Here it comes again: Like laying siege to a medieval castle, the Bush administration last week catapulted more of its destructive force at the nation's natural environment.

Is this an early start to some autumn offensive that'll be this administration's last? Time is running out on an industry-owned regime that remains frustrated by the Congress and president of 36 years ago; a Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, and a Republican chief executive named Nixon.

Congress passed, and President Nixon pretty enthusiastically signed, the Endangered Species Act.

Sure, there were some silly-sounding species among the beneficiaries, including the 3-inch snail darter that stalled completion of a Tennessee Valley Authority dam. But as a Supreme Court headed by Nixon appointee Warren Burger would declare, the act wasn't just warm-fuzzy lawmaking on behalf of eagles, whales and such; it also protected tiny fish and other beings threatened with extinction.

And, as scientists have confirmed, many of those species play canary-in-coal-mine roles; what threatens their existence threatens others'.

Scientists? Who needs their pointy-headed input? That, in effect, was what Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was saying with his decree eliminating a requirement of independent scientific review of projects — highways, timber-cutting, dams and mines among them — threatening endangered species on federal lands.

Henceforth, that would be up to the federal agencies in charge of the work, not the Fish and Wildlife Service whose role has become so important to species preservation.

The secretary must figure those agencies will be under Republican control forever; another good reason to run his party out of the White House.

The public-comment period on federal rules can run anywhere from 30 to 90 days. We're guessing that this sweeping revision, when it comes out in the Federal Register in a few days, will have a 30-day limit; after all, there isn't a lot of time remaining for this environmentally unfriendly regime.

Big industry will argue strenuously — and, no doubt, influentially — in favor of governmental mining agencies and the Bureau of Land Management ignoring the Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation and so many other conservation groups currently out of fashion with administration appointees, can be expected to make a case for continued caution.

Will this full-speed-ahead, damn-the-animals rule make it onto the books, forcing the next Congress, or the next administration, to roll it back? Or will Audubon or someone get an injunction like the one that reined in Bush's Environmental Protection Agency when it tried issuing blanket pesticide approval?

The months to come could be even more trying for the many conscientious federal employees below political-hack rank; mid-level officials who take seriously their work as stewards of our environment and our national patrimony.

You can help: When the comment period opens, Audubon will launch a campaign to collect comments. In the meantime, you can sign up for the Audubon Advisory newsletter and e-mail alerts to stay on top of events. The sign-up page is audubonaction.org/audubon/join.html .