Subject: FW: BIODIVERSITY ACTIVIST #254


              CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

            <www.biologicaldiversity.org>      10-02-00      #254
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§ IMPACT OF GRAZING ALONG MORE SW RIVERS TO BE REVIEWED-
    MILLIONS OF ACRES MAY FOLLOW

§ BORDER PATROL HOLDS PUBLIC HEARINGS IN AZ

§ NO BUD FOR YOU! LETTERS NEEDED TO STOP BUDWEISER
    CATTLE FROM POLLUTING WATER AND TRASHING TROUT
    STREAMS ON PUBLIC LANDS

IMPACT OF GRAZING ALONG MORE SW RIVERS TO BE REVIEWED,
MILLIONS OF ACRES MAY FOLLOW
In response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and Forest
Guardians, and a critical habitat designation won by the Center, the U.S.
Forest Service has agreed to re-assess the impact of livestock grazing
on 17 allotments covering hundreds of thousands acres in the Gila River
Basin eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. These grazing
allotments had been exempted from an earlier review brought about by
lawsuits by the two groups. Using a static formula, the Forest Service had
concluded they were "not likely to adversely affect" threatened and
endangered species even though they permitted cattle to continue
grazing within already degraded loach minnow and spikedace habitat.
Guardians and the Center challenged the determination in court, while in
April, the Center won a designation of 898 miles of river as critical habitat
for the two species. In the face of overwhelming evidence that habitat for
the two imperiled fish (as will as the southwestern willow flycatcher and
Mexican spotted owl) are being destroyed, the Forest Service filed
papers with the court agreeing to submit the allotments to review by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Cattle have be removed from over 300 miles of public streams in the Gila
River Basin since 1998 due to a series of suits by the Center and Forest
Guardians. The suits were based on a series of Endangered Species Act
petitions file by the Center to protect imperiled aquatic and forest species
in the upper and middle Gila Watershed. Beginning in 1989, the Center
has petitioned to list the Mexican spotted owl, southwestern willow
flycatcher, loach minnow, spikedace, cactus ferruginous pygmy owl,
Sonora tiger salamander, Huachuca water umbel, Bloomer's dock, Canelo
Hills ladies' tresses, Gila chub, and Chiricahua leopard frog as
endangered species.

The new review, which the Forest Service promises to begin in
December should lead to further grazing reductions. Seeing the writing
on the wall, the Forest Service has also indicated it will assess the
impacts of livestock grazing on millions of acres of spotted owl habitat
when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service completes mapping out "critical
habitat" for it. Earlier this year, the Center won a proposed designation of
13.5 million acres of "critical habitat" for the Mexican spotted owl on
National Forests in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. When that
designation is complete, the Forest Service will have to assess the
impacts of all livestock grazing on hundreds of additional allotments
covering millions of acres.

The current suit is being argued by Robert Wiygul, Susan Daggett, and
Jay Tuchton of Earth Justice.
       __________________

BORDER PATROL HOLDS PUBLIC HEARINGS IN AZ
The Border Patrol will be conducting public hearings this week to address
the environmental effects of its operations along the Arizona/Sonora
border.  Proposed activities include the addition of hundreds of new
Border Patrol agents and vehicles, associated on and off-road ground
patrols and low-level helicopter overflights, construction of border walls
and fences, installation of high powered stadium style lights, and
placement of high-tech surveillance cameras and sensors.  Many of
these activities may directly impact the many threatened and endangered
species in the borderlands region, including Sonoran pronghorn, jaguar,
Huachuca water umbel, Gila chub, masked bobwhite, lesser long-nosed
bat, and Pima pineapple cactus.  Additionally, protected areas including
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Organ Pipe Cactus National
Monument, and the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area are
threatened by increased Border Patrol presence.

Hearings will take place, Tuesday, October 3 at the Maricopa Room of
the Tucson Convention Center; October 4 in Nogales at the Days Inn,
884 N. Grand; October 5 at the Sells administration building and
Tuesday, October 17 at the Yuma Civic and Convention Center.
     ______________

NO BUD FOR YOU! LETTERS NEEDED TO STOP BUDWEISER
CATTLE FROM POLLUTING WATER AND TRASHING TROUT
STREAMS ON PUBLIC LANDS
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking comments on a proposal to continue
cattle grazing on the South Fork Kern Wild & Scenic River and within the
Golden Trout Wilderness. These public lands are being grazed, at public
expense, by Anhueser-Busch (maker of Budweiser beer) on the
Templeton and Whitney grazing allotments on the Inyo National Forest.

The Kern River system in the southern Sierra Nevada has been heavily
overgrazed for more than 150 years, denuding riparian habitat along the
banks of the South Kern Wild & Scenic River.  According to the Forest
Service, livestock grazing has:

   - Damaged 80 percent of the Kern Plateau with gully erosion.
   - Reduced habitat for the California golden trout, the mountain yellow-
legged frog, and the little willow flycatcher.
   - Degraded water quality with sediment, increased water temperature,
and elevated bacteria and nutrient levels.
   - Increased conflicts with recreational visitors, damaged trails, and
degraded scenic quality and the overall wilderness experience.

Amazingly, the Forest Service has proposed to continue grazing and the
flow of public subsidies to Anheuser-Busch, even though elimination of
cattle is the best and cheapest way to improve water quality and habitat
conditions.

Continued heavy grazing in these allotments ­ despite proposed
mitigation measures -- would violate the National Wild & Scenic Rivers
Act, the Clean Water Act, and Forest Service regulations. The South
Fork Kern was added by Congress in 1987 to the National Wild & Scenic
Rivers System to protect its outstanding scenic, recreation, fishery,
botanical, and geological values.  These values include its unique
population of golden trout,  two sensitive plants (Ramshaw sand verbena
and Alkali mariposa), extensive recreational opportunities, and highly
scenic meadows ­ all of which the Forest Service acknowledges will be
adversely impacted by continued grazing.

Write a letter today. Comments are due by November 1, 2000:

   Luci McKee, Mt. Whitney District Ranger
   Inyo National Forest
   P.O. Box 8, Lone Pine, CA 93545.

Urge Ms. McKee to adopt Alternative A ­ the no grazing alternative.  This
is the only alternative that guarantees protection for the South Fork Kern
Wild & Scenic River¹s outstanding values and complies with the
Wilderness Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act.  If you
have hiked, backpacked, or fished in this area, be sure to include your
personal views on the impacts that grazing may have had on your
wilderness experience.

For more information, contact:

   Steve Evans, Friends of the River
   915 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
   (916) 442-3155 x221
   sevans@friendsoftheriver.org

or: Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity
      P.O. Box 710, Tucson, AZ 85702
      (520) 623-5252 x308
      ngreenwald@biologicaldiversity.org
_____________________________________________________________

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@biologicaldiversity.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

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