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\ SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#141
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\
7-15-98
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\ SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
/
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1.
FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE ADMITS GILA CHUB AND CHIRICAHUA
LEOPARD
FROG ARE ENDANGERED- REFUSES ACCEPT PETITION TO PROTECT
THEM!
2. RARE FUNGUS STRIKES SOUTHWESTERN FROGS
3. PIMA COUNTY
ALLOCATES $300,000 FOR SONORAN DESERT PROTECTION
PLAN
4.
SW FOREST ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES FALL ACTIVIST
GATHERING
*****
***** ***** *****
FISH &
WILDLIFE SERVICE ADMITS GILA CHUB AND CHIRICAHUA LEOPARD
FROG ARE ENDANGERED-
REFUSES ACCEPT PETITION TO PROTECT THEM!
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
has refused to process formal
petitions to list the Gila Chub and Chiricahua
leopard frog as
endangered species. According to the Service's twisted
logic,
since the agency has already determined that the species
deserve
listing, citizens are not permitted to request that they
actually
be listed. Since the Fish & Wildlife Service is not bound to
any
concrete listing timeline in the absence of a formal petition,
the
species will continue to decline toward extinction because
of
politically motivated stall tactics. The Southwest Center has
pledged
to sue the agency to make it obey the clear language of
the ESA and list the
imperiled fish and frog as soon as possible.
_________________________
RARE FUNGUS STRIKES SOUTHWESTERN FROGS
As
reported in SW Biodiversity Alert #138, a newly discovered
chytrid skin
fungus has been linked to amphibian declines in
Australia, Panama, and
southern California. The same fungus has
now been linked to the death of
three lowland leopard frogs and
two Chiricahua leopard frogs in southeast
Arizona. Scientists are
not sure whether the fungus, which was not previously
known to
harm vertebrates, is wholely responsible for killing the frogs,
or
whether it works in concert with factors such as habitat loss,
heavy
metal poisoning, and UV exposure.
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PIMA COUNTY ALLOCATES $300,000 FOR SONORAN
DESERT PROTECTION PLAN
On 7-14-98, the Pima County Board of Supervisors
affirmed its
decision to allocate $300,000 for the initial phase of the
Sonoran
Desert Protection Plan which will include habitat
identification
and mapping. The Sonoran Desert Protection Plan was
developed
by an alliance of Tucson environmentalists to protect large
swaths
of the Sonoran within the Tucson Basin from urban sprawl. It
will
help recover the endangered Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl and
other
imperiled species without trading off habitat "protection"
with the take a
endangered species- a cynical process favored by
developers and the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service.
____________________________
SW FOREST ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES FALL ACTIVIST
GATHERING
The Southwest Forest Alliance would like to invite you to
attend
its fall conference on forest protection, September 11-13 in
the
White Mountains in eastern Arizona.
During the conference we will
hear from environmental activists
and biologists about the critical forest
issues facing the region.
Ample time will be available to exchange views and
develop
strategies on issues such as old-growth forest protection;
regional
roadless area protection and wilderness legislation;
wildlands
initiatives, grazing reform, endangered species protection,
forest
restoration; reformation of the Forest Service; as well as
other
regional and national issues.
In addition to being highly
informative and practical, the intent
of this gathering is to bring together
as many regional
environmentalists as possible so that we can jointly develop
the
means by which to best protect our endangered ecosystems.
The
conference is free for individuals representing SWFA
members groups. The cost
for non-members is $64. Some scholarships
are available. This includes
food and lodging from Friday night to
Sunday afternoon at the Thunderhorse
Ranch located between Lakeside
and Pinetop, Arizona. Vegetarian or other
special dietary needs will
be happily met.
To reserve a spot please
contact: Wendy Young at the SWFA
Flagstaff office, PO Box 1948, Flagstaff, AZ
86002, (520) 774-6514;
or Anne Carl or Dave Hodges at the SWFA Tucson office,
PO Box 1891,
Tucson, AZ 85719, (520)
322-9819.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kieran
Suckling
ksuckling@sw-center.org
Executive
Director
520.623.5252 phone
Southwest Center for Biological
Diversity 520.623.9797 fax
http://www.sw-center.org
pob 710, tucson, az 85702-710