No. 301, May 8, 2002

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CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Biodiversity Activist No. 301
May 8, 2002
www.biologicaldiversity.org
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ARIZONA SPRAWL CHALLENGED TO PROTECT PYGMY OWL

NORTON WITHHOLDING PYGMY OWL RECOVERY PLAN

SUIT FILED TO REINSTATE CRITICAL HABITAT FOR SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW
FLYCATCHER

WILD & SCENIC RIVERS IN CA PROTECTED FROM GRAZING, OIL & GAS
LEASES

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ARIZONA SPRAWL CHALLENGED TO PROTECT PYGMY OWL

The Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife
filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
Environmental Protection Agency on 4-17-02 for refusing to
consider the cumulative impact of urban sprawl in the Tucson
area on the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. Despite a
court order to cease approval of building permits under the
Clean Water Act until a cumulative effects analysis is complete,
the agencies have once again begun to issue permits. Pygmy owl
populations in northwest Tucson, meanwhile are spiraling toward
extinction.

The case is being argued by the Arizona Center for Law in the
Public Interest and Meyer and Glitzenstein.

For more information on the suit
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/pigowl4-17-02.html
For more information on the pygmy owl
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/pygmyowl/index.html

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NORTON WITHHOLDING PYGMY OWL RECOVERY PLAN

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife,
Center for Wildlife Connections, Desert Watch, Sky Island
Alliance and Tucson Audubon Society notified the Department of
Interior on 4-17-02 that it will file suit if Gale Norton, the
Secretary of Interior, continues to withhold the federal
recovery plan for the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl.
Though the owl was listed as endangered in 1997 and has
continued to decline since then in northwest Tucson, Norton has
refused to sign the recovery plan which was sent to her by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Developers and Governor Hull of
Arizona have pressured Norton to prevent the release of the
scientific plan for fear it will reign in unsustainable sprawl
and livestock grazing in southern Arizona.

For more information on the notice
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/pigowl4-17-02.html
For more information on the pygmy owl
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/pygmyowl/index.html

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SUIT FILED TO REINSTATE CRITICAL HABITAT FOR SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW
FLYCATCHER

The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit on