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SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
http://www.sw-center.org
#170
2-7-98
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o
SUIT PROMPTS LISTING OF MINNOW AS THREATENED SPECIES
2nd suit planned
to protect habitat
o FOUR NATIONAL FORESTS BAN OFF ROAD VEHICLES,
WATER
DIVERSIONS, GOLD PANNING TO PROTECT IMPERILED WILDLIFE
o
OIL AND GAS SALE THREATENS COOK INLET WHALES AND WILDLIFE
o GRAZING
DECISION HIDES IMPACTS TO SPECIES AND WATERSHEDS
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***** *****
SUIT PROMPTS LISTING OF MINNOW AS
THREATENED SPECIES
On 2-1-99, as ordered by a federal judge, the U.S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing the Sacramento
Splittail
as a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act. The order and
ruling were prompted by a
6-1-98 lawsuit by the Southwest Center and the
Sierra
Club.
Historically found in large segments of the
Sacramento,
San Joaquin, Feather and American Rivers, the splittail
has
been extirpated from the vast majority of its range.
Today it is largely
restricted to the San Francisco Bay
Delta, Suisun Bay, Suisun Marsh and Napa
Marsh.
Though the primary threat to the splittail is habitat loss,
the
Fish & Wildlife Service refused to designated
officially protected
"critical habitat." The Southwest
Center, therefore, has formally notified
the Service
that it will file a 2nd suit to ensure habitat
protection.
The Southwest Center was represented by Neil Levine
and
Jay Tutchton of EarthLaw.
______________________________
FOUR NATIONAL FORESTS BAN OFF ROAD
VEHICLES, WATER
DIVERSIONS, GOLD PANNING TO PROTECT IMPERILED WILDLIFE
In
response to a 6-18-98 lawsuit by the Southwest Center,
four southern
California National Forests have begun
instituting long delayed management
reforms to protect
declining species and habitats. On 1-25-98, the
Angeles
National Forest closed off nearly five square miles of
forest,
including a campground and about 17 miles of
off-road vehicle trails upstream
from Littlerock Reservoir
to help ensure the survival of the arroyo toad. The
3,000
acres will remain closed until 2003 while biologists
examine the
area for the precise locations of toad
populations and other endangered
species.
The Los Padres National Forest shut down several access
sites
to the Sespe Wilderness near Ojai, and gold panning
in Piru Creek to protect
the arroyo toad and the steelhead
trout. On 1-11-99, the San Bernadino
National Forest
ordered a halt to water diversions from Fish
Hatchery
Spring to protect the Unarmored three-spined stickleback
(a
minnow). The spring is the main water source to Shay
Pond which
supports the only remaining stickleback
population in existence.
The
Center is represented by Jay Tutchton of EarthLaw
(Denver) and Brendan
Cummings (Berkeley)
____________________________
OIL AND GAS SALE THREATENS COOK INLET WHALES
AND WILDLIFE
Further endangering the already declining Cooke Inlet
beluga
whale, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has approved
the
sale of oil and gas reserves on 4.2 million acres of public
and private lands
and waters in the Cook Inlet Basin in Alaska.
Though the sale bans most
surface development within a half-
mile of major rivers, and within 500 feet
of fish-bearing rivers
and lakes, it will increase water pollution threats
within the
Inlet.
______________________________
GRAZING DECISION HIDES IMPACTS TO SPECIES
AND WATERSHEDS
On 2-3-98, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife released a
biological
opinion on the impacts of cattle grazing on 962
grazing
allotments on National Forests throughout Arizona and New
Mexico.
The opinion, which was spurred by lawsuits by the
Southwest Center and Forest
Guardians, declares that recent
changes to grazing management on 940
allotments will ensure
threatened and endangered species will not be harmed
in the
next three years. Twenty-two allotments were determined to
harm
endangered fish, birds, and plants. One allotment on
the Gila National Forest
was judged to be likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of the loach
minnow and spikedace.
Because the scientific data overwhelmingly
demonstrates that
many species will decline as 10 year grazing leases allow
the
Southwest's watersheds to unravel, the Forest Service insisted
the
Fish & Wildlife Service only consider the effects of
grazing during an
arbitrary three year period. The Southwest
Center and Forest Guardians intend
to re-activate their
current lawsuits to force a full analysis of the
long-term
effects of
overgrazing.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kierán
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