************* CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
*************
http://www.sw-center.org
ALERT #202 9-9-99
§ TWO MORE MEXICAN GRAY WOLF PUPS FOUND DEAD
§
NOTICE TO SUE ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE SAN PEDRO RIVER
§ INTERNATIONAL
COALITION ACTS TO SAVE THE SAN PEDRO RIVER
§ ESA'S CRITICAL HABITAT UNDER
FIRE FROM ARIZONA GAME AND
FISH
DEPARTMENT
_____________________
TWO MORE MEXICAN GRAY WOLF PUPS FOUND
DEAD
Two captive Mexican wolf pups were found dead at the U.S.
Fish
and Wildlife Service's wolf holding facility on the
Sevilleta National
Wildlife Refuge on the morning of
September 7. The pups showed no external
evidence of injury
or other cause of death.
On August 30, two
wild-born pups from the captured Pipestem
pack were found dead at the
Sevilleta facility and are
believed to have died from canine parvovirus
(CPV), an
infectious disease that affects both domestic and wild
canines
and is often fatal in young animals.
A total of five Mexican wolf pups
have died since August 24;
the three other pups were members of the Pipestem
pack,
which is being removed from the wild because of
livestock
depredations.
_____________________
NOTICE TO SUE ISSUED
ON BEHALF OF THE SAN PEDRO RIVER
The Center for Biological Diversity
issued a Notice of
Intent to Sue the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the
US
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the State of Arizona,
Arizona
Department of Water Resources (ADWR), the Cochise
County Board of
Supervisors, and the cities of Sierra Vista,
Huachuca City, and Benson for
violations of the Endangered
Species Act. These violations involve
failure to control
the groundwater pumping that is destroying the San
Pedro
River and with it the endangered Huachuca Water Umbel and
the
endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and their
critical San Pedro River
habitat.
The San Pedro River, which begins in Mexico and flows
north
through southern Arizona, is acknowledged to be one of the
last
great surviving ecosystems on Earth. Groundwater
pumping in the area
intercepts water that ordinarily
provides the River's base flows. Low flows
in the San Pedro
River have decreased 67% in the last fifty years.
The
State of Arizona and ADWR directly control groundwater
pumping. The State of
Arizona, the Cochise County Board of
Supervisors, and the cities of Sierra
Vista, Huachuca City,
and Benson control increasing local groundwater
dependent
development. To date, these entities have refused to remedy
the
excessive groundwater pumping that is destroying the San
Pedro River. Nor has
FWS produced the Recovery Plans
required for the Southwestern Willow
Flycatcher and the
Huachuca Water Umbel. Despite great fanfare, local,
State
and Federal efforts have produced no significant curtailment
of
groundwater pumping.
_____________________
INTERNATIONAL COALITION
ACTS TO SAVE THE SAN PEDRO RIVER
A diverse group of organizations from
Mexico and the U.S.
are joining forces to save the San Pedro River, the
last
free-flowing, undammed river in the Southwestern U.S. The
river is
one of the last relatively intact ecosystems on
earth. It supports the second
highest number of mammal
species in the world, second only to the montane
forests of
Costa Rica, as well as millions of fish, reptiles
and
neotropical birds.
But the river is dying. Excessive groundwater
pumping has
resulted in a 67 percent decrease in the river's flow in
the
last 50 years. There are already sections of the river that
are
completely dry in the summer.
The San Pedro Alliance is an international
coalition of
organizations seeking permanent protection for the River.
The
Alliance currently represents nearly 1 million people.
The San Pedro Alliance
is pursuing an eight-step plan for
saving the river. The plan includes
retirement of
surrounding agricultural lands, reduction of grazing
and
mining in the basin, limits on groundwater-dependent growth
and a
long-overdue revision of antiquated water law.
Please urge your
organization to join the San Pedro
Alliance. The more organizations the
Alliance represents,
and the more diverse types of organizations it includes,
the
more likely we are to be heard by the individuals and
agencies who
have the power to reverse the situations which
are causing the river to go
dry.
To join the San Pedro Alliance all you have to do is say
"yes".
We will add to you to the growing group of
organizations that support the
mission of the San Pedro
Alliance and keep you updated about our
progress. To join,
or if you'd like more information or a copy of the
eight-
step plan to save the river, please contact Lisa Force
at
lforce@sw-center.org or at
602-246-6498.
_____________________
ESA'S CRITICAL HABITAT UNDER FIRE
FROM ARIZONA GAME AND FISH
DEPARTMENT
On Friday, September 10 1999 the
AZ Game and Fish Department
will introduce a resolution to
it's
Commissioner's Meeting "to ensure that critical habitat
designation does not
adversely
impact multiple use of public and private lands,
without
benefits to the species."
It is a dangerous precedent for our
AZ wildlife agency to
place 'multiple uses' before the
needs of wildlife.
Furthermore, the resolution claims that
critical habitat designation often
has no benefit for the
species targeted, though it provides no evidence to
support
this. In fact, critical habitat designation is one of the
most
important functions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
and has helped
protect such species as the Southwestern
willow flycatcher and the cactus
ferruginous pygmy owl.
The resolution will also ask Congress to increase
funding to
the Department's Nongame Endangered Species Program. Money
for
recovery of endangered species should indeed be
increased, along with money
for prevention of endangerment
by broad habitat conservation. However, the
language of this
resolution is so hostile to both the intent and the means
of
the ESA, it threatens to fund AZ GFD to become an enemy of
Arizona's
endangered wildlife.
This item will be first on the agenda after a
closed
executive session, and will be discussed from about 9 am to
9:30 am
on Friday morning. If you can attend, fill out a
blue sheet before 9 am so
you may testify. If you are not
able to attend, fax, email, or call the
Commissioners on
Thursday. Let them know that, although increased funding
for
recovery and preservation is a good idea, asking for money
while
calling for virtual dismantling of the ESA is not acceptable.
Later on
Friday afternoon, the meeting will consider
restricting or banning hunting
contests. A full meeting
schedule is available on the web at
http://www.gf.state.az.us (click on
"Director's Office" and
then "Commission Meeting Agenda for August 6-7,
1999").
Meeting location: Little America Hotel, 2515 Butler
Avenue,
Flagstaff AZ.
AZ Game and Fish Commisioners:
phone:
602-942-3000
___________________________________________________________
Shane
Jimerfield
Assistant Director
Center for Biological Diversity
Tel:
520.623.5252, ext
302
Fax: 520.623.9797
PO Box 710, Tucson AZ
85702-0710 http://www.sw-center.org