Endangered Specious Alaska says it will sue to challenge the listing of polar bears as a threatened species. The designation could block vital oil and gas development. But that was the whole point in the first place. The state's challenge was announced Wednesday by Gov. Sarah Palin. She argues there isn't enough evidence to support such a listing. And there isn't. She also maintains that polar bears are well-managed, noting that their population has increased dramatically in the last 30 years. She's right on that as well. Fact is, the world polar population is at a modern-day high and growing. Mitch Taylor, a polar bear biologist with Canada's Federal Provincial Polar Bear Technical Committee, puts the current population at about 24,000, up 40% since 1974. In winning the listing, environmentalists essentially argued that even if the number of bears isn't declining, their environment is being degraded as global warming melts the Arctic ice they live on. It's the environmentalists, however, who are on thin ice. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne made the ruling last week based on three findings: "First, sea ice is vital to polar bear survival. Second, the polar bear's sea-ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent decades. Third, computer models suggest sea ice is likely to further recede in the future." Fourth, he's wrong. On April 24 the World Wildlife Fund published a study, based on last September's data, showing Arctic ice has shrunk from 13 million square kilometers to just 3 million. What the WWF omitted was that by March the Arctic ice had recovered to 14 million square kilometers and that ice-cover around the Bering Strait and Alaska was at the highest level ever recorded. We dare to ask how the ice-loving polar bear survived much warmer pre-SUV periods than we are now experiencing, the most recent period being about 6,000 years ago, before Al Gore was born. The species has survived warming and cooling for millennia....
Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf? Idaho plan cuts population by half The Idaho wolf population could be cut in half this fall. Thursday, Idaho Fish and Game gave the green light for the state's first wolf hunting season, to begin on September 15. Fish and Game wants to maintain a population of 518 wolves, and they estimate Idaho has about 1,000. Brad Little, a rancher in Emmett, says wolves are bad for business. “Last year they were really working on one of my neighbors and they killed 5 or 6 of his big cattle,” Little said. Little doesn't hate wolves. He seems to hold them in respectful esteem. He just doesn't want them near his cattle. With Fish and Game's plan to cut the state's wolf population, Little may breathe a little easier. But not everyone is in favor of the hunt. Jesse Timberlake, from the Idaho Conservation League, says the state seems to be in a rush to start killing wolves, and going from 1,000 to 518 wolves is a gigantic drop. “Any harvest plan has to be based on science and it's based on having a viable population of animals, of which the surplus of that is then harvested, but this plan seems more like an eradication plan,” Timberlake said....
Bison range to celebrate 100 years of wildlife preservation President Teddy Roosevelt's wrist pushed pen across paper, and on May 23, 1908, the National Bison Range was born. It was a historic moment in the American conservation movement. Although not the first unit in today's National Wildlife Refuge System - that distinction belongs to the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida - it marked the first time in U.S. history Congress appropriated money to buy land expressly to provide shelter and space for wildlife. It came not a moment too soon. It is almost unfathomable what happened to the animal in the century leading up to the creation of the bison range. The largest mammal native to the North American continent, an estimated 40 million of them roamed in massive herds of thousands between Mexico and central Canada when our nation was founded. Yet by 1889, it was possible for one man to count every bison, wild and captive, left in America. William Hornaday did, and put the bison population at 1,091. To put it in perspective, it would be like reducing the human population of the entire state of California to a community about the size of Ennis. By 1900, there were fewer than 100 bison left in the wild. Hunted to near-extinction by the white man settling the plains, bison were both prized by commercial hunters for their hides, and seen as either a threat or a nuisance by others. Cattlemen wanted them gone from the ranges they were taking over. Railroads wanted them gone because when the huge herds congregated on and around tracks they could delay trains for several days, and damage locomotives that couldn't stop in time. And many believe the U.S. government wanted them gone to eliminate the primary food source for American Indians, forcing those people onto reservations....
Eagle deaths bring fine, changes A federal magistrate has fined a Texas-based energy company $10,000 and ordered it to pay another $10,000 in restitution in the deaths of two golden eagles electrocuted in 2006 by power lines leading to energy production sites near Gillette. Dominic Domenici, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Wyoming and Montana, said Wednesday that XTO Energy Inc., based in Fort Worth, pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Federal Magistrate R. Michael Shickich in Casper sentenced the company last Thursday. Domenici said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Tim Eicher of Cody found the dead eagles during a survey. Domenici said the birds were electrocuted after they touched improperly constructed power lines. In addition to the court fine and restitution, Domenici said, the company spent $988,000 on an avian protection plan that involved retrofitting miles of power line to make it safe for birds....
