Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #155

      ____________________________________________________
      \       SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT #155          /
       \                    10-9-98                     /
        \                                              /
         \ SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  /
          \        http://www.sw-center.org          /
           \________________________________________/

1. SUIT FILED TO EVICT LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY FROM 50,000 ACRES OF
   SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PARKS

2. LAWSUIT PROMPTS LISTING OF FIVE DESERT PLANTS UNDER ENDANGERED
   SPECIES ACT

3. JOIN US FOR CAMPOUT, WILDLIFE HIKE, MUSIC AND GARBAGE CLEANUP
   ON THE SAN PEDRO RIVER, OCTOBER 17-18.

4. ECO-PLAY BENEFITS FIGHT AGAINST 10 LANE HIGHWAY

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

SUIT FILED TO EVICT LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY FROM 50,000 ACRES OF
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PARKS
The Southwest Center and the Alameda Creek Alliance filed suit
against the East Bay Regional Park District on 10-3-98, challenging
the agency's decision to allow cattle grazing on 50,000 acres
covering 10 parks and open space preserves. The Park District
has leased the supposedly "protected" public lands to 11 livestock
corporations without reviewing the environmental impacts as
required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

Livestock grazing in urban watersheds is especially pernicious as
cattle can contaminate driking water with giardia and
cryptosporidium. The suit is being argued by Brendan Cummings of
Oakland, CA.
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LAWSUIT PROMPTS LISTING OF FIVE DESERT PLANTS UNDER
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
In response to a lawsuit by the Southwest Center and the California
Native Plant Society, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed five
desert plants under the Endangered Species Act on 10-6-98. The Lane
Mountain milk-vetch (Astragalus jaegerianus), Coachella Valley milk-
vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae), and triple-ribbed
milk-vetch (Astragalus tricarinatus) were declared endangered. The Fish
Slough milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. piscinensis) and the
Peirson's milk-vetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii) were
declared threatened.

The imperiled plants are endemic to specific areas within the Sonoran,
Mojave, and Great Basin Deserts. They are threatened by mining, urban
sprawl, off road vehicles, wetland draining, military training, and
livestock grazing.
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JOIN US FOR A CAMPOUT, WILDLIFE HIKE, MUSIC AND GARBAGE CLEANUP ON
THE SAN PEDRO RIVER, OCTOBER 17-18.
In May, Southwest Center volunteers spent a weekend cleaning up a
portion of the San Pedro River. We found truckloads of trash - more
than we could possibly carry! Please join us October 17th & 18th to
finish the job, by helping to remove some of the larger items we
missed and trash that has accumulated since our last visit.

Saturday night there will be a campfire, music, and a delicious
cookout by the riverside. Sunday morning there will be a guided
biodiversity hike. Carpooling is available from Phoenix and Tucson.
Please call the Southwest Center at 520.623.5252 x.303 or email
tortuga@sw-center.org for more details.
     ______________________________

ECO-PLAY BENEFITS FIGHT AGAINST 10 LANE HIGHWAY
Playwright Max Branscomb and a cast of 60 performed the "The Return
of the Proctor Valley Monster," on September 23-26 and October 2-3
to benefit a lawsuit to stop the proposed 10 lane State Route 125
tollway through wildlife habitat in San Diego County. The
production was taped and broadcast on KPBS and a number of San Diego
County cable stations.

The play has two endings.  In the first, the highway is built and
nefarious foreign investors make a fortune at the expense of the
local ecology and quality of life.  In the second, the audience is
urged to oppose the 10 lane albatros as citizens confront the
villains.  One young girl yells, "don't worry, we've got the Southwest
Center for Biological Diversity on our side!!" Another gives an
entertaining and educational monologue about the importance of vernal
pools. 

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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