Fun_People Archive
6 Nov
Governmental Innovation - Adapt or Die.

Date: Mon, 6 Nov 95 13:56:22 -0800
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Governmental Innovation - Adapt or Die.

Forwarded-by: bostic@bsdi.com (Keith Bostic)
Forwarded-by: Jeff Wolfe <wolfe@ems.psu.edu>
Forwarded-by: Doug Miller <miller@essc.psu.edu>
Forwarded-by: jmiller@eos.hitc.com (Joe Miller)

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR BABBIT ANNOUNCES HISTORIC COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
BETWEEN NASA AND THE U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE.

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 1995.  Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit
called a press conference today to announce the implementation of a new
cooperative agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Secretary Babbit called the
agreement an historic step towards successful implementation of Reinventing
Government, Stage II, that has been developed by the Clinton Administration.

Under the terms of the new agreement, packs of wolves, imported from Canada,
will be introduced into several NASA centers.   In particular, the NASA
research and spaceflight centers at Goddard (Greenbelt, MD), Marshal
(Huntsville, AL), Johnson (Houston, TX), and Ames (Moffett Field, CA) have
been targeted. "Wolves are an endangered species that need special
protection to allow their populations to increase," said Babbit. "Private
landowners have objected to releasing wolves in National Parks, fearing that
they will wander onto private lands and attack livestock.  This agreement
represents an innovative compromise that will allow the wolves to prosper
in areas where the public will have no objection to their presence."

The Administrator of NASA, Daniel Goldin was present at the Department of
Interior press conference.  When asked for his reaction to the plan, Goldin
said, "NASA is undergoing unprecedented downsizing in response to the desire
on the part of the Clinton Administration and the U.S.  Congress to reduce
the size and cost of the Federal Government.  This agreement with the Fish
and Wildlife Service will introduce ecologically sound management practices
that will replace the 'business as usual' approach to personnel issues at
NASA. Federal agency work forces are no different than overpopulated herds
of deer or elk in our country today.  We, too, need to thin the herds," said
Goldin.

Secretary Babbit interrupted Mr. Goldin to reassure NASA employees that the
vast majority of them would be unaffected by wolf pack predation.  "Keep in
mind that wolves tend to prey mostly on the weak and slow," Babbit said.
"Most NASA employees can move pretty fast and stay out of harm's way. If
you keep alert and show no fear, chances are the wolves will leave you
alone.  Our wildlife experts tell me that 95% of the NASA employees will be
unaffected by wolf predation in an average year."

An information brochure, entitled "Adapt or Die," will be distributed to
all NASA employees.  The brochure explains the ecological basis for this
new management policy.  It also points out that there are severe penalties
for harming endangered wolves, even in self-defense.  It says, "Keep in mind
that humans are not an endangered species and, therefore, lack protection
under the law."

© 1995 Peter Langston