Feds oppose Wyo request to dismiss water suit A top federal government lawyer recommends that the U.S. Supreme Court deny Wyoming's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Montana that claims it's not getting enough water from two rivers that flow north across the state line. U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement filed a "friend of the court" brief with the Supreme Court last week. He recommended the court deny Wyoming's request to dismiss Montana's lawsuit over water flows in the Tongue and Powder rivers. A 1950 compact agreement among Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota spells out how water from the rivers is supposed to be divided. Montana claims that increased use of groundwater and construction of reservoirs in Wyoming since the agreement was signed has prevented Montana from receiving its fair share of water. Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg last month asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Montana's lawsuit, calling it "fundamentally flawed." Wyoming argues that the compact only applies to surface water, while Montana contends that the compact covers water pumped from underground aquifers for irrigation or during coal-bed methane drilling....
Ninth Circuit Sierra ruling works against saving habitat from catastrophic fire After eight years of a planning exercise called the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment (SNFPA) - one that involved thousands of people, hundreds of meetings, and tens of thousands of documents, studies, reviews, rehashes, monitoring, and re-monitoring - a Federal judge last week enjoined fire-preventative thinnings created under SNFPA guidance with the judgment that the planning was not "rigorous" enough to satisfy. That suit was brought by the Wilderness Society, and in effect destroyed eight years of effort by USFS employees and an engaged public to comply with the law. The Wilderness Society had every opportunity to participate in the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan planning exercise. There was an open process with public hearings and public involvement every step of the way. Indeed, the Wilderness Society was invited and even begged to participate, to become part of the process, to meet with local residents, and to resolve differences in an amicable and collaborative fashion. Instead the Wilderness Society chose to shun that process and to sue to kill it, in concert with the Sierra Club, the Center For Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign....
Wilderness road upgrade has to wait Environmentalists have won a round in their seven-year battle to limit reconstruction and traffic on a road into the pristine wilderness area of Jarbidge in Elko County. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Wilderness Society and the Great Old Broads for Wilderness should have had a say in negotiations between the U.S. Forest Service and Elko County over constructing the old mining road. The court voided an agreement between the federal agency and the county that would have allowed Elko County to proceed with the improvements. The Forest Service initially became concerned in 1999 when a group of citizens called the Shovel Brigade started to repair the old mining road. The federal agency worried the work would affect the bull trout in the river adjacent to the road and the environment. After a suit was filed, the two sides worked out an agreement in 2001 that the county could continue to build the road as long as it adhered to federal environmental regulations. But the environmental groups were not included, despite an order from the Circuit Court of Appeals. So the wilderness organizations filed suit again to overturn the agreement. Because of the environmental groups’ exclusion, the “settlement must be vacated,” the Circuit Court said in sending the case back to the federal District Court in Nevada. The construction, however, has started and cars are traveling into the wilderness area. The environmental groups have filed a third suit to stop the construction and close the area to vehicles.
Oil Industry, Lawmakers Aim To Lift Bans on Drilling Mounting concerns about global energy supply are fueling a drive by the oil industry and some U.S. lawmakers to end longstanding bans on domestic drilling put in place to protect environmentally sensitive areas. Increasing U.S. oil production would require overturning decades-old moratoriums that limit offshore drilling and accelerating leasing of federal lands, moves that would trigger a swift and vigorous political backlash. Still, as gasoline prices continue to climb and squeeze household budgets, the momentum appears to be gaining to open up new areas. Oil prices have soared 36% this year, though the price of a barrel of crude for July delivery settled at $130.81 on the Nymex on Thursday, down 1.8% from its record close Wednesday. "These prices are making voters realize we need to produce [more] energy" domestically, said Rep. John Peterson, a Republican from Pennsylvania who is pushing legislation to open up new offshore areas for energy exploration. The U.S. imports two-thirds of its oil, though less than one-sixth of its natural gas, according to federal data. The rest is produced domestically. A century and a half after oil production began, there is ample evidence that a lot of oil -- and natural gas -- remains to be found in the U.S. and its territorial waters. Those offshore areas are closed to exploration and drilling under congressional moratoriums and presidential executive orders that command broad support among elected officials in the politically powerful states of California and Florida. Opening these areas up could prove nettlesome....
