From: Kieran Suckling
[ksuckling@biologicaldiversity.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 11:08
PM
To: Recipient list suppressed
Subject: BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#237
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CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
<www.sw-center.org>
5-11-00
#237
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§
CENTER HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
§ VOTE ON-LINE TO NAME WOLF PUPS:
CHOOSE THE BEST
KIDS' WOLF DRAWING- THEY GET TO NAME THE
PUPS
§ SUIT CHALLENGES MASSIVE ARIZONA TIMBER SALE
§ SUIT FILED TO
DOCUMENT ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION
BY SHADOWY, BORDER MILITARY
GROUP
§ JOIN US FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL SAN PEDRO RIVER
AWARENESS WEEKEND AND RIVER CLEAN UP- MAY 20-21
CENTER HIRES NEW
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
After a year of searching, the Center has hired Scott
Hoffman Black as
our new Executive Director. For the last decade, Scott has
worked with
small activist groups and large coalitions advocating
science-based
conservation on public lands. Prior to that, he worked as a
toolman on
oil rigs in Wyoming, painted railroad boxcars, worked on a farm
in
Nebraska, and bucked logs. In addition to his administrative and
conservation policy skills, Scott is an ecologist with a background in
forest ecosystems, wildlife, and water quality issues. He is now
completing a three-year tenure as Director of the Sierra Nevada Forest
Protection Campaign in Sacramento, California. This successful campaign
has protected over 1 million acres of forests across the Sierra Nevada,
and is now moving for permanent protection of ancient forests and
roadless areas through wilderness designation.
For the time being
Scott will work out his current base in Sacramento.
He can be reached
through our Tucson office at 520-623-5252 x310. His
email is sblack@sw-center.org.
Kieran Suckling will
remain with the Center, taking on the role of Science
and Policy
Director.
___________________________
VOTE ON-LINE FOR BEST KIDS' WOLF DRAWING AND
"ESSAY"
CONTEST- THE WINNERS GET TO NAME NEW WOLF PUPS
Over 900 kids from
41 schools have entered the Center's "Name The
Mexican Wolf Pups" contest.
Our judges have picked 12 finalists
from which three winners will be picked
representing K-2nd, 3rd-5th,
and 6th-8th grades. Now YOU can help pick the
winners by voting
for the best drawing, name and "essay" our wolf pup web
page:
<http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/wolf/contest.html>
The
winners will get to name the first wild-born wolf pups in New
Mexico in over
50 years. Vote soon, the contest will end May 16,
2000 at
10am.
You've got to see the beautiful, inspired drawings. Here are
quotes
from some of the "essays":
"Wolves like to howl and tok
to ech other"
Rose, kindergarten,
Castlehill Country Day School, Tucson
"I think the wilderness
needs wolves because they play an important
role in the
environment. They are part of the predator family in the
food
chain. Also they have a special role in many of the Native
American tribes in the Southwest...I think the moon would be
lonely
without wolves howling at it....Mainly what I am saying
is, without
wolves in the wilderness it would be -- well --
empty."
Katheryn, 4th grade,
Montessori School, Flagstaff
"Mexican wolves are important
because they are a wonderful symbol
to represent all of us
Mexicans...God created animals, human, etc.
to care, to love, to
spend the beautiful time God gave us, together, as
one whole
family.
Lisette, 7th grade, Our
Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Middle
School
Nogales
______________________
SUIT CHALLENGES MASSIVE ARIZONA TIMBER SALE
On 5-10-00, the Center for
Biological Diversity and Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility
(PEER) filed suit against the Sitgreaves
National Forest to halt the Baca
Timber Sale. Baca, which would log
up to 31 million board feet of
ponderosa pine over a 12 square mile
area, is one of the largest timber
sales offered by a southwestern
National Forest in the last ten years.
Timber sales in the region
typically average 3 to 5 million board
feet.
Long-term research indicates that the northern goshawk population
on
the Sitgreaves is in serious decline and would be extirpated within 40
years if it was a closed population. Instead, the heavily logged
Sitgreaves is likely acting as a biological sink for goshawks from other
forests. Of the 42 remaining goshawk territories on the Sitgreaves, five
are contained within the Baca Timber Sale. Four of the territories would
be logged.
The Baca timber sale is the latest example of
mis-management of the
Sitgreaves. In response to Forest Service employee
complaints of
intimidation and hostility under Forest Supervisor John
Bedell, PEER asked
Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck to remove Bedell
from the supervisor
position in December, 1999.
The case is
being argued Jay Tutchton of Earthlaw (Denver) and Cliff
Levenson
(Phoenix).
_____________________
SUIT FILED TO DOCUMENT ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION BY
SHADOWY BORDER MILITARY GROUP
On 4-27-00, the Center filed suit against
the semi-covert military operation,
Joint Task Force 6 (JTF-6) and the
Department of Defense for failure to
release information under the Freedom
of Information Act. In the last ten
years, JTF-6 and the Border Patrol have
conducted thousands of
environmentally destructive missions along the
U.S.-Mexico border,
including extensive road-building, construction of
border walls and fences,
and installation of high-powered lighting, in
furtherance of the futile “War
on Drugs.” The rapidly increasing
militarization of the Southwestern border
endangers an incredible number of
imperiled species—there are over 100
threatened, endangered, or special
management species in the Arizona
border region alone. Tragically, the
greatly increased Border Patrol and
JTF-6 presence is also pushing would be
immigrants into the remotest
and hottest areas along the border. Many die
during the crossing.
The case is being argued by Richard Mietz (Santa
Fe).
________________________________
JOIN US FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL SAN PEDRO
RIVER AWARENESS
WEEKEND AND RIVER CLEAN UP- MAY 20-21
Join us for a
fabulous weekend which will include an incredible guided
nature hike, river
bank clean up, trail clearance, BBQ and campfire
music. We will be camping
along the San Pedro River at Grey Hawk Ranch.
We will prepare and serve the
food, all you have to do is show up, do a
a little work and have lots of
fun. If you can make a $25.00 donation to help
cover food and facility
expenses, wonderful, if not, we'd still love to see you.
For more
details, call Turtle at (520)623-5252 x303, or Shawn at
(602)828-3607. Rides
are being organized from Tucson and Phoenix.
_____________________________________________________________
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
Science and Policy
Director 520.623.5252
phone
Center for Biological Diversity
520.623.9797 fax
<www.biologicaldiversity.org>
POB 710, Tucson, AZ 85702-0710