of “what you may be hearing as this unfolds.”

Less than a month later, in August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted the delay that IPAA sought. McDonald again wrote DeVito, as well as the acting director of the fish and wildlife service, in an email with the subject line “THANK YOU!”

“On behalf of my members, I wanted to thank you for the six-month delay on the Texas Hornshell,” she wrote, adding that it was “a good call.”

DeVito responded to McDonald that same day. “No problem,” he wrote.

…DeVito’s penchant for “energy dominance” has played out in other ways as well. As chairman of the DOI’s royalty policy committee, he helps determine the royalty rates that energy companies must pay to drill and mine on federal lands and waters, effectively encouraging or disincentivizing them.

At his Americans for Prosperity speech, DeVito described how he consulted closely with fossil fuel groups before recommending to Zinke in February that the DOI reduce royalty rates on offshore oil and gas drillers by a third, from 18.75 percent to 12.5 percent.

…On June 14th and 15th last year, DeVito traveled to West Virginia and came to the industry’s aid. According to records, his trip was planned in part by the West Virginia Coal Association itself, which submitted a trip schedule to one of DeVito’s colleagues. The schedule included meetings with the coal association as well as both state and FWS regulators overseeing crayfish conservation in the region.

Four days after DeVito’s trip, the Fish and Wildlife service approved the Berwind mine’s “protection plan” for the crayfish. In his speech to Americans for Prosperity, DeVito highlighted his role in enabling the mine’s approval.

…Conservationists, however, say the DOI’s decision to approve the Berwind mine’s crayfish protection plan was deeply flawed.

Emails Suggest the Department of the Interior Is Prioritizing Fossil Fuel Interests Over Wildlife Well-Being – Pacific Standard

Sigh….