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CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
<www.sw-center.org>
4-5-00
#232
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§
BLM REMOVES LIVESTOCK FROM OVER A QUARTER MILLION
ACRES OF
WILDERNESS, DESERT TORTOISE HABITAT
§ ENDANGERED BUTTERFLIES, 5,000
YEAR OLD NATIVE
AMERICAN SITE PROTECTED ON SAN BRUNO
MOUNTAIN
§ COALITION TO SUE FOR N. AMERICAN CUCKOO
PROTECTION
§ SUIT SEEKS END TO CALIFORNIA DRIFT
NETTING
§ JUST FOR KIDS: JOIN CONTEST TO NAME SOUTHWEST
WOLF
PUPS
BLM REMOVES LIVESTOCK FROM OVER A QUARTER
MILLION
ACRES OF WILDERNESS, DESERT TORTOISE HABITAT
In response to public
pressure and a threat to sue by the Center for
Biological Diversity, PEER,
Friends of Mojave National Park, and NRDC,
the Bureau of Land Management has
decided to permanently cancel
all livestock grazing on the Granite Mountains
Grazing Allotment. This
276,125 acre allotment is within the Bristol
Mountains Wilderness, the
newly created Mojave National Preserve and the
University of
California's Granite Mountains Natural Reserve. Given the
immense
biological importance of the area to wildlife, scientific research,
and
recreation, the BLM could not justify continuing to subsidize
it's
trampling by cattle.
____________________
ENDANGERED BUTTERFLIES, 5,000 YEAR OLD
NATIVE
AMERICAN SITE PROTECTED ON SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN
San Bruno Mountain
Watch and the Center for Biological Diversity
have settled a lawsuit against
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over
the Terra Bay Development on San
Francisco's San Bruno Mountain.
The Corps approved a Clean Water Act permit
for the development
despite its impacts to endangered species and Native
American sacred
sites. Under the terms of the settlement, a 25 acre area -
previously
slated for a 14-story office tower and a 300-room hotel - will be
set aside
to preserve a 5,000 year old Ohlone Indian shell mound and
habitat
for the endangered Callipe silverspot and Mission blue
butterflies.
The suit was argued by Debbie Sivas of Earthlaw (Denver and
Palo
Alto), Brian Gaffney and Celeste Langille.
___________________
COALITION TO SUE FOR N. AMERICAN CUCKOO
PROTECTION
On 4-5-00, the Center for Biological Diversity and a coalition
of
environmental groups filed a formal notice of their intent to sue the
U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service over the agency's refusal to consider
listing the
Yellow-billed cuckoo as an endangered species throughout it's
range in
North America. The cuckoo has been extirpated from most of
western
North America where it formerly occurred from southern British
Columbia
to northern Mexico. Its western "strongholds" are Arizona and
Mexico.
In a mirror to that decline, populations east of Continental Divide
have
been crashing since the 1960's and at an increasing rate since the
1980's.
East of the Continental Divide, the cuckoo ranges from southern
Canada
to Florida. It is declining most dramatically in the northern portion
of this
range. It's remaining strongholds are primarily in the
Southeast.
The Fish & Wildlife Service has issued a positive initial
finding on the
Center's petition to list the cuckoo as an endangered species
west of the
Continental Divide, but has refused to consider the species'
impending
collapse in eastern North America. It apparently wants to wait
until the
cuckoo is nearly unrecoverable in the East before taking
action.
Joining the Center in the petition and notice of intent to sue
are: the
Maricopa Audubon Society, Wildlife Damage Review, the
Biodiversity
Legal Foundation, Wetlands Action Network, Oregon Natural
Desert
Association, Sky Island Alliance, and the Klamath- Siskiyou
Wildlands
Center.
__________________
SUIT
SEEKS END TO CALIFORNIA DRIFT NETTING
The Sea Turtle Restoration Project and
Center for Biological Diversity
have filed suit against the National Marine
Fisheries Service to shut
down California's drift gillnet fishery. The
fishery, which targets swordfish
and thresher sharks-- two species which
themselves are facing serious
declines--also kills numerous dolphins, whales,
seals, sea lions, sea turtles,
sharks and sea birds. This fishing industry is
among the worst in terms of
bycatch of any on the West Coast. Of greatest
concern is that the fishery
has been killing large numbers of the critically
endangered Leatherback sea
turtles. The industry is also in violation of the
Endangered Species Act for
killing protected Sperm whales.
The suit
was applauded by the Recreational Fishing Alliance, which also
supports a
complete ban on drift gillnet fishing. The Alliance has 70,000
members and
affiliates nationwide.
The suit is being argued by Brendan Cummings
(Berkeley) and Debbie
Sivas of Earthlaw (Denver and Palo
Alto).
_________________
JUST FOR KIDS: JOIN
CONTEST TO NAME SOUTHWEST WOLF
PUPS
Teachers, parents, and
students,
We're inviting you and your class to welcome the Southwest's
newest
wild born wolf pups into the world. Pregnant females of the Mule
and
the Pipestem Packs are expected to deliver their pups between April
1
and May 1. They need names and we need your help to name
them!
NAME A WOLF PUP CONTEST RULES
1. Entry must include a drawing of a Mexican
Gray Wolf in the forest.
2. Contest is open to all NM and AZ students in
grades K thru 8.
3. One entry per person.
4. On the back of your drawing,
please include
a. Your wolf pup
name.
b. Your name, grade in school, name of school, and
teacher's name,
c. Tell us why it's important to
have wolves in the
wild.
Grades K-1 please tell us in one
sentence;
Grades 2-3 a few
sentences;
Grades 4-8 please submit a short 50-100 word essay.
All entries must be
post marked by May 1, 2000.
Mail entry to: Center for Biological
Diversity
POB 710 Tucson, Arizona 85702
For more information call Stephanie at
520.623.5252 x 305
We want to make sure that each pup born to the
Pipestem and Mule
Packs gets a name. There will be as many winners selected
as there
are new born pups. Teachers of all winning students will receive
a
special wolf print to display in their classroom. Three top prizes will
be
awarded to the most original artwork and wolf name. These three
1st,
2nd and 3rd prize winners' and their families will be treated to a
weekend
in Wolf
Country!
_____________________________________________________________
ENDANGERED
TOTEMS. Eleven of the twelve western states have adopted
imperiled species as
their state fish: New Mexico (Rio Grande cutthroat
trout), Arizona (Apache
trout), Colorado (Greenback cutthroat trout), Utah
(Bonneville cutthroat
trout), Nevada (Lahontan cutthroat trout), California
(Golden trout), Oregon
(Chinook salmon), Washington (Steelhead trout),
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming
(Cutthroat trout).
Kierán
Suckling
ksuckling@sw-center.org
520.623.5252 phone
Center for Biological
Diversity 520.623.9797 fax
<http://www.sw-center.org>
POB 710, Tucson, AZ 85702-0710