WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama overrode the Bush administration on a key step in administering the Endangered Species Act on Tuesday, restoring a requirement that federal agencies consult with experts on threatened species before launching construction projects that could effect their well-being. Environmentalists said reinstating the requirement blocks the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service and others from ‘nibbling away’ at critical wildlife habitat. Business and industry groups, on the other hand, warned that it could hamper road-building and other projects that would help jump-start the economy. Bush’s rule change, finalized in December, allowed federal agencies to determine on their own if projects would jeopardize endangered species, instead of consulting with expert biologists, as had been required for the last three decades. It gave agencies the option, if they so chose, of calling on the experts from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Obama took away the option and made such consultation mandatory. He announced the change during a celebration of the 160th anniversary of the Interior Department, telling cheering employees it would ‘restore the scientific process to its rightful place at the heart of the Endangered Species Act.’ Technically, […]