The AP is reporting that the Bush administration has proposed a major overhaul to the Endangered Species Act. The changes could go into effect in as few as 90-days. 

From the AP:

New regulations, which don’t require the approval of Congress, would
reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have
been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by
The Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered
Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases
blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival…

The new rules were expected to be formally proposed immediately,
officials said. They would be subject to a 60-day public comment period
before being finalized by the Interior Department, giving the
administration enough time to impose them before November’s
presidential election. A new administration could freeze any pending
regulations or reverse them, a process that could take months. Congress
could also overturn the rules through legislation, but that could take
even longer.