Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #171

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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

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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