A conservation group is raising questions about Dow Chemical's attempts to convince the Trump administration to drop studies that show its pesticides could harm endangered species.

In a series of leaked letters, executives from the Midland-headquartered company asked EPA chief Scott Pruitt to withdraw recently released "biological evaluations" that show three insecticides – including Dow's chlorpyrifos – are likely to harm 97 percent of threatened or endangered species.

Brett Hartl with the Center for Biological Diversity says killing those studies would scuttle a four-year process undertaken to calculate risks and set limits on where the pesticide can be sprayed.

"Dow is now saying, 'Oh, the science is flawed. We need to start completely over' – which is an absurd delaying tactic because they don't like the result."

Hartl notes that Dow contributed $1,000,000 to President Trump's inauguration, and that Trump named Dow CEO Andrew Liveris to lead the American Manufacturing Council.

Earlier this week, Michigan approved amended tax incentives for Dow Chemical.