NEWS ROUNDUP

Changing course? The Bush administration needs to change its thinking about oil and gas development on public lands and alter its land use planning to protect wildlife habitat as drilling increases, the No. 2 Interior official says. "We need to think differently," Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett said when asked by reporters last week about energy development on federal lands. She said a new administration program called the Healthy Lands Initiative has begun to address concerns raised by wildlife and sporting groups about protecting habitat. But an environmental group said conservationists have been raising the issues for years and the program comes as "too little, too late." Scarlett said, "It's not going to be one of those overnight initiatives in which we fix everything at once, because we've got a train part way down the tracks, and we have to sort of along the way do a course adjustment, and that's what the initiative is about." The program is partly about money but largely about better land use planning tools that take into account the entire landscape rather than individual projects, she added....
Mayors address global warming at summit City leaders from around the world declared at an environmental summit Tuesday that they can no longer wait for national governments to reverse global warming and instead must find solutions on their own. Mayors from Seoul to Sao Paulo and Albuquerque to Addis Ababa gathered at the summit, hosted by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton, to exchange ideas on how their cities have gone green. "We cannot sit around and watch our environment deteriorate and put this world in jeopardy," Bloomberg said. "The public wants action, and if you have a void, the mayors are going to fill that void." Mayors and local leaders from more than 30 cities kicked off the conference, known as the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, which first met in 2005 in London. Clinton did not attend Tuesday but was expected to be there Wednesday. "It is in cities that the battle to tackle climate change will be won or lost," London Mayor Ken Livingstone said. The meeting comes at a time when many countries are struggling to address global and national standards for carbon reduction. This week, U.N. delegates are meeting in Germany to gear up for December negotiations on a new set of international rules for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The new accord would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012....
Greenpeace Builds Replica of Noah's Ark Environmental activists are building a replica of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat—where the biblical vessel is said to have landed after the great flood—in an appeal for action on global warming, Greenpeace said Wednesday. Turkish and German volunteer carpenters are making the wooden ship on the mountain in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran. The ark will be revealed in a ceremony on May 31, a day after Greenpeace activists climb the mountain and call on world leaders to take action to tackle climate change, Greenpeace said. "Climate change is real, it's happening now and unless world leaders take urgent, decisive and far-reaching action, the next decades will see human misery on a scale not experienced in modern times," said Greenpeace activist Hilal Atici. "Those leaders have a mandate from the people ... to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions and to do it now."....
'Five Years Left To Save The Planet' Our planet is just five years away from climate change catastrophe - but can still be saved, according to a new report. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns governments have until 2012 to "plant the seeds of change" and make positive moves to limit carbon emissions. If they fail to do so, the WWF's Vision For 2050 warns "generations to come will have to live with the compromises and hardships caused by their inability to act". "We have a small window of time in which we can plant the seeds of change, and that is the next five years," James Leape, from the WWF, said. "We cannot afford to waste them. This is not something that governments can put off until the future."....
California-Sized Area of Ice Melts in Antarctica Warm temperatures melted an area of western Antarctica that adds up to the size of California in January 2005, scientists report. Satellite data collected by the scientists between July 1999 and July 2005 showed clear signs that melting had occurred in multiple distinct regions, including far inland and at high latitudes and elevations, where melt had been considered unlikely. "Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula," said Konrad Steffen of the University of Colorado, Boulder. "But now large regions are showing the first signs of the impacts of warming as interpreted by this satellite analysis." Changes in the ice mass of Antarctica, Earth's largest freshwater reservoir, are important to understanding global sea level rise. Large amounts of Antarctic freshwater flowing into the ocean also could affect ocean salinity, currents and global climate....
