From: Kieran Suckling [ksuckling@biologicaldiversity.org]
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 3:33 PM
To: Recipient list suppressed
Subject: BIODIVERSITY ACTIVIST #281
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             CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

           <www.biologicaldiversity.org>      8-8-01      #281
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§ FEDS: PETITION TO LIST PUGET SOUND KILLER WHALES AS AN
   ENDANGERED SPECIES HAS SCIENTIFIC BACKING

§ JUDGE: ESA LISTING MORATORIUM ILLEGAL, FEDS MUST
   DECIDE FATE OF NEW MEXICO BUTTERFLY WITHIN 30 DAYS

§ NEW MEXICO TIMBER SALE CHALLENGED AGAIN

§ BUSH ADMINISTRATION BREAKS AGREEMENT TO PROTECT SEA
   TURTLES, WHALES AND DOLPHINS FROM GILL NETTING

§ COALITION PROTESTS DESTRUCTION OF CALIFORNIA DESERT


FEDS: PETITION TO LIST PUGET SOUND KILLER WHALES AS AN
ENDANGERED SPECIES HAS SCIENTIFIC BACKING
On 8-7-01, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a positive initial
finding on a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity and
ten other conservation groups to list the Puget Sound/Georgia Strait
population of killer whales as an endangered species. The agency will now
conduct a full status review, issue a draft listing decision (if warranted) by
5-1-02 and a final listing decision (if warranted) by 5-1-03.

Formally called "southern residents," the orcas of Puget Sound and
Georgia Strait have declined by 20% since 1996. The entire population is
down to just 78 whales. They are being impacted by declines in salmon,
high levels of PCB poisoning, intense whale watching pressure, and the
general decline of the Puget Sound ecosystem. They are also threatened
by oil spills. The government of British Columbia listed them as an
endangered species in 1999.

Joining the Center in the petition were the Center for Whale Research, the
Whale Museum, Ocean Advocates, Washington Toxics Coalition, Orca
Conservancy, American Cetacean Society, Friends of the San Juans,
People for Puget Sound, Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club, Project Sea
Wolf and former Washington Secretary of State, Ralph Munro.

To see the Fisheries Service decision and find out more:
www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/orca/index.html

JUDGE: ESA LISTING MORATORIUM ILLEGAL, FEDS MUST DECIDE
FATE OF NEW MEXICO BUTTERFLY WITHIN 30 DAYS
On 7-31-01, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can
not issue a unilateral moratorium on the listing of new species under the
Endangered Species Act. Saying that lack of money is no excuse for
breaking the law, he ordered the agency to make a decision on the fate of
the Sacramento checkerspot butterfly within 30 days. The unusually short
deadline was a result of the agency admitting that its field office had
already drafted a proposed listing rule, but suspended further work when
the agency had adopted a unilateral nationwide moratorium on new listings
in November, 2000.

Quoting from congressional budget committee ("the listing program is not
proposed at a level that would allow the Service to meet all of the Act's
requirements and deadline"), Judge Kelly stated that the agency's financial
shortfall was of its own making.

The Center filed a petition to list the Sacramento checkerspot butterfly, an
endemic New Mexico species, as endangered on 1-28-99 because of
threats from road construction, livestock grazing, invasive plants, climate
change, construction of new houses, and pesticide spraying. The Fish &
Wildlife Service issued an initial finding that endangered status may be
warranted, but has taken no further action protect the butterfly.

NEW MEXICO TIMBER SALE CHALLENGED AGAIN
On 7-23-01, the Center for Biological Diversity appealed (for the third time)
a decision by the Gila National Forest to approve the Corner Mountain
timber sale. The Forest Service withdrew the timber sale twice in response
to the Center's previous appeals. The Corner Mountain timber sale is
slated to clearcut 2.5 million board feet of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir
on 340 acres, including 7,000 trees over 16 inches in diameter. The sale
threatens to undermine the Gila National Forest’s celebrated prescribed
burn program - the most aggressive in the country - by logging an area
which burned two years ago when the Forest Service lost control of a
prescribed natural fire.

Prescribed burns are designed to restore natural forest processes by
slowly reintroducing fire into forested areas. Salvage logging in prescribed
burn areas undermines these restoration goals by impeding forest
recovery, damaging fragile soils, harming wildlife, and promoting arson- a
problem that has plagued the Gila in the past.


BUSH ADMINISTRATION BREAKS AGREEMENT TO PROTECT SEA
TURTLES, WHALES AND DOLPHINS FROM GILL NETTING
Political pressure has stalled a National Marine Fisheries Service plan to
limit the California drift gill net fishery for thresher sharks and swordfish. In
1999, the fishery illegally captured or killed humpback whales, fin whales,
northern elephant seals, green sea turtles, olive ridley, loggerhead and
leatherback sea turtles, three dolphin species, and California sea lions.
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sea Turtle Restoration Project
sued the Fisheries Service in March 2000 for failing to determine the level
of impact and develop a plan to limit it. The Service complied, and on
10-23-00 declared that the gill net fishery is illegally "jeopardizing" the
existence of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. It pledged to either
close or limit the fishery by 8-1-01.

The Service developed a plan which included closure of certain areas to
thresher shark and swordfish fishing, but admits the plan was put on hold
due to pressure from the fishing industry. Meanwhile, the fishery is
scheduled to commence again on August 15th.

More information is available at:
www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/seatrutle.html

COALITION PROTESTS DESTRUCTION OF CALIFORNIA DESERT
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Coalition on Environment and
Jewish Life, the California Wilderness Coalition, the Desert Tortoise
Preserve Committee, and nearly one hundred public interest and
community groups sent a letter to Secretary of Interior Gale Norton on
7-26-01 protesting a plan by the U.S. Army to expand tank training in the
Mojave Desert, destroying over 100,000 acres of pristine desert lands and
sabotaging the recovery of imperiled plants and animals including the
desert tortoise and Lane Mountain milkvetch.

For the full press release and letter to Norton:
www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/ftirwincoal.html