God Squad to Meet on Gulf Species Protection

0:00It's March 26th. This is Birmingham News today, powered by AI. The Endangered Species Committee, often called the GOT Squad, is set to meet on March 31st for the first time in over 30 years. This rare group, chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgham, will consider exempting oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico from key protections. Under the Endangered Species Act, activists warned this could push the rice's whale as species with just 51 individuals left, straight toward extinction. The committee only steps in as a last resort when no other options exist to protect endangered species or their habitats. It has handled just three cases since its creation in 1978. This push comes after a recent federal review found that Gulf drilling likely threatens the rice's whale, the only one officially jeopardized, while. Listing risks to others like sea turtles and sperm whales. Several groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, are fighting back hard.

1:00They argue simple fixes like slower ship speeds and quieter tech could save the whales without halting industry work. Now, they have filed to block the meeting with a federal judge in Washington, D.C., set to hear the case this Friday. Procedural, red flags are raising more questions. Critics say Burgham skip steps, like publicly sharing the exemption request details required by law. This aligns with the Trump administration's energy push, including a national energy emergency declared on day one that calls for quarterly God Squad. Meetings far from its intended rare use. As responses pour in in the court date nears, the fate of Gulf species hangs in the balance, testing the limits of environment to law against booming.