A panel of Fish and Wildlife Service officials has recommended against granting Endangered Species Act protections to the greater sage grouse, based on source materials that included scientific assessments from federal biologists and a critique of that science from a political appointee with no background at all in biology.

The National Conference on Citizenship, held Dec. 3 in Washington, DC, examined the role of citizenship in the post-9/11 world. The conference provided a forum to discuss the important role nonprofits play in encouraging citizenship. Read more for a summary of points made at the conference. The conference theme was highlighted by John DiIulio, Jr., former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, who moderated a panel discussion on nonprofits and citizenship in front of 500 educators and nonprofit leaders.

A recent Pace Law Review Symposium, “Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: The Impact on International Philanthropy,” highlighted the need for changes in the government guidelines and increased transparency of the reasons behind government decisions to shut down several Muslim charities accused of financing terrorists. The U.S. Treasury Department published the guidelines, which have been widely criticized, in November 2002.

On Dec. 2, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed a lawsuit in federal court to block taxpayer funding for restoration of mission churches in California. The suit charges that the recently passed “California Missions Preservation Act” is tantamount to taxpayer-supported religion. The bill, signed by President Bush on Nov. 30, requires the Secretary of the Interior, currently Gale Norton, to make grants of up to $10 million to the California Missions Foundation to repair the missions and their artifacts. Many of these artifacts are religious symbols and artwork.