Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#103
******* SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#103 ***********
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11/25/97
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* SOUTHWEST CENTER
FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
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1. POLL: ARIZONANS OF EVERY
KIND WANT CATTLE OFF PUBLIC LAND
2. SUIT OVER ANOTHER CALIFORNIA DAM
LOOMING
3. CALLS, LETTERS NEEDED TO SAVE ENDANGERED PYGMY
OWL!
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POLL:
ARIZONANS OF EVERY KIND WANT CATTLE OFF PUBLIC LAND
A poll by the Behavior
Research Center shows that Arizonans of
every age and political persuasion
support reducing the number of
cattle on public lands "for the purpose
of protecting natural
habitats and endangered plants and animals."
Urban and rural,
liberal and conservative, Democrats and Republicans, young
and
old all supported reducing cattle. The poll cited a BLM plan
to
reduce cattle on 15 allotments following a lawsuit by the
Southwest
Center forcing them to consult on impacts to 42
endangered
species.
Don't
Favor
Oppose
Know
---------------------------
Statewide
53%
34%
13%
Maricopa County (Phoenix)
54
31
15
Pima County (Tucson)
57
33
10
Rural
48
41
11
Republican
45
42
13
Democrat
64
26
10
Independent
57
33
10
Liberal
71
24
5
Moderate
50
35
15
Conservative
50
39
11
Under 35
59
30
11
35 to 54
51
38
11
55 or over
51
32
17
_________________________
SUIT OVER
ANOTHER CALIFORNIA DAM LOOMING
The Southwest Center has officially informed
the Army Corps of
Engineers that it will file suit challenging expansion
plans for the
Seven Oaks Dam on the Santa Ana River in California. The
dam
is already under construction- if completed, it will eliminate one
of
the last and largest patches of California alluvial fan scrub-
habitat for
the imperiled San Bernadino kangaroo rat and at least
three endangered
plants. The dam will also destroy habitat for the
endangered southwestern
willow flycatcher, least Bell's vireo,
coastal California gnatcatcher and
southwestern arroyo toad.
Realizing that the days of building major dams
are over, the Army
Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation have turned to
increasing
the size of existing dams, and illegally using flood control
dams
for water storage. The Seven Oaks Dam was authorized by
congress for
"flood control," requiring that water levels be kept at
specific low
benchmarks. After winning approval from the Fish
and Wildlife Service based
on these low benchmarks, it changed
the design to store massive amounts of
water for Orange County
agribusiness, destroying much more endangered species
habitat
and radically altering stream flows and ecology on the Santa
Ana
River.
The Southwest Center will sue the Corps if does not
re-consult
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the effects of the
new
dam on endangered species. The Center is currently suing to
change
management of four other dams: Hoover Dam on the
Colorado River, Roosevelt
Dam on the Salt and Tonto Rivers,
Blue Ridge Dam on East Clear Creek, and
Isabella Dam on the
Kern River.
___________________________
CALLS, LETTERS NEEDED TO SAVE ENDANGERED
PYGMY OWL
Calls are needed to save the severely endangered
cactus
ferruginous pygmy owl from extinction in Arizona. Only 9 pygmy
owls
are known to exist in Arizona, 7 in the urban sprawl zone of
northwest
Tucson. Despite this fact, Senator Jon Kyl and the
Amphitheater School
District are pressuring the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to allow the
destruction of 73 acres of prime
desert habitat occupied by the pygmy owl.
Other sites, which
don't impact endangered species or floodplains, and are
cost
effective, are available for this much needed school.
The School
District and Senator Kyl are pushing the Fish and
Wildlife Service to approve
the destruction plan by December
30,
1997.
Contact: JAMIE
RAPPAPORT
CLARK
DIRECTOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE
1849 C STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC
20240
FAX: (202)208-6916, PHONE:
(202)208-4717
j_clark@mail.sws.gov
Tell
her the Amphitheater School District can build its school
elsewhere, the
pygmy owl has nowhere else to go. With only 9
birds left in Arizona, there is
no excuse for killing even one.
Also, please call or write Congressman
Jim Kolbe and Senator
Jon Kyl- let them know that building a school which
would
contribute to the extinction of an endangered species is not
an
appropriate way to educate children, especially when alternative
sites
exist:
CONGRESSMAN JIM
KOLBE SENATOR JON
KYL
1661 N SWAN
RD
7315 N ORACLE RD
TUCSON AZ
85712
TUCSON AZ 85704
FAX:
(520)322-9490
FAX: (520)797-3232
PHONE:
(520)881-3588
PHONE: (520)575-8633
jim.kolbe@mail.house.gov
info@kyl.senate.gov
Defenders of Wildlife, the Southwest Center, and
Desert Watch
have informed the School District, the Army Corps of
Engineers,
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it will file suit to
save
the pygmy owl if necessary.