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SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
http://www.sw-center.org
#171
2-11-98
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o
PETITION FILED TO LIST RARE CALIFORNIA BUTTERLY AS ENDANGERED
o BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY DECLINES IN NEW MEXICO
o REVAMP OR RIP OUT GLEN CANYON DAM?
o
LETTERS NEEDED TO STOP ANOTHER BAD LAND TRADE
***** ****** ******
******
PETITION FILED TO LIST RARE CALIFORNIA BUTTERLY AS
ENDANGERED
The Urban Wildlands Group, the Lepidoptera Research Foundation,
the
Southwest Center, the California Oak Foundation and a group
of
scientists and graduate students from the UCLA Department of
Geography
filed an emergency petition on 1-2-98 to list the Santa
Monica
hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium auretorum fumosum) as an
endangered
species. The hairstreak is endemic to the northern slopes and
plateau
of the western section of the Santa Monica Mountains. In a
larval
state, it feeds on Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia).
Planned
developments threaten to destroy substantial portions of
the
hairstreak's oak habitat in the next few years.
BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY DECLINES IN NEW MEXICO
Twenty-three vertebrate species and
subspecies have been extirpated
from New Mexico. Five are now extinct. Every
New Mexico county has
suffered vertebrate losses, ranging from 4 to 17
species. The tally
of invertebrate losses is not as well known, but is likely
even
greater due to higher rates of endemism.
Extirpated and Extinct (**) New Mexico Species
------------------------------------------------------
Shovelnose
Sturgeon
Spotted Gar
Colorado River
Cutthroat Trout American Eel
Bonytail
Chub
Beautiful Shiner
** Rio Grande Bluntnose
Shiner Palomas Pupfish
** Phantom
Shiner
Freshwater Drum
** New Mexico Sharp-tailed Grouse Sage
Grouse
** Merriam's
Elk
Grizzly Bear
** Hot Springs Cotton
Rat Mink
Bison
Jaguar
Gray
Wolf
Black-footed Ferret
Southwestern River
Otter Lowland
Leopard Frog
Western Boreal Toad
REVAMP OR RIP OUT GLEN CANYON
DAM?
Very cold, clear water released from the depths of Lake Powell
is
driving the endangered Humpback chub to extinction. The Chub
requires
seasonal flooding of naturally warm, silty Colorado River
water to
successfully spawn and hide from predators. The now aged
Grand Canyon
population essentially stopped reproducing after the
Dam was built in the
1960s. To rectify part of the problem, the
Bureau of Reclamation is proposing
to build a $12 million chute
to transport warm surface water down to the
outlet which now only
releases cold subsurface water.
For more
information and to comment, see <http://www.uc.usbr.gov>
Tell the Bureau
that cold waters are only part of the problem.
It is time to begin planning
the removal of Glen Canyon Dam to
restore the river within Grand Canyon
National Park.
LETTERS NEEDED TO STOP ANOTHER BAD LAND TRADE
A plea
for help from friends in the North Woods. The Ottawa
National Forest is
negotiating a deal with a logging/development
company to trade 520 acres of
public land (value: $750,000) for
480 acres of private land (value:
$395,000). The public land to
be traded lies partially within the Brule River
Ecological
Corridor near the Wisconsin/Michigan border. It supports many
rare
species including the lynx. The private land, by contrast, is
largely
cut-over Commercial Forest Reserve Land.
Write to the
Forest Supervisor. Tell her not to trade forests for
stumps, and not to
endanger the lynx.
Phyllis Green, Supervisor, Ottawa National
Forest
U.S. Highway 2, Ironwood, MI
49938
_____________________________________________________________________________
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