tagged w/ Endangered Species Act Under Attack
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New friends on Facebook.The Wildlife Authority is hoping fans on Facebook will befriend a gorilla in return for a donation of a dollar, which will be used to hire more rangers to protect the gorrilas in their habitat.New friends on Facebook.The Wildlife Authority is hoping fans on Facebook will... more
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PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLIST THE MANATEE!
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), after conducting a 5-year review of the manatee’s federal imperiled status, has recommended the manatee for down-listing from “endangered” to “threatened.”
This proposal is an OUTRAGE when the number of mortalities in 2008 for manatee calves is record breaking.
This is all about the $. No one profits by trying to save manatees. However, by saving the manatee, many other species are preserved as well as critical habitat. The conservation of the manatee's ecosystem is good for ALL life.
In the last week, Florida has been whirlwind of devastating political agenda... from offshore drilling to giving a open-range "free pass" to commercial land developers.
These actions are politically driven. With the price of coastal land skyrocketing, powerful groups like the homebuilder’s association and the marine industries have been lobbying for a long time to get the manatee’s imperiled status changed in order to gut protective regulations and increase their profit margins. This is what it’s always been about, no matter how they or the government wildlife agencies try to portray it.
Please sign for the manatees by adding your information to this 'quick sign' letter: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5215/t/3138/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=491
You will be sending the following online letter to Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior; H. Dale Hall, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Florida Governor Charlie Crist, to let them know you strongly oppose the manatee’s down-listing at this time.PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLIST THE MANATEE!
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), after... more
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American workers aren't the only endangered species counting on new life from the Obama administration. The fate of polar bears, tiny-but-mighty red knot birds and a large cast of other creatures also hangs in the balance.
Environmental groups from the National Audubon Society to Defenders of Wildlife blame President Bush for suppressing efforts during the past eight years to prevent the extinction of threatened and endangered animals. But even as these advocates celebrate the change in administrations, they're also expecting a lot from President-elect Barack Obama.
It's not enough, they say, to simply rebuild safeguards for imperiled wildlife. Global warming -- and its potential to inflict hotter weather, drought and rising seas upon wildlife -- has joined their list of top threats to endangered species. "Confront climate change -- that has to be job No. 1," said John Kostyack at the National Wildlife Federation.
Species ranging from massive whales to tiny beach mice edged closer to oblivion in recent years. Environmentalists say that one of them, the red knot, illustrates the all-too-common plight of a creature in a downward spiral at a time of weakened protections and rising global-warming fears.
Bird loss may be a signal - Every spring, red knots fly 9,000 miles from southern South America to the Arctic Circle, reversing the route in the fall to complete one of the longest wildlife migrations.
The 9-inch-long birds starve during the trips and make refueling breaks at the same locations. One such pit stop is North Florida's Atlantic coastline, where the exhausted birds gorge on tiny clams -- if they can.
Since the start of this decade, worried birdwatcher Patrick Leary has monitored red knots that flock to coastal sandbars east of Jacksonville. He has chronicled how dogs, jet skis, kite surfers and beach driving repeatedly interrupt the birds' foraging.
In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged it should help the bird. But the agency opted not to list red knots as threatened or endangered because of "higher priority activities" such as protecting the more than 1,300 species already on the list. There are about 15,000 red knots, down in the past 20 years from nearly 150,000. Environmental groups said the agency cleared the way for its extinction.
"Red knots are definitely one of the victims of the Bush administration," Leary said.
The loss of red knots, hardly endearing like the endangered manatee or charismatic like the Florida panther, might not be widely noticed. But environmentalists are concerned the loss of the bird or any other species signals the breakdown of complex food chains and ecosystems, with consequences potentially disastrous to people.
One suspected cause of environmental collapse is a changing climate...
*article continues at: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-endangered0708dec07,0,7096528.storyAmerican workers aren't the only endangered species counting on new life from the... more
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Outgoing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today finalized regulations gutting the Endangered Species Act. The move is opposed by the public, Congress, and President-elect Obama, but a favorite cause of the oil, coal and mining industries, as well as the free-market, anti-regulatory ideologues who brought us our current recession.
The new regs forbid consideration of global warming as a cause of extinction -- something Kempthorne was forced to do earlier this year to protect the endangered polar bear. This piece of undo the scientifically supported protections for the polar bear.
The new regulations also allow federal agencies to consider projects and permits that might affect endangered species without having to consult federal wildlife scientists, which has up until now been required under the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, the agencies championing the projects can consult with themselves.
