Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #186

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SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
                            http//www.sw-center.org
   5-25-99                                                              
#186                                                          
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§ SUIT TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR 12 SPECIES
§ WILD GILA TROUT KILLED AT FISH HATCHERY
§ CALLS NEEDED: McCAIN BILL WOULD PUT TANKS
   IN WILDLIFE REFUGE/WILDERNESS
§ YELLOWSTONE WOLVES PROVIDE FOOD FOR
    BIRDS AND MAMMALS

SUIT TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR 12 SPECIES
On 4-8-99, the Center for Biological Diversity officially notified
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that it will file suit to force the
agency to designate "critical habitat" for 12 endangered species.
The Endangered Species Act requires that (with a few
exceptions) every federally listed species be granted specific
critical habitat areas which are protected from destruction and
degradation. The agency never designates such protected areas
except under court order, however, because of intense political
pressure to allow continued logging, development, mining,
grazing, and water diversions regardless of the effect on
threatened and endangered species.

The twelve species are:

San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike (California)
San Clemente Sage Sparrow (California)
El Segundo Blue Butterfly (California)
Island Night Lizard (California)
Monterey Spineflower (California)
Robust Spineflower (California)
Bay Checkerspot Butterfly (California)
Lost River Sucker (California, Oregon)
Shortnose Sucker (California, Oregon)
White Sturgeon, Kootenai River population (Idaho, Montana)
Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle (Michigan)
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly (Illinois, Wisconsin)
     _________________________

WILD GILA TROUT KILLED AT FISH HATCHERY
Two hundred Gila trout collected from the wild and transported
to a federal fish hatchery as part of state/federal recovery
effort died when the tank they were placed dried out because
of a leak. The endangered trout were taken from Spruce Creek
in the Gila National Forest and were to be introduced into Dude
Creek on the Tonto National Forest. The 20 surviving fish
spawned about 1,800 eggs, which may or may not survive to
fingerling stage this fall. 

This is reportedly the fourth time the Mescalero Fish Hatchery
has "lost" Gila trout. Despite the ongoing failures of the recovery
program, the Fish & Wildlife Service continues to seek to
downlist the imperiled Gila trout from "endangered" to
"threatened,"  which would allow for the further relaxation of
efforts to protect the species.

The Southwest Center is suing the Fish & Wildlife Service to
make it improve the Gila Trout Recovery Plan. The Center's
petition to designated several million acres of critical habitat
for the imperiled fish was denied in 1995.
     _________________________
  
CALLS NEEDED: McCAIN BILL WOULD PUT TANKS
IN WILDLIFE REFUGE/WILDERNESS
The Defense Appropriations Bill containing Senator John
McCain's rider to hand over 3 million acres of federal land to
the military on a permanent basis now includes an even worse
element. A new McCain rider would permit ground maneuvers,
including tanks and bulldozers, in the largest National Wildlife
Refuge system wilderness area in the lower 48.

Even though Congress designated 90% of Cabeza Prieta
National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness in 1990, S. 1059 would
permit an escalation of military ground activities there.  Tanks
and jeep convoys would do irreparable damage to the largest
intact desert ecosystem in North America.

Call Senators John McCain and John Chafee. Tell them
wildlife refuges are for wildlife, not tanks:

Sen. John McCain   Phone: 202-224-2235  fax 202-228-2862
Sen. John Chafee    Phone: 202-224-2921
     _________________________

YELLOWSTONE WOLVES PROVIDE FOOD FOR BIRDS
AND MAMMALS
According to a 5-16 Bozeman Chronicle article, recently
introduced wolves are proving critical to the proliferation of
other carnivorous mammals and birds in Yellowstone National
Park. When wolves retire after feeding on their kills, coyotes,
foxes, ravens, magpies, bears, and bald and golden eagles move
in for the abundant leftovers. The amount of meat available to
such species has quadrupled since wolves were reintroduced
to the ecosystem. Grizzly bears in particular are benefiting. 
For years a rare sight in fall in the Lamar Valley, the great
bears have become common since the wolves were released
there in 1995.  Eagles are also winning out: before the wolf
reintroduction researchers counted an average of one eagle
on every four carcasses, and now they count five. 

In the past, the biggest source of food for carnivores in
Yellowstone came in the spring, with the thawing carcasses of
winter-killed elk. But thanks to the wolves, there's now a year-
long supply of red meat. Says John Varley, head of the Center
for Resources, the park's research arm, "My prediction is it's
going to be startling, how many species and how many animals
these wolves are supporting."

The Southwest Center is pushing to immediately reintroduce
wolves into New Mexico's Gila Wilderness, and to eventually
reintroduce grizzly bears as well. This research bode well for
the coexistence and cooperation between the two species.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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