Salazars introduce Dominguez-Escalanate NCA Colorado citizen groups herald introduction of legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate to create Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area and a surrounding national conservation area. The legislation introduced today in Washington D.C is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar in the Senate and his brother, Rep. John Salazar in the House. The conservation area will preserve the land’s current variety of uses and will include the approximately 75,000-acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area. The wilderness area is formally recommended by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for protection and is part of Colorado’s Canyon Country Wilderness Proposal, a statewide collection of areas endorsed by the Colorado Wilderness Network, local governments, businesses, and civic organizations. The national conservation area – Colorado’s third – will protect the natural features and recreation opportunities in Escalante Canyon, Cactus Park, and nearby mesas, surrounding the new wilderness, protected forever along Big Dominguez and Little Dominguez creeks. Grazing will be permitted throughout the proposed conservation area, while off-road vehicles will be able to use trails open to them outside the wilderness. A new BLM management plan for the conservation area will ultimately determine which trails will remain open to specific uses, under the proposal....
U.S., Canada reach salmon agreement The U.S. and Canada have reached a new 10-year agreement aimed at preventing overfishing of salmon off the western coast of Canada and southeast Alaska. The plan announced Thursday by the Pacific Salmon Commission could most affect chinook salmon, which migrate from Washington to the waters of British Columbia and Alaska, where they are often caught by sport and commercial fisheries. Under the proposed change to the existing Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S. would give Canada $30 million for its effort to reduce commercial salmon fishing; Alaska would receive about $7 million. Washington would receive about $7 million to improve chinook habitat. Alaska will reduce its catch of wild salmon 15% over the next 10 years; Canada will make a 30% reduction. In addition to management of chinook, the plan addresses coho, chum, and pink and sockeye salmon. Officials believe it could allow about 1 million more chinook to return to hatcheries or spawning areas in Puget Sound....
Groups fight owl's removal from feds' list Environmental groups say they plan to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if it does not respond to their petition to return a tiny desert owl to the endangered-species list. The long-running dispute focuses on the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, which commonly nests in saguaro cactuses. The bird was listed as endangered in 1997 but removed from the list in 2006. The organizations - the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility - petitioned to have the bird returned to endangered-species status in March 2007. The dispute over whether the bird should be protected goes back to 2001 when the National Association of Home Builders and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association challenged the listing. Courts then ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service to show that Arizona pygmy owls were of sufficient biological and ecological significance to the entire population to qualify for listing as a distinct-population segment. Service officials said they were unable to do that largely because sufficient numbers of the owls are believed to exist in Mexico. But in the groups' 2007 petition to have the pygmy owl re-listed, conservationists said the Fish and Wildlife Service ignored scientific evidence provided by its own biologists. They added that the agency refused to consider that the quickly disappearing Arizona population constitutes the last U.S. population of the owl's Western subspecies....
Polar bear listing threatens economic development As we feared, the government has decided that polar bears are at risk because of melting arctic ice. Radical environmentalists are elated because they insist ice is melting from global warming. What’s certain to follow is a flurry of lawsuits to stop everything from oil exploration to building projects anywhere in the country because they emit greenhouse gases, which environmental alarmists claim heat the planet. “The industries most likely to be pummeled by the polar bear are energy production, aggregates extraction, transportation and commercial building because each can be shown quite easily to result in increased emissions of greenhouse gases, and each routinely requires federal permits to go about some aspect of their business,” wrote Hugh Hewitt, a California law professor specializing in natural resource law. “The coal industry may be target No. 1, followed by oil drilling in the lower 48” states. Marlo Lewis, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, paints an equally bleak picture: “CEI can easily imagine a scenario in which environmental litigants sue to enjoin builders, developers, utilities, manufacturers, banks, etc. from going about their otherwise lawful pursuits on the grounds that the associated emissions endanger polar bear habitat.”....
Polar bear decision rife with flaws After months of delay, last week the Bush administration finally acknowledged that melting sea ice is pushing polar bears to the brink of extinction. The listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act marks a turning point. We no longer can deny the impact climate change is having on wildlife and our world. But placing the polar bear on the endangered species list is just the tip of the iceberg. Upon close examination, the administration's decision is riddled with loopholes and caveats that leave the polar bear in the same precarious situation as before. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne says that the listing will not be used "to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources" -- despite that fact that those are the very forces that have placed the animal in jeopardy. The Bush administration has dragged its feet at every step in the listing process, conveniently paving the way for destructive oil drilling in key polar bear habitat off the coast of Alaska. Now, Kempthorne is bending over backward to reassure the oil industry that the listing will not prevent drilling in prime polar bear habitat. The administration says it will continue to develop these resources in "an environmentally sound way."....