The Greenpeace, and Defenders of Wildlife immediately filed suit in the Northern District of California to stop the regulations, on the grounds that they violated the very law they are supposed to implement.
The Bush Administration also may have violated procedures by improperly dispensing with the overhwhelmingly negative public comment on the new regulations -- over 300,000 written comments were filed, but the administration spent only two to three weeks reviewing them (which means a comment would have had to be dispensed with every three seconds).
"This administration's disdain for wildlife and the environment has never been more clear than it is today," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, now with Defenders of Wildlife . "They are doing everything they can to cement their anti-environmental legacy before the Obama administration takes office."Outgoing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today finalized regulations gutting the... more
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WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is moving to protect seven penguin species. Three other types, including the stars of recent movies, are being ignored.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list six species of penguin as threatened and one, the African penguin, as an endangered species.
It has denied protection under the 1973 Endangered Species Act for three others, including the emperor and northern rock-hopper penguins
The penguins live far from the United States but listing the penguins under the act, will raise awareness about the species and could give the United States leverage in international negotiations to protect them from fishing, habitat loss, development and other threats.
Praise and Criticism --
Environmentalists praised the Bush administration's proposal to list fully six penguin species, but criticized its decision not to protect the other three. The emperor penguin is the largest in the world and depends on sea ice for breeding and feeding.
Endangered species advocates also faulted the government for protecting a seventh species, the southern rock-hopper penguin, in only a small part of its range.
"Penguin populations are in jeopardy, and we can't afford to further delay protections," said Brendan Cummings, the oceans program director for the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, which requested in November 2006 that the administration protect a dozen penguin species.
-- Greed, Global Warming & the Destruction of the Endangered Species Act --
Recent research has shown that about a dozen species are in decline because of numerous stresses, including climate change. Increasing temperatures could melt ice in Antarctica and diminish populations of the penguin's preferred food.
The Bush administration listed the polar bear as a threatened species this year, the first species to be protected because of the threats of global warming. The administration also has completed regulations to ensure that the law is not used to block projects that contribute to global warming....WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is moving to protect seven penguin species. Three... more
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WASHINGTON – Just six weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the Bush administration issued revised endangered species regulations Thursday to reduce the input of federal scientists and to block the law from being used to fight global warming.
The changes, which will go into effect in about 30 days, were completed in just four months. But they could take Obama much longer to reverse.
They will eliminate some of the mandatory, independent reviews that government scientists have performed for 35 years on dams, power plants, timber sales and other projects, a step that developers and other federal agencies have blamed for delays and cost increases.
The rules also prohibit federal agencies from evaluating the effect on endangered species and the places they live from a project's contribution to increased global warming.
Interior Department officials described the changes as "narrow," but admitted that the regulations were controversial inside the agency. Environmentalists viewed them as eroding the protections for endangered species.
Interior officials said federal agencies could still seek the expertise of federal wildlife biologists on a voluntary basis, and that other parts of the law will ensure that species are protected.WASHINGTON – Just six weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the... more
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Who Else Wants To Help Save The 3,200 That Occupy The Florida Coast?
American Tourism, Leisure Water Activities, and the Fishing Industry are the Main Causes of the Decline of Manatees.
PLEASE see the bottom of this page on how you can help the gentle manatee.
Oct 21, 2008 – Indian Rocks Beach –
Many public awareness campaigns, research and educational programs, and lobbying groups help protect manatees. Approximately 3,200 occupy the southeastern portion of US coastal waters, yet as many as 100 die each year.
American Tourism plays a vital role in manatees becoming endangered species. With Florida as one of the largest vacation spots in the country, manatees are losing their natural habitats from red tide, the destruction of marine grass and chemical pollution from runoff.
Additionally, with Americans continually rushing even during leisurely activities such as jetting on large yachts, partying on fast speedboats, and jet skiers zipping through the waterways resulting in collisions, we can only expect manatees to become endangered.
Manatees have also become endangered because of large fishing boats and entanglement in fishing lines.
To help raise public awareness on the Florida manatees, Indian Rocks Beach artist, Karen Justice created a hilarious greeting card line. The designs contain vividly bright colors and were created in warm, tropical settings. Deep blues, vibrant yellows, and flirty pinks are the signature colors Karen uses. Light-hearted, warm, and clever sayings are splashed across each one of her designs. Because the designs are innovative and unique, she has become one of the most influential artists of her time.
Karen is an advocate of animal rights and is strongly committed to the preservation of manatees.
Now, relax with a cup of coffee and visit the www.wildjunglechick.com website. Soak in the beautiful colors of each card and laugh at the manatee designs. The relaxation and laughter felt after viewing her designs is her mission.
Coming soon to the website is the chicken's blog. It will include a Q&A on a variety of topics. Join the chicken's world by visiting www.wildjunglechick.com
# # # # # #
Greeting Cards, magnets, and prints sold via online to wholesalers, a retail store in Indian Rocks Beach, and an online retail site coming soon.
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ALERT!
Despite exploding human population growth and shrinking aquatic habitat in Florida, manatees will lose their protections as a federal endangered species under a new plan prepared by the Bush administration.
You can help! Send a quick online letter to decision-makers letting them know you strongly oppose the manatee’s downlisting at this time. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5215/t/3138/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=491
PLEASE BE A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS!
http://www.savethemanatee.org/
http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Manatees/manatees.htmlWho Else Wants To Help Save The 3,200 That Occupy The Florida Coast?
American... more
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The White House is rushing to enact regulatory changes in species protection, mining and other sensitive areas.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is hurrying to push through regulatory changes in politically sensitive areas such as endangered-species protection, dismaying opponents on the left, just as conservatives were irritated by rules rushed out at the end of the Clinton administration.
PLEASE SEE LINK FOR ENTIRE STORY: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122489005913868559.html
The White House is rushing to enact regulatory changes in species protection, mining... more
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We’re getting the word out to voters about Governor Sarah Palin’s barbaric record on killing America’s wildlife, especially her active promotion of the brutal aerial hunting of wolves and bears.
As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has proposed paying a $150 bounty for the foreleg of each dead wolf. The aerial hunting program she champions has already killed nearly 800 wolves. She’s opposed efforts to save America’s polar bears from extinction. She’s fought against efforts to save some of the world’s most endangered beluga whales.
At nearly every opportunity, Governor Palin has sided with Big Oil, mining companies, wealthy trophy hunters and other entrenched special interests in support of policies that would greatly harm the wild animals we treasure.
Warning: This television ad -- like the governor’s support for this brutal practice -- is disturbing.We’re getting the word out to voters about Governor Sarah Palin’s barbaric record... more
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It wasn't much noticed at the time, but three weeks before she was chosen as John McCain's vice presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin played a key supporting role in the latest episode of the Bush Administration's eight-year war on the Endangered Species Act, one of the cornerstones of American environmental law. On August 4 Alaska sued the government for listing the polar bear as a "threatened" species, an action, the lawsuit asserted, that would harm "oil and gas...development" in the state. In an accompanying statement, Palin complained that the listing "was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available" and should be rescinded.
The Bush Administration had not wanted to designate the polar bear as threatened in the first place; now Palin's lawsuit provided cover to backtrack on the decision. The Interior Department had issued the listing only after environmental groups filed two lawsuits, and the courts ordered compliance. While the polar bear population was currently stable, the plaintiffs argued, greenhouse gas emissions were melting the Arctic ice that polar bears rely on to hunt seals, their main food source. A study by the US Geological Survey supported this argument, concluding that two-thirds of all polar bears could be gone by 2050 if Arctic ice continues to melt as scientists project. The listing was the first time global warming had been cited as the sole premise in an Endangered Species Act case, and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne clearly wanted it to be the last. When Kempthorne announced the polar bear listing on May 14, he emphasized that it would not affect federal policy on global warming or block development of "our natural resources in the Arctic."
A week after Palin's lawsuit, Kempthorne delivered on that pledge. On August 11 he proposed new rules that could allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether their actions will imperil a threatened or endangered species. The rule reverses precedent: since passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service have made such determinations independent of the agency involved. Under the new rule, if the Army Corps of Engineers is building a dam, the corps can decide whether it is putting species at risk. To make sure no one missed the point, Kempthorne told reporters that the new rule, which he termed "a narrow regulatory change," would keep the Endangered Species Act from becoming "a back door" to making climate change policy.
Kempthorne's proposal nevertheless seems likely to go forward. An obligatory thirty-day period for public comment expires September 15, after which Interior can begin to implement the rule. Congress could block funding, but few expect that to happen. Lawsuits are certain to follow, but critics say the quickest solution would be for the next administration to withdraw the rule. Barack Obama seems likely to do that; he immediately condemned Kempthorne's proposal. John McCain was silent. But his choice of Palin--who does not believe global warming is caused by humans but does think it's acceptable for humans to gun down wolves from airplanes--suggests that Arctic creatures have much to fear from a McCain administration.
FOR THE REST OF THIS REPORT, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/hertsgaardIt wasn't much noticed at the time, but three weeks before she was chosen as John... more
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The Bush administration is proposing new rules that would weaken species protections and eliminate independent scientific review of development projects that could threaten species habit.
The changes ("tweaks") that the President Bush and the Bush Administration are proposing would weaken Section 7 of the landmark Endangered Species Act.
For more than three decades, this key provision of the ESA has safeguarded imperiled species from the impacts of potentially harmful federal projects.
Key to the success of this provision has been the requirement for interagency consultation between "action agencies" that build dams or highways, issue oil and gas leases or timber cutting contracts, etc., and the "conservation agencies" that have the primary responsibility for protecting endangered species (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service).
The conservation agencies have always had the opportunity and responsibility to take a second look at the projects proposed by the action agencies. As a result of taking that independent look, the conservation agencies have often been able to suggest project modifications that avoid harmful impacts to rare species.
The proposed regulatory changes would eliminate the requirement for an independent review by the conservation agencies. The result will almost certainly mean that both harmful impacts on rare wildlife, and opportunities to avoid those impacts, will be overlooked.
Conservation is not the mission of federal action agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, and others. To make sure that their projects (and the projects of many other federal agencies as well) do not cause needless harm to rare species, the existing requirement for independent review by federal conservation agencies should not be abandoned.
Please follow the link for the petition to President Bush. If these regulatory changes are made, it will be as if the Endangered Species Act does not exist... not to mention the horrific impact on the environment.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION!
http://action.edf.org/campaign/esa_action
I will be posting more news release on this issue.The Bush administration is proposing new rules that would weaken species protections... more
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ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We partner with businesses, governments and communities to find practical environmental solutions.
Hundreds of Species Endangered by Bush Administration Proposal
Conservation Group Assails Broad Consequences of So-Called "Narrow Changes" to Endangered Species Act
(Washington, DC; August 12, 2008) A proposal by the Bush Administration that would allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects would harm endangered animals and plants would seriously weaken protection for rare wildlife, according to a leading conservation group. According to a draft of the proposed new regulations obtained by the Associated Press, the regulations would allow many federal projects to bypass the mandatory, independent reviews that independent scientists have been performing for 35 years. The proposed changes do not require approval by Congress.
This disastrous proposal makes about as much sense as eliminating homeland security at airports; said Michael J. Bean, an attorney who is chairman of the wildlife program at Environmental Defense Fund and the lead author of The Evolution of National Wildlife Law; (Praeger, 1997), a comprehensive analysis of federal wildlife conservation law. Sure, it would make air travel more convenient, but it would put passengers at greater risk, just as this proposal would put wildlife at greater risk.
The very agencies that have often resisted efforts to adjust their projects to accommodate the needs of rare wildlife would now be put in charge of deciding whether any adjustment is needed concluded Bean. Although the Bush administration claims its proposal would make only narrow changes to existing regulations, these unprecedented changes would have broad consequences, imperiling hundreds of endangered species nationwide
Contact:
Sean Crowley, (202) 572-3331-w, scrowley@edf.org
Michael Bean, (202) 572-3312-w, mbean@edf.org
http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=8214ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We partner with businesses, governments and communities to... more
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.
New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival.
The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.
"We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good," Kempthorne said in a news conference organized quickly after AP reported details of the proposal. "It is important to use our time and resources to protect the most vulnerable species. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species
The Bush administration and Congress have attempted with mixed success to change the law.
In 2003, the administration imposed similar rules that would have allowed agencies to approve new pesticides and projects to reduce wildfire risks without asking the opinion of government scientists about whether threatened or endangered species and habitats might be affected. The pesticide rule was later overturned in court. The Interior Department, along with the Forest Service, is currently being sued over the rule governing wildfire prevention.
But internal reviews by the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that about half the unilateral evaluations by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that determined wildfire prevention projects were unlikely to harm protected species were not legally or scientifically valid.
"This is the fox guarding the hen house. The interests of agencies will outweigh species protection interests," said Eric Glitzenstein, the attorney representing environmental groups in the lawsuit over the wildfire prevention regulations. "What they are talking about doing is eviscerating the Endangered Species Act."
Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/endangered
National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/
National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/newsWASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush... more
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