=========== CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
http://www.sw-center.org
ALERT
#195 7-27-99 ===========================
§ GOV. JOINS
SUIT TO PROTECT SALAMANDERS, FROGS,
PLANTS AND BUTTERFLY FROM
MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT
§ GROUPS OPPOSE DELISTING OF
ENDANGERED
COLUMBIAN WHITE-TAILED DEER IN OREGON
§ MEDIA:
MORE $$ NEEDED TO STUDY OWL DECLINES
§ POLL: VAST MAJORITY SUPPORT
ENDANGERED
SPECIES ACT
GOV. JOINS SUIT TO PROTECT
SALAMANDERS, FROGS,
PLANTS AND BUTTERFLIES FROM MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT
On
7-21-99, the Center for Biological Diversity and the
Guadalupe-Coyote
Resource Conservation District, a political subdivision of
the state of
California, filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to halt a
575 acre development in San Jose and Santa Clara counties. The
developer,
Presley Homes Inc., plans build 528 homes and an 18 hole golf
course
(Ranch at Silver Creek/Cerro Plata Residential Development) in
one
the few remaining habitats for the California red-legged frog,
Bay
checkerspot butterfly, California tiger salamander, Metcalf
Canyon
jewelflower, and the Santa Clara Valley dudleya.
The Army Corps
of Engineers exempted the project from
environmental review under a
"nation-wide"permit, even though
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
demanded the project go through
a full review, including clearance for
endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act.
A preliminary
injunction motion is pending. Plaintiffs are
represented by San Francisco
attorney Mark Wolfe.
_________________
GROUPS
OPPOSE DELISTING OF ENDANGERED
COLUMBIAN WHITE-TAILED DEER IN OREGON
On
7-13-99, the Center for Biological Diversity and Umqua
Watersheds Inc. filed
comments with the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service opposing a plan to delist
the Columbian
white-tailed deer from the Endangered Species Act.
The
agency claims it has met official recovery plan objectives
calling for
a population of 500 deer on 5,000 acres of habitat
dedicated to its
protection. A close inspection of the data,
however, revealed that while over
500 deer do exist, the
land they occupy is far from protected. One
supposedly
"secure" tract was just taken over by a developer, another
is
slated for logging by Douglas County, the BLM is
planning to put cattle on
the largest deer habitat area,
even though overgrazing is a major threat to
deer calves.
The BLM has admitted moreover, that it plans to
increase
logging in Douglas County once the deer is delisted.
The
Columbian white-tailed deer is one of many species
being pre-maturely
proposed for delisting by the Clinton
administration. Others include the
American bald eagle,
grizzly bear, and wolf. Always willing to
sacrifice
endangered species to politics, Clinton believes that
creating
media-driven "success" stories will help his
career and the Endangered
Species Act, even if it
means falsifying biological data.
The
Columbian white-tailed deer is endemic to coastal
and foothill floodplains of
Washington and Oregon.
Formerly ranging from Puget Sound to
southern
Oregon, the species has been reduced to just two
isolated
populations: one in a group of unstable islands
in the mouth of the Columbia
River, and another in
Douglas County, OR. The delisting proposal
only
includes the latter.
______________
MEDIA: MORE $$ NEEDED TO STUDY DECLINING
CALIFORNIA
SPOTTED OWL
The editors of the Sacramento Bee recently published an
editorial
responding to an announcement by the Center for
Biological
Diversity and the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign of
a
pending petition to list the California spotted owl as an
Endangered
Species. The editorial acknowledges that recent
studies
documented serious declines in the Sierra and calls for
more
funding of research into owl biology and conservation
needs:
Counting owls: Is the Sierra's population declining, and
why?
Sacramento Bee editorial, 7-19-99
Government scientists believe
that populations of California
spotted owls throughout the Sierra are
declining. But it is
frustratingly unclear why. That makes it all the
more difficult for
government to decide what, if anything, to do about
it, particularly
when it comes to logging. The emerging owl debate
exemplifies
the importance of funding basic research to shed light on
complex
and controversial resource issues.
Owl policies
for the entire Sierra are now based on studies in five
comparatively
small parts of this vast forest. Physically counting
every last bird
everywhere in the range is obviously impractical, so
extrapolation
techniques are used for regions within the Sierra, El
Dorado and
Lassen national forests, as well as sites within Kings
and Sequoia
national parks.
These extrapolations suggest that owl populations
in recent years
have been declining at a rate of 5 percent to 10
percent a year.
That, say many environmental groups, is dramatic proof
of the
impact of logging, proof that the owl merits listing under the
federal
Endangered Species Act....It's too much to ask of science to
find a
consensus among humans who have philosophical differences
about
appropriate uses of the forests. But science should be able to
help us
answer what is happening to the owls in the Sierra. And why.
It
behooves all sides of the forestry debate to support efforts to
come
up with these answers, and to recognize the limitations of
today's
data."
_____________
POLL:
VAST MAJORITY SUPPORT ENDANGERED
SPECIES ACT
According to an independent
scientific poll just published in the
Journal of Society and Natural
Resources (12:469-479), 84% of
Americans support maintaining or strengthening
the Endangered
Species Act. Only 16% want to weaken or repeal
protection
of endangered species and their habitats. Though Eastern
senators
and representatives are generally much more supportive of
the
E.S.A. than Western politicians, the poll shows that the
majority
western people also support the
E.S.A.
Results of
Poll
Repeal Weaker Same
Stronger
West
10% 10%
40%
41%
East
3% 11%
33%
53%
Total
5% 11%
35%
49%
---------------
----------------
Combined
16%
84%
So why do Western congress men and women generally vote
to weaken
or override the E.S.A.? Clearly not because the
people want it. Domenici
(R-NM), Kyle (R-AZ), Skeen (R-NM),
McCain (R-AZ) and others vote against
endangered species
because mining, logging, and development companies give
them
enormous amounts of money to do
so.
_____________________________________________________________
"Until
we ourselves are ready to become vegetarians and to stop
eating of meat, it
is hardly fitting for us to brand the Goshawk
'murderer' and 'blood-thirsty
wretch.'"
J.B May, The Hawks of North America, 1935
Kierán
Suckling
ksuckling@sw-center.org
Executive
Director
520.623.5252 phone
Center for Biological
Diversity 520.623.9797 fax
http://www.sw-center.org
pob 710, tucson, az 85702-0710