A coalition of more than 60 environmental, civil-rights, and Native American groups have sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the confirmation of William G. Myers III to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Before serving as the Interior Department’s chief legal officer, Bush nominee Myers was a lobbyist for the cattle and mining industries. He submitted briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing (unsuccessfully) that Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act safeguards were unconstitutional. He has also been vocal in his opposition to laws that protect sacred tribal lands, and has stated that ranchers’ property rights are “as fundamental” as free speech rights. “He has the clearest anti-environmental record of any of [Bush’s] nominees to date,” said Buck Parker, executive director of Earthjustice.