Bear label increases Inuit mistrust It's easy to romanticize the majestic polar bear when you don't have to worry about the enormous animals marauding down the streets of your community in August and September, as Lootie Toomasie from Qikiqtarjuaq often does. For Toomasie, bears are no symbol of climate change. They're a threat to his family. He and other hunters chase the bears off, using ATVs and boats. Still, "there's too many bears for us," he says. "We're no longer safe." One benefit the bears bring is business, in the form of wealthy U.S. hunters who are willing to pay as much as $30,000 to bag one of the beasts. But that business may now be crippled, many worry, following the U.S. decision May 14 to list polar bears as "threatened" under its Endangered Species Act. Most sport hunters who visit Nunavut hail from the United States. But now U.S. hunters aren't allowed to bring their polar bear trophies home, as one consequence of the "threatened" designation. The polar bear sport hunt draws about $2.9 million into Nunavut each year, the department of the environment estimates....
Eagles delay paving job A pair of bald eagles has thrown a temporary roadblock in front of pavers intent on laying asphalt on Highway 20 south of Oak Harbor. Crews have postponed paving Highway 20 south of Oak Harbor until July 15 due to the presence of a pair of bald eagles nesting nearby, said Dave Chesson, DOT spokesman, on Thursday. "Federal and state laws say the protected bird needs a wide berth when nesting and raising young," Chesson said. For drivers, this means a two-month wait for the final layer of asphalt to go down and for the bumps in the roadway to disappear. Bald eagles are protected by both state and federal law. In July 2007, the bald eagle was removed from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. However, two other federal laws still provide protection for the bald eagle: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These laws primarily address nest tree protection and protection from harassment....
Lawsuit Notice Filed to Protect Fossil Creek The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service for Endangered Species Act violations at Fossil Creek. The notice states that the Forest Service has failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the repatriation of native fish while management strategies continue to adversely impact the fish and their habitat. The loach minnow and spikedace — two Arizona native fish species that are federally listed as “threatened” — were returned to Fossil Creek last November. “The Forest Service has exhibited an incredible lack of ability or desire to take the management actions necessary to preserve this wonderful place or the spikedace and loach minnow,” said Michelle Harrington, rivers conservation manager for the Center for Biological Diversity. “We have repeatedly asked for an emergency closure to overnight camping to reduce the amount of traffic and waste in and along the stream, but the agency continues to drag its feet and offers no solutions or commitments.” The Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies to ensure their activities do not adversely impact listed species. In this case, the Forest Service has continued its status quo management operations at Fossil Creek in central Arizona despite very changed circumstances. In light of this, and the impending deluge of visitors expected over the holiday weekend and summer camping season, the Center filed notice. The loach minnow and spikedace, along with razorback sucker and Gila topminnow, also federally listed, have been repatriated to Fossil Creek following the decommissioning of Arizona Public Service hydropower plants and the restoration of water to the creek....
State high court rejects environmental challenge to Sierra logging plans The California Supreme Court in San Francisco rejected environmental challenges to a timber company's plans to harvest trees on about 1,400 acres of private land in Tuolumne County. Two conservation groups contended that timber harvest plans developed by Sierra Pacific Industries didn't adequately consider the broad impact on two wildlife species, the California spotted owl and a small mammal called the Pacific fisher. The California spotted owl is not listed as an endangered species, but is a cousin of the northern spotted owl, which is federally listed as a threatened species. The Pacific fisher is classified as a species of concern. Sierra Pacific Industries plans to harvest pine, fir and black oak trees on the land by clear-cutting most of the trees on the land and then replanting the forests. The procedure of logging most trees in an area at the same time is known as "even-aged" management. The high court unanimously ruled that the plans did adequately consider the impact on the Sierra Nevada region before concluding the two species wouldn't be harmed....
Humans to be put on the Endangered Species List The US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced today that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has petitioned to have Humans put on the endangered Species List (ESL). A PETA spokesman said "people are really animals!" PETA is concerned that the recent spate of hurricanes in the United States, typhoons in Burma and earthquakes in China require that this listing of Humans' time has come. Additionally, wars, famines, disease, automobile accidents and murders are decimating the human population of six billion people, which may only rise by another one Billion people in a few years. (This is the same logic that got the Polar Bear on the ESL.) However, there will be one class of Humans exempted from protection, namely elected politicians. The Sierra Club is expected to sue PETA and FWS, arguing that politicians are already a state and federally protected species. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is expected to sue PETA and FWS for discrimination. The Solicitor General of the United States has indicated the US government will join the lawsuits, but not on whose side. Al Gore cannot be reached for comment. Nine loud groans were heard emanating from the Supreme Court building in Washington DC. The American Bar Association (ABA) asked law schools to graduate more lawyers. Putting Humans on the ESL begs the question; what is the penalty if a Polar Bear eats a Human? (Satire)
Catron Residents Talk About Drilling Proposal An aquifer that is the source of water for parts of Socorro and Catron counties remains a subject of contention between local residents and a New York-based firm owned by an Italian millionaire, Bruno Modena. The firm, San Augustin Ranch LLC, is asking the state engineer to approve its plan to drill 37 wells with 20-inch casings north and south of Highway 60 at the county line. According to its application, the firm’s objective is to pump all the water it can get out of the San Agustin basin to a depth of 2,000 feet and sell it to the state to meet its obligations mandated by the Rio Grande Compact, leaving ranchers, residents and communities with the task of drilling deeper wells. Current wells in the area are between 200 and 300 feet deep on average. About 250 people packed the Datil Elementary gymnasium Saturday night to hear Bruce Frederick of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center explain water laws in New Mexico and the state engineer’s hearing process. Frederick said he will represent a group of local residents who have filed protests. He said the protesters are in a good position. “The sheer numbers of protesters and the diversity of the protesters warrant the position that it’s being detrimental to public welfare,” Frederick said. Among the protesters are state and federal agencies, Indian tribes and private companies, including Phelps Dodge, he said....
Dangers of mainland disease lab debated at hearing One of the nation's oldest farm groups said Thursday a proposed foot-and-mouth disease research laboratory on the U.S. mainland, near livestock, could be an inviting target for terrorists. Commercial livestock representatives and the Bush administration insisted it would be safe to move an island lab to sites near animals. Testimony at a House hearing showed deep divisions between farmers and ranchers over where to conduct research on the most infectious animal-only disease in the world. Such work now is confined to the 840-acre Plum Island, N.Y., off the northeastern tip of Long Island. The administration has spent time and money to announce five finalist sites on the mainland for a new lab. A new facility on Plum Island to replace the current, outmoded lab remains a possibility. All sides agreed that the wrong decision would bring an economic catastrophe if a new lab failed to contain the virus within the facility. An epidemic could ruin farmers and ranchers as well as related industries in feed, transportation, exports and retail....
U.S. farm bill, in part and in full, wins passage In following the legislative trail of the $307 billion farm bill, it is good to remember that the American system of checks and balances is not really designed for speed. With most House Democrats and quite a few Republicans supporting it, the bill was approved on Thursday by 306 to 110. The Senate quickly followed suit, 82 to 13. The votes in both chambers were far more than enough to defeat the veto that President George W. Bush cast on Wednesday. But wait. Hadn't the House already voted, by 316 to 108 later Wednesday, to override the veto? Well, yes. Sort of. Lawmakers discovered on Wednesday evening that a 34-page section of the 673-page bill was missing from the package that was sent last week to President George W. Bush, who executed his veto after calling the measure bloated and wasteful. The version that the House voted for in its override on Wednesday was also missing that section, which pertains to trade programs and foreign food aid. Thursday's vote in the House was on all 673 pages, which also embrace subsidies for farmers, food stamps, land conservation and various other items too attractive for most lawmakers to shun. The glitch "shows that they can even screw up spending the taxpayers' money unwisely," the president's spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said on Thursday....
Fact Sheet: An Opportunity to Reconsider a Wasteful Farm Bill For a year and a half, the Administration has consistently asked that the Congress pass a good farm bill that is fiscally responsible and better targets support programs. The Congress is now preparing to reconsider at least a portion of the farm bill and should take this opportunity to address the objections that have been raised repeatedly and the most recently raised concerns related to the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program. * The current agreement increases spending by more than $20 billion and fails to include much-needed farm program reforms proposed by President Bush. Congress is now continuing its gimmicks by delaying the budget resolution until after it again passes at least part of the farm bill in order to hide $3 billion in farm bill spending that Congress hasn't counted. This bill also adds a number of unrelated provisions and others never considered by the full Congress, such as numerous trade-related provisions. This bill is inconsistent with our objectives in international trade negotiations, which include increasing market access for American farmers and ranchers. Congress should reconsider this extraneous spending increase. * This legislation is also filled with earmarks and other ill-considered provisions. Most notably, the current agreement includes: $175 million to address water issues for desert lakes; $250 million for a 400,000-acre land purchase from a private owner; funding and authority for the noncompetitive sale of National Forest land to a ski resort; and $382 million earmarked for a specific watershed. Rural and urban Americans alike are frustrated with excessive government spending and the funneling of taxpayer funds for pet projects. Congress should seize the opportunity to eliminate wasteful spending....