Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #147

      ____________________________________________________
      \       SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT #147          /
       \                    8-16-98                     /
        \                                              /
         \ SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  /
          \__________________________________________/
         
1. LAWSUIT CALLS FOR NEW GILA TROUT RECOVERY PLAN

2. FIVE CALIFORNIA PLANTS GET E.S.A. PROTECTION

3. NATIVE AMERICANS HOLD SACRED RUN ON MT. GRAHAM, REFUSE
   UNIVERSITY DEMAND TO GET PERMITS TO PRAY ON SACRED MOUNTAIN

4. COUNTIES WITHDRAW LAWSUIT TO KICK MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL
   OFF ENDANGERED SPECIES SPECIES LIST

5. WASHINGTON TIMES COVERS DON YOUNG'S ENVIRONMENTAL WITCH HUNT

     *****     *****     *****     *****

LAWSUIT CALLS FOR NEW GILA TROUT RECOVERY PLAN
The Southwest Center has filed suit against the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service in an effort to breath new life into a moribund
recovery program for the Gila trout. The goal of the current
recovery plan is only to down list the trout to threatened, not
to completely recover and delist it as required by the Endangered
Species Act. The suit would require the agency to rewrite the
plan, changing its goals to completely recover the Gila trout.

The Gila trout was listed as an endangered species in 1967, prior
to the passage of the modern Endangered Species Act. Thirty years
later the species teeters on the brink of extinction. Of five relict
natural populations which existed at the time of listing, only three
remain. The Gila National Forest has stonewalled efforts to
establish new populations and protect the Gila trout from the
effects of grazing and non-native trout stocking.

The Southwest Center is represented in this case by Matt Kenna
of Kenna & Hickcox.
     ________________________

FIVE CALIFORNIA PLANTS GET E.S.A. PROTECTION
In response to a court order requiring the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service to make final listing decisions on 44 imperiled species,
the agency listed four plants as endangered and one as threatened
on 8-12-98:  Astragalus tener var. titi (coastal dunes milk-vetch),
Piperia yadonii (Yadon's piperia), Potentilla hickmanii (Hickman's
potentilla) and Trifolium trichocalyx (Monterey clover) were listed
as endangered, Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana (Gowen cypress)
was listed as threatened.

The five plants primarily occur along the coast of northern Monterey
County including the Monterey Peninsula. The historical range of 
several stretched into southern California. They are threatened by
suburban sprawl, fire suppression, exotic species, and inappropriate
recreation development.

The Southwest Center is represented by Jay Tuchton of EarthLaw.
     __________________________

NATIVE AMERICANS HOLD SACRED RUN ON MT. GRAHAM, REFUSE
UNIVERSITY DEMAND TO GET PERMITS TO PRAY ON SACRED MOUNTAIN
On 8-15-98, members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other
Native Americans held a sacred run up Mount Graham in southeast
Arizona. The top of the mountain has been closed to the public,
including the Apache people, because the University of Arizona
and the Vatican have established massive, controversial
telescope sites there.

The runners refused to get Forest Service permits for the run
because Mount Graham is sacred to the San Carlos Apache. The
University of Arizona not only attempted to make the runners
get permits, they tried to convince the Forest Service to
transfer control of the permitting process to the university
which has fought against both protection of endangered species
and religious freedom on Mt. Graham. The Forest Service has
not agreed to the request.
     _____________________________

COUNTIES WITHDRAW LAWSUIT TO KICK MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL
OFF ENDANGERED SPECIES SPECIES LIST
On 8-11-98, the Arizona/New Mexico Coalition of Counties dropped
their appeal of a federal judge's ruling that the listing of the
Mexican spotted owl was fully justified. The Mexican spotted owl
was listed as threatened in 1993 in response to a 1989 petition by
the Southwest Center. Dr. Robin Silver intervened in the case
on behalf of the owl.
     ___________________________

WASHINGTON TIMES COVERS DON YOUNG'S ENVIRONMENTAL WITCH HUNT
Forest Service workers irked by Young's inquiry
By Valerie Richardson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES 8-14-98

     The chairman of the House Resources Committee has been accused of
conducting a "witch hunt" after asking the U.S. Forest Service's
southwestern office to disclose whether its employees are active in the
environmental movement.
     In a July 28 letter, Rep. Don Young, Alaska Republican, asked
whether the office's workers are members of or contribute money to
environmental groups that were involved in a recent deal with the Forest
Service to restrict grazing near bodies of water in Arizona and New
Mexico.
     The letter came after a July 15 committee hearing at which ranchers
complained they were excluded from negotiations over the restrictions,
which have made it more difficult for their herds to reach water.
     "It [Mr. Young's letter] is absolutely appropriate," said Erik
Ness, communications director for the New Mexico Farm and Livestock
Bureau. "If they've got this raging conflict of interest, they should
recuse themselves. Judges and congressmen do it all the time -- why
shouldn't they?"
     But environmentalists have likened Mr. Young's letter to
McCarthyism and warned that his inquiry threatens the employees' First
Amendment right to freedom of association.
     "What's next? Library records? Video-store rentals? Church
membership? We don't need any more big brotherism in this country," said
William H. Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society. "It will be a
sad day when we have to start telling our bosses which groups we belong
to."
     Eleanor Towns, forester for the Forest Service's southwestern
region, is drafting a response to Mr. Young's letter, but a list of
employee memberships is unlikely to be included, said a colleague.
     "We're not aware of our employees' political affiliations -- that
isn't something we would collect," said regional spokeswoman Carolyn
Bye. "And we're concerned about their First Amendment rights. He asked
us if we're aware, and our response will be that we're not aware."
     Mr. Young's inquiry was one of 19 questions addressed to Mrs. Towns
stemming from agreements reached last spring after environmentalists
sued to force the Forest Service to comply with the Endangered Species
Act.
     The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity and Forest Guardians
argued that the agency had failed to consult with the Fish and Wildlife
Service over grazing's impact on a half-dozen endangered fish and bird
species. Most of the species are located in the vast Gila National
Forest in New Mexico and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in
Arizona.
     Rather than go to court, the Forest Service struck a deal in April
with the environmental organizations that called for fencing off the
most vulnerable riparian areas.
     Ranchers tried to stop the deal in court with a temporary
restraining order, but their motion was denied a week later. They
accused the agency of leaking documents to the environmentalists and
excluding ranchers from talks over the agreement.
     Dave Stewart, the Forest Service's acting regional director for
rangeland management, said the documents were available to
environmentalists under the Freedom of Information Act. As for excluding
the ranchers who held the grazing permits, it wasn't necessary to
include them because they weren't directly involved in the lawsuit, he
said.
     Mr. Stewart said he doubted the restrictions had caused much
hardship because many of the areas were already fenced or had no cattle.
The grazing restrictions affected eight of the region's 11 national
forests and about 80 ranches, he said.
     Angry ranchers held two rallies last month in New Mexico to protest
the restrictions.
     "We don't think it's appropriate for the Forest Service to be doing
backroom deals that put people out of business without talking to the
people vested in the case," said Mr. Ness.
     Mr. Stewart said he hoped to ease some of the ranchers' fears at a
meeting with the Farm Bureau next week. As for charges that the Forest
Service is too closely allied with environmentalists, he said "it's
possible" that some employees are Sierra Club members.
     "I personally do not know of anyone who belongs to these groups,
but we're a large organization, so I can't say we don't," said Mr.
Stewart. "But it certainly isn't a conscious decision or an
institutional decision."



_____________________________________________________________________________

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