Subject: FW: BIODIVERSITY ALERT #192

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            CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
                            http//www.sw-center.org
   7-1-99                                                             #192
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§ 731,000 ACRES OF CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATED FOR
    ENDANGERED PYGMY OWL

§ GOVERNOR SENT INTO PYGMY RAGE OVER INABILITY TO
   "USE UP" STATE'S RESOURCES

§ UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER DESIGNATED AS CRITICAL
   HABITAT FOR RARE ARIZONA PLANT

§ SPIELBERG GIVES UP BALLONA WETLANDS FIGHT

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731,000 ACRES OF CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATED FOR
ENDANGERED PYGMY OWL
In response to a federal court order, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
designated 731,712 acres (1% of the state of Arizona) as officially
protected "critical habitat" for the endangered Cactus ferruginous
pygmy owl on 6-30-99. The Center petitioned to list the pygmy owl as
endangered in 1991, following up with five successful lawsuits to get the
species onto the endangered list and its habitat protected.

The habitat designation includes a large stretch of the middle Gila and
lower San Pedro Rivers, and the heart of the urban sprawl zone in
west and northwest Tucson. It also includes large area adjacent to
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. The federal government is
not allowed to permit, authorize, or fund any action with "adversely
modifies" critical habitat. This includes issuing grazing permits to the
livestock industry, Clean Water Act permits to developers, and
allocating highway construction funds.

The second smallest owl in North America, and one of the few diurnal
species, the Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl is a tiny but voracious
predator. In Sonoran uplands, it nests in saguaro cacti. It was formerly
common throughout southern Arizona and as far north as the New
River. There are only 40 known pairs of pygmy owls left in the state.
Its preferred habitat, riparian forests and lush, densely vegetated
Sonoran desert uplands, have been decimated by dams, overgrazing,
urban sprawl, and water diversions.
       ___________________

AZ GOVERNOR SENT INTO PYGMY FIT OVER INABILITY
TO "USE UP" STATE'S RESOURCES
On 6-30-99, Arizona's Governor Jane Hull took to the airways in a
bizarrely confused rant against the tiny Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl.
In her bimonthly radio program she repeatedly attacked the U.S. Forest
Service for designating critical habitat for the endangered bird, even
though the agency had nothing to do with the designation. She asserted
that "pygmy owls actually belong in northern Mexico," which would be
news to the owls which have lived in southern Arizona for many
thousands of years. Finally she complained that habitat protection
might cause habitat to be protected- a disaster for state trust lands.
"Obviously," she said, "state land is one of big resources that we want
to use up."
     ___________________

UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER DESIGNATED AS CRITICAL
HABITAT FOR RARE ARIZONA PLANT
In response to a federal court order, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
designated almost 52 miles of river as critical habitat for the
endangered Huachuca water umbel on 6-30-99. The designation
includes a long segment of the upper San Pedro River as well as
portions of the Santa Cruz River, Sonoita Creek, and tributaries to
the San Pedro. The federal government is not allowed to permit,
authorize, or fund any action with "adversely modifies" critical habitat.
The designation will bolster the Center's campaign to save the San
Pedro River from being sucked dry by urban sprawl and the U.S.
Army's Fort Huachuca.

The Center petitioned to list three wetland species (the umbel, the
Canelo Hills ladies' tresses, and the Sonoran tiger salamander) as
endangered in 1993 because of massive losses in wetlands and
functioning river systems in southern Arizona. Following two
successful lawsuits, the all three were listed in 1997. An additional
suit was necessary, however, to make the Service designate critical
habitat for the umbel.
     __________________

SPIELBERG GIVES UP BALLONA WETLANDS FIGHT
On 7-1-99, movie mogul Steven Spielberg announced he is pulling
his movie studio out of an embattled development planned in the
heart of  Los Angeles's last remaining wetland. DreamWorks will
no longer be part of the massive Playa Vista development slated to
destroy most of Ballona Wetlands. Environmentalists staged dozens
of protests and five lawsuits against the development over the last
four years. In May, Wetlands Action Network, the Center, and
CALPIRG filed suit accusing Spielberg of unfair, unlawful and
deceptive business practices. In 1998, a federal judge rescinded
federal permits for the project.

In addition to Great blue herons, numerous endangered species have
been observed at Ballona, including the California brown pelican,
California least tern, Belding savanna sparrow and the Southwestern
willow flycatcher- species that, surrounded by urban sprawl, have no
other place to go. Wetlands Action Network, CALPIRG, and the
Sierra Club deserve special credit for leading a relentless, creative
campaign.

_________________________________________________________________

Kierán Suckling                               ksuckling@sw-center.org
Executive Director                          520.623.5252 phone
SW Center for Biological Diversity   520.623.9797 fax
http://www.sw-center.org                 pob 710, tucson, az 85702-0710