Range Expansion When the atmosphere's CO2 concentration is experimentally increased, the vast majority of earth's plants lose less water to the atmosphere via transpiration, but they produce more biomass, the latter of which phenomena is generally more strongly expressed in woody perennial species than it is in annual herbaceous plants. As a result of increases in the air's CO2 content, therefore, earth's bushes, shrubs and trees would be expected to grow better and expand their ranges more than non-woody species would be expected to do. Simultaneously, increases in atmospheric CO2 often make plants of all types actually prefer warmer temperatures (Idso and Idso, 1994), causing both woody and non-woody plants to grow more vigorously and expand their ranges during periods of global warming. In this summary, we review some of the evidence for, and the consequences of, these phenomena, focusing on what has been learned in North America, concentrating on the southwestern sector of the United States....
Forest Service opens wilderness to mining The U.S. Forest Service will allow a Montrose family to operate a gold mine within the Uncompahgre Wilderness Area on the Uncompahgre National Forest east of Ouray. Charlie Richmond, supervisor of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, announced Tuesday the agency will allow Robert and Marjorie Miller of Montrose to mine for gold on a 20-acre, unpatented mining claim at the Robin Redbreast Gold Mine near the Middle Fork of the Cimarron River. The Millers’ 1938 mining claim predates the 1964 Wilderness Act, giving the couple a right to mine within the wilderness under a 19th century mining law. “It’s a very small mining operation,” said Charlie Ponchak, the Millers’ geologist. “We’re going to use mules and a helicopter” to haul supplies and waste rock in and out of the wilderness area. He said the Millers plan to use “old mining methods,” including split shooting and hand sorting. Toxic waste rock will be hauled away, leaving only benign waste rock behind....
Snake River headwaters proposal gets boost A world-class fly fisherman and federal officials came out Tuesday in support of a bill to designate the Snake River headwaters in northwest Wyoming and some tributaries as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. "I've been almost everywhere in the world there's rivers; this is one of the last great places left and it needs to be protected," testified Jack Dennis, coach of Fly Fishing Team USA and honorary chairman of Campaign for the Snake Headwaters. Interior and Agriculture department officials also boosted the bill at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource's subcommittee on national parks. The designation would prevent dams from being built but would preserve public access and allow fishing and rafting. The next step for the bill is a committee session to examine its specific language, which could come as early as next week, a committee spokesman said. The bill would then move on to the full Senate....
NM Court upholds commission authority over water quality The New Mexico Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge to a state Water Quality Control Commission ruling that all of New Mexico's waters fall under federal water quality standards. The commission decided in 2005 that state's streams, rivers and lakes fell under the federal Clean Water Act, regardless of how the federal government defined the waters. Mining and oil and gas interests, homebuilders and ranchers challenged the action, alleging it could let New Mexico adopt rules that are more stringent than federal ones. The state, however, contended the rules let it protect waters that had been protected before a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case. The Court of Appeals, in its 17-page ruling, outlined the federal government's expansion of clean water rules to various waters over the years and said the state's regulations fell within those definitions. The New Mexico Mining Association, New Mexico Home Builders Association, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, New Mexico Wool Growers Inc., Chino Mines Co. and Phelps Dodge Tyrone Inc. appealed the regulations....
New round of petroleum leasing draws protests The state wildlife agency and conservation group Trout Unlimited are expanding their push to slow the federal sale of petroleum leases in areas of Montana they say are environmentally sensitive. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to delay its May 30 sale of leases for five parcels in the vicinity of the Beaverhead River, and Trout Unlimited is demanding delay of two sales there. The fish habitat is sensitive and greater environmental analysis is needed, the state and the nonprofit group say. Both protested the government's March sale of oil and gas leases in Montana, protests the BLM has yet to decide. BLM spokesman Greg Albright of Billings said the bureau's response this time around will be the same as before: The auction will take place but any leases sold will not be issued, and money paid for them will be held in escrow pending a formal response to the protests. "Our legal folks are going over our responses," Albright said. T.O Smith, wildlife and energy coordinator for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the BLM should not move ahead with another lease sale until the earlier protests are resolved....
Conservancy joins mitigation effort A conservation group has been commissioned to help land managers and industry determine what might be needed to help wildlife habitat in Wyoming's energy fields. The Nature Conservancy, whose Wyoming headquarters are in Lander, is looking to help people think about ways to lessen harm to wildlife before drilling projects begin. The group also is working to assess what types of projects might work to boost habitat surrounding energy fields, according to Joe Kiesecker, a lead scientist for the conservancy in Wyoming. The group received a grant from BP America Production Co. of about $150,000 to assess what can be done to help natural resources. Kiesecker said the conservancy recommends a so-called "hierarchy of behaviors," which begins at "avoid," then moves to "minimize," "reclaim" and, finally, "offset." He said the group is trying to "get out in front of oil and gas development and say, 'Here's a field that could be offset, but here's where offsets could not be used as a tool.'"....
Editorial - Lawmakers right to seek data on salmon recovery Taxpayers and ratepayers have spent more than $6 billion over the past 25 years on salmon recovery in the Northwest. The Bush administration predicts that another $6 billion will be needed over 10 years, according to its 2004 plan. Not once have the feds reached their original annual target of preserving 63,500 fish. But has the effort still been worth it? That's what many members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., want to find out. They also want to discern the economic implications of breaching the earthen portions of the four Lower Snake River dams, which have served as a political lightning rod for the past decade. Their bill can't quantify the emotions invested in this controversy, but it could provide the independent information needed to move past the duel of data points, which always confuses the issue. Many studies have been conducted, and, predictably, cost estimates have ranged wildly depending on which group was doing the counting. For instance, a coalition of environmentalists and fishing groups estimates that breaching the four dams could produce $4 billion to $24.4 billion in new tourism money over 20 years. However, the Bonneville Power Administration says that projection underestimates the amount of money it would take to replace the electricity those dams are capable of producing, which they put at $400 million to $500 million per year....
100 Success Stories for Endangered Species Day 2007 For a second year, the U.S. Senate declared an Endangered Species Day on May 18, 2007, to “encourage the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.” To help celebrate and educate, the Center for Biological Diversity has created a website (www.esasuccess.org) detailing the conservation efforts that caused the populations of 100 endangered species in every U.S. state and territory to soar. “From key deer and green sea turtles in Florida, to grizzly bears and wolves in Montana, sea otters and blue butterflies in California, and short-nose sturgeon and roseate terns in New York, the Endangered Species Act has not only saved hundreds of species from extinction,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, “but also put them on the road to recovery. The Endangered Species Act is one of America’s most successful conservation laws.” The web site features a handy interactive map that allows viewers to click on their region and see a picture, population trend graph and short description of multiple species from that region. Detailed species accounts are also available for those wanting more information....
Bald eagles in Wyoming soar to 185 pairs The number of bald eagles in Wyoming has grown to 185 breeding pairs, a population recovery that has exceeded expectations from ornithologists who predicted much lower recovery rates when the birds were first granted federal protection in 1967. The bald eagle population is soaring nationally, as well, with the number of breeding pairs in the lower 48 states climbing from a low in 1963 of 417 to more than 9,700 today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday. The population recovery offers evidence to some scientists that federal protection of the birds under the Endangered Species Act should be lifted. "They're not facing extinction, and they are not threatened with moving into the endangered classification," said Bob Oakleaf, who oversees nongame species for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. "So we might as well reserve that act and the money and heartache and conflict that goes with it to the species that need it."....
Rattlesnake bites Super Wal-Mart plan The proposed construction of a nearly 100,000 square foot Wal-Mart building, and three office buildings in Carlyle has encountered an obstacle familiar to Clinton County development - the presence of the endangered Eastern Massasauga snake. According to Carlyle Mayor Van Johnson, Wal-Mart has been working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on a conservation plan. "Wal-Mart has developed a conservation plan to present to the IDNR," Johnson said. "Now we're waiting to see if that plan is acceptable to to IDNR." Assessments have shown that the southern boundary of the project's footprint is within the foraging and hibernating range of two endangered snakes, the Massasauga or "pygmy rattlesnake, and the Kirtland's snake. In light of the assessments, the DNR is concerned about increased road deaths of both snake species as a result of the project, and the potential to fragment the snakes' populations....
No respect for Wyo? The Wyoming House speaker said Monday he's not surprised to see apparent gridlock between the state and federal governments over wolf management. Roy Cohee, R-Casper, said he believes some federal officials have no respect for the state. "It basically says that, 'We the federal government, living out here in Washington, D.C., have such little regard for the management abilities for the state of Wyoming and its agency, that we've determined the compromise that you've given us to be invalid,"' Cohee said. He was referring to a state law enacted this spring by the Legislature that gives the governor the authority to negotiate with federal officials to determine the ultimate boundaries of a permanent wolf management area in which wolves would be managed by the state as trophy game animals. Outside the area, they would be treated as predators to be shot on sight. Wolves would be protected in Yellowstone National Park and adjoining wilderness areas. But Wyoming's new wolf management law specifies that it doesn't go into effect until the federal protections are removed from wolves and won't go into effect until the state's pending lawsuit over its original wolf management plan is resolved....
Bison get final push into Yellowstone; laggards face slaughter Wildlife officials made a last push Tuesday to get bison back into Yellowstone National Park before they face possible slaughter if caught outside park boundaries. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of bison have been hazed from an area around West Yellowstone, Mont., and back into the park by state and federal wildlife agents using horses, helicopters and trucks. Many of the animals turned around and left the park again at night or when the hazing let up. But beginning Wednesday, bison found outside Yellowstone can be rounded up and shipped to slaughter, under a plan state officials say is needed to prevent the spread of disease to livestock. Some Yellowstone bison carry brucellosis, which causes infected cows to abort their offspring. State and federal officials planned a conference call Wednesday to decide if slaughtering will begin immediately or if hazing will be extended....
A Leap for All Life: World’s Leading Scientists Announce Creation of “Encyclopedia of Life” Many of the world’s leading scientific institutions today announced the launch of the Encyclopedia of Life, an unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth. For the first time in the history of the planet, scientists, students, and citizens will have multi-media access to all known living species, even those that have just been discovered. The Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, and Biodiversity Heritage Library joined together to initiate the project, bringing together species and software experts from across the world. The Missouri Botanical Garden has become a full partner, and discussions are taking place this week with leaders of the new Atlas of Living Australia. The Encyclopedia today also announced the initial membership of its Institutional Council, which spans the globe, and whose members will play key roles in realizing this immense project. An international advisory board of distinguished individuals will also help guide the Encyclopedia. The effort is spurred by a $10 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and $2.5 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and will ultimately serve as a global beacon for biodiversity and conservation. “The Encyclopedia of Life will provide valuable biodiversity and conservation information to anyone, anywhere, at any time,” said Dr. James Edwards, currently Executive Secretary of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility who today was officially named Executive Director of the Encyclopedia of Life....
They turn preservation into profit As a child, Carl Palmer watched as development quickly transformed his south Florida neighborhood. The mangrove forests he once explored went through an extreme makeover, giving way to cul-de-sacs and fancy houses. That experience had such a profound impact on Palmer that he focused his career on conservation. Shortly after graduating with an MBA from Stanford, Palmer and classmate Robert Keith, decided to launch Beartooth Capital Partners, a development company that invests in ecologically important ranch lands. Their aim is to produce profits while also generating real conservation results. "The scale of environmental problems is so huge, and I wanted to find a way to make a bigger difference," Palmer says. Across the globe, environmental entrepreneurs, called "enviropreneurs," are finding ways to create profitable business ventures that also provide environmental benefits. "An enviropreneur is a person who finds creative or insightful ways to turn environmental problems into assets," says Bobby McCormick, a professor of economics at Clemson University. An enviropreneur "seeks to find ways, as a business person might, to either make money where others see trash, or to use markets, property rights and cunning to solve an environmental mess."....