NEWS ROUNDUP

Column: ESA has a zero percent rate of success The Endangered Species Act, born of the best intentions, has failed to live up to its promise, and species are more threatened today because of its serious limitations. If America's health-care system was in the same abysmal condition, there would be a nationwide outcry for reform. But for the last 30 years, the ESA has remained a law that checks species in, but never checks them out. It has been a failing form of managed care. As stewards of the species that inhabit our nation, we can and must do better. Specifically, the "diagnosis" and "treatment" aspects of the law are fatally flawed. They are ambiguous, open to arbitrary personal judgment and do not rely on sound science or peer-reviewed research. Known as "listing" and "critical habitat" respectively, these key elements of the act are responsible for the misdiagnosis of species as endangered or threatened and the application of a one-size-fits-all solution. To make matters worse, rampant environmental litigation has undermined the already-broken system at the expense of species recovery. In fact, there have been so many lawsuits that the federal critical habitat program went bankrupt last year....
Rep. With Wind Farm Ties Denies Power Play Aides to California Rep. Richard W. Pombo pressed officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior last year to suspend environmental guidelines opposed by the wind-power industry without disclosing that Pombo's family had a substantial financial stake in wind energy. The guidelines, issued in 2003, seek to reduce the number of birds killed by the spinning blades of wind turbines, such as those that flank the Altamont Pass east of Oakland. Pombo (R-Tracy), heads the House committee that oversees the Interior Department. His parents own a 300-acre ranch in the Altamont Pass and have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from wind-power turbines on their land over the last 17 years — much more than the family gets from cattle on that land....
Sheep, insects to help kill exotic weeds in Arizona forests Three of Arizona's national forests will soon be providing a smorgasbord for weevils, flies, moths, beetles and sheep. The critters are expected to be sent in as early as this summer to munch on dangerous and invasive weeds that are harming endangered and threatened native plants and wildlife. The feast is part of a U.S. Forest Service plan to treat 25 species of weeds on 135,000 acres of the Coconino, Kaibab and Prescott national forests in northern Arizona over the next 10 years....
Sutherlin boy, 10, shoots cougar that killed 4-H lambs Colton Leatherwood and Delcina Pepiot experienced a harsh reality of ranch life last weekend. Two of the lambs they were raising for the annual Douglas County Lamb Show were pounced on and killed by a cougar Saturday night. Then the predator paid the price. After the hound dogs of federal trapper Dave Wilson treed the cougar, 10-year-old Colton dropped it with one shot from his .22-caliber Magnum rifle. The lambs were in a pen in a corner of the pasture near a stand of timber, located about 80 yards from the Leatherwood home about five miles east of Sutherlin. Colton and cousin Delcina, 11, had moved the lambs there just hours earlier. Two were killed; a third was scared, but unharmed....
Proposal would affect Ballardini Ranch A new amendment to a developer-backed bill reviewed Wednesday by Nevada lawmakers would block conservation advocates from preserving 1,000 acres of prime land south of Reno as open space. SB326, proposed by Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, would prohibit state and local governments from using eminent domain authority to acquire property for open-space or wildlife habitat preservation. Washoe County is trying to designate the Ballardini Ranch area as open space. Advocates of public acquisition say the ranch would provide a needed link to U.S. Forest Service land in the Sierra foothills. But Minnesota-based Evans Creek LLC, which paid $8.5 million for the ranch in 1998, wants to build nearly 200 upscale homes on part of the property and is in a court fight over Washoe County efforts to acquire the land. As originally written, SB326 would have applied to cases that arise beginning July 1. But Care proposed an amendment Wednesday that would make the bill retroactive to include all pending cases in the state — including the Ballardini Ranch....
Wisconsin gets OK to kill wolves The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted Wisconsin special permits to once again kill problem wolves trapped near where livestock or pets have been attacked. The special permits come in spite of a federal judge's ruling in January that the federal effort to upgrade Wisconsin wolves from threatened to endangered violates federal law. The court decision, released Jan. 31 in Oregon, meant that wolves outside Minnesota and Alaska remained endangered, and that trappers had to relocate -- not kill -- wolves near farms where animals had been attacked. But federal biologists said Wednesday that they're using a separate, little-used part of the Endangered Species Act to allow government trappers to kill up to 34 wolves in Wisconsin this year....
Column: This may be a bad deal for salmon Are we really serious about applying the best available science to saving endangered salmon and restoring healthy rivers in Washington state? This is one of many questions arising from a proposed deal to provide regulatory certainty to logging under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A few weeks ago, federal and state officials announced that the state of Washington was formally applying to the federal government for approval of a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP would regulate logging on 9.1 million acres of state and private forests and along 60,000 miles of streams and rivers. If the federal government approves this plan, the state and timber companies would be exempt from the provision of the ESA that prohibits landowners from harming or "taking" salmon for the next 50 years, even if wild salmon continue to decline — or more stocks go extinct....
Column: Plan preserves forests, streams Washingtonians have traditionally counted on millions of acres of non-federal forestlands in our state for jobs and products, as well as sources of clean water, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. Protection of these public resources benefits us today and ensures that future generations can also enjoy them. On Feb. 9, we took a landmark step in that direction — Gov. Christine Gregoire and I submitted the Forest Practices Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to the federal government. With its approval, this statewide HCP will protect more than 60,000 miles of streams running through 9.1 million acres of forestland, leading the nation with the highest level of protection for forests, streams and salmon. It would place all forestland in Washington under some kind of federally approved conservation plan, representing the greatest leap forward in forest protection since passage of the Forest Practices Act in 1974....
Column: How goes the ESA? One of the main charges leveled against the Endangered Species Act by its critics is it has not worked. "Most Americans are surprised to learn that only 10 of these 1,304 species (listed under the act) have been recovered in the act's history," wrote Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, in a recent white paper on ESA reform. "That is an abysmal ... rate of species recovery. The (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) statistics show that only 30 percent of species are 'stable' and only 9 percent are 'improving.'" Perhaps, but a paper this month in the journal BioScience argues that the statistics cited by Pombo are misleading. The ESA, as currently constituted, has prevented the extinction of many species, the authors wrote. "Our findings suggest that the ESA is effective and can be improved by prompt listing, protection of critical habitat and dedicated recovery plans," said Martin F.J. Taylor, a consulting biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz., and lead author of the paper....
White pelicans return to N.D. refuge Biologists are buoyed by the first wave of white pelicans returning to the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in central North Dakota. But they're still clueless as to why thousands of the big birds abandoned their nesting grounds last year on the refuge, which for a century had been the site of the largest nesting colony of white pelicans in North America. The nesting grounds were left littered with eggs and chicks, none of which survived, said Ken Torkelson, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismarck. Ten breeding pairs of pelicans were spotted on Tuesday at the refuge, Torkelson said. Pelicans also have been spotted en route to the refuge from their wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast to Florida, he said....
Park Service reviews climbing policy The National Park Service is reviewing its climbing policy at Devils Tower National Monument -- an action that has many climbers concerned. Lisa Eckert, superintendent of Devils Tower National Monument, announced the review in March, the same time she acknowledged that she had been seeking a historic landmark designation internally at the Park Service and Department of Interior without discussing the proposal publicly. Eckert has said the historic landmark designation is meant simply to add the "Bear Lodge" name to the Devils Tower moniker, "to be more inclusive of all cultures." The combined name would be Devils Tower National Monument at Bear Lodge Historic Landmark. But many climbers fear ulterior motives, particularly in regard to the voluntary no-climb policy in June in recognition of American Indian ceremonies....
Climbing ban to be appealed A rock climbing group says it will continue its fight to oppose a U.S. Forest Service order that bans climbing at Cave Rock, an old volcano held sacred by the Washoe Indians that straddles Highway 50 between Zephyr Cove and Glenbrook. The Access Fund, based in Boulder and representing more than 1 million climbers nationwide, said it will argue to the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit that closing the area to rock climbers, but allowing hiking, fishing and picnicking, is a violation of the First Amendment. The Forest Service says the order is needed to protect the historic and cultural resources of Cave Rock, which include the interests of the Washoe tribe. The Access Fund said it wants to reach a compromise with the Forest Service that respects historic and cultural interests but allows some climbing....
Park Service Rescinds Approval of Mojave “Guzzlers” The National Park Service has abruptly reversed course and blocked installation of artificial water systems in California’s Mojave National Preserve, according to a letter from the park superintendent released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Biological Diversity. Last month the two groups filed a federal lawsuit to stop the artificial watering plan on the grounds that it harmed native wildlife and violated Park Service policy. Yesterday, on April 5, 2005, Mary Martin, Superintendent of the Mojave National Preserve, sent a letter (attached) to the California Department of Fish and Game, which stated: “[T]he National Park Service is withdrawing the approval, set forth in our letter of January 21, 2005, for the California Department of Fish and Game to convert four ranching well developments in Mojave National Preserve into wildlife watering devices…Upon further review, the National Park Service has determined that additional NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] compliance is desirable before a decision is made…” Ironically, the position taken by Martin this week reflects the same stance that she had communicated in a June 17, 2002 memo to Paul Hoffman, a former Dick Cheney aide serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Hoffman, however, disregarded Martin’s concerns and ordered her to set up artificial water sources (called “guzzlers”) in order to enhance “coyote and varmint hunting,” according to an email he sent to a sportsmen’s group....
Busy bison day in Yellowstone marks the start of spring More than 250 bison were pushed back into Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday, perhaps the most bison moved in a single day by the Montana Department of Livestock. Meanwhile, eight bison captured Tuesday will be taken to slaughter and three young bison will be transported to a bison quarantine facility near Gardiner. The activity marks the beginning of a typically busy spring as more bison wander out of Yellowstone's west border. The bison are hazed and captured as part of a state and federal effort to keep Yellowstone's bison from transmitting brucellosis to nearby cattle. So far this year, more than 1,000 bison have been pushed back into Yellowstone and 22 have been sent to slaughter....
Energy industry takes aim at US coast Oil and gas companies, closer than ever to drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, want to explore another frontier: America's coastlines. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico are protected by a federal ban on new oil and natural gas extraction. But with rising worry about US dependence on fuel imports and soaring prices, energy producers feel they now have a unique opportunity to relax or eliminate the restrictions. ''Part of the solution has to be opening more access," whether it's off the coast of California or the Carolinas, said Duane Radtke, head of the natural gas production unit at Dominion Resources Inc. of Richmond, Va. Environmentalists say the industry has been emboldened to seek offshore drilling because of last month's Senate vote to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Trade groups are lobbying legislators in individual states, where they believe the future decision-making power on offshore drilling belongs....
Measure 37 changes in works The Legislature dug in Wednesday on a task that could shake up Oregon land-use laws for the second time in a year: revising Measure 37. Many lawmakers consider the new voter-approved property rights law one of their biggest challenges this session. It has the potential to shape Oregon's landscape and their re-election prospects. A proposed rewrite would loosen restrictions on building a single home on farmland, opening the option to people who bought their property before 1995. The aptly numbered Senate Bill 1037 would remove those cases from the Measure 37 process. For other regulations, it would spell out a method to apply for Measure 37's promise of development rights or government payments....
Toxic Tailings May Be Hauled Off Department of Energy officials proposed Wednesday to move an enormous pile of radioactive waste off the banks of the Colorado River in southern Utah — to the great relief of politicians, environmentalists and Southern California water officials. The 12 million tons of residue from an abandoned uranium mill sits in a floodplain of the Colorado, which provides drinking water to an estimated 25 million people downstream in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and other cities throughout the Southwest. Last year, energy officials alarmed local residents, members of Congress, the Metropolitan Water District and others by indicating that the federal government might choose to cap the waste pile where it was. Energy officials said that option would be the least costly of several under consideration....
Old West style water war could erupt at border An old-fashioned water fight could soon be brewing between Nevada and Utah over a proposal by southern Nevada officials to tap groundwater in the eastern part of that state to quench the rapidly growing thirst of Las Vegas. The problem: The aquifers in question also run under Utah's west desert. And ranchers, environmentalists and political leaders on this side of the border are raising red flags about the potential impacts of such a project. "We're quite concerned," Millard County Commissioner Daron Smith said this week. "Water is the lifeblood of the West. There aren't many of us out in this part of the state, but the water situation is critical for those who live and work here. All of the studies done say that any pumping along that aquifer will have a real negative effect on the groundwater wells. So we're nervous." Nevada's groundwater development plan centers on the Snake Valley, near Baker and Great Basin National Park. But the aquifer system that feeds the valley also runs under the Utah side, roughly from Iron County in the south to Tooele County....
Yakima Valley district cuts off irrigation water due to drought An irrigation district that serves about 1,400 farmers in the Yakima Valley shut off the water supply yesterday for what is believed to be the first time in April, another sign of the region's severe drought. The shutdown marked the earliest date the 72,000-acre Roza Irrigation District has interrupted water for irrigators. The Central Washington district interrupted water delivery in 1994 and 2001, both drought years, but those shutoffs didn't occur until May. District board members hope to have the water running through canals again in three weeks....
Streamflow outlook improves little Recent snow in the mountains and rain in the Klamath Basin didn't significantly improve the federal streamflow forecast for this irrigation season. Upper Klamath Lake, the primary reservoir for the Klamath Reclamation Project, should get 42 percent of its average inflow from April to September, according to the latest forecast by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials received the forecast late in the day Tuesday, but declined comment, saying they need time to process it. The April 1 forecast is a key piece of the Bureau's Project operation plan, in which they outline water supplies for the irrigation season. The plan is due out in a few days. The primary irrigation season in the 240,000-acre Klamath Project typically runs from April to mid-October....
Sands of Time: Earth's Expanding Deserts Can't Be Stopped Dust storms and drought don't get as much press as hurricanes or rising sea levels, but they threaten the world nonetheless. They could even hit the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. On every continent the number of dust storms is increasing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture -- once the second-largest bureaucracy in Washington next to the Pentagon, until Homeland Security bumped it -- is not yet ready to proclaim a "Dust Bowl II." But it has released photos that show the awesome similarity between the first and the putative second dust bowl. Besides afflicting people with sundry diseases, dust bowls can ravage entire agricultural economies. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s forced thousands of "Okies" and "Arkies" to emigrate to California. And Chinese environmentalists have raised the alarm after a survey earlier this year found almost a third of China's land mass is now desert. Cattle ranchers in the heart of Nevada have a different enemy that signals desertification: the purple thistle. This thistle is highly valued by florists because it needs little water. But when ranchers see patches of thistles they know that the cattle and wild horses have lost another grazing ground....
Top Filmmakers Tackle the Environment: Marin Environmental Film Festival Bay Area filmmakers and environmental visionaries will gather on Earth Day weekend to explore issues ranging from organic foods and water rights, to Alaska oil drilling and saving frogs from extinction (schedule at end of this release). Co-presented by the Environmental Forum of Marin and the California Film Institute, the Marin Environmental Film Festival (www.MarinEnvironmentalFilmFestival.org) will showcase 25 movies concerning alternative energy and building, water issues, organic and artisan food, environmental heroes, sustainable business, habitat restoration, and eco-art. The festival runs April 22-24, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in downtown San Rafael. "This is more than a film festival," said Carol Haggerty, of the Environmental Forum of Marin. "It's about engaging the public in environmental issues and solutions."....
Encounters on horseback Sara Akins was nervous as she walked Millie, a quarter horse-Shetland pony mix, into the arena at the Northwest Equestrian and Event Center. Millie was fidgety, but Akins, 17, got her to settle down enough to put a 10-pound pack on her back, mount her and back her through a gate. "I try to keep myself calm," she said later. "I can't get mad at her out there, because that wouldn't help." The Working Rancher event was the first of a three-day competition for high school equestrian teams last weekend. Akins, who is on the 25-member team from Estacada High School, rode Millie through an obstacle course of ranching tasks, finishing by lassoing a plastic cow's head. Estacada High won the district championship for the fourth consecutive year, beating out teams from Centennial, Clackamas, Corbett, David Douglas, Portland Christian, Sam Barlow and Sandy high schools. Clackamas came in second, and Sandy was third. High school equestrian teams have gained in numbers and popularity during the past decade. Before the Oregon high school equestrian program started in 1993, high schools offered few, if any, competitive opportunities for student horseback riders. In 2004, 1,054 students from 112 high schools in Oregon and Washington competed on equestrian teams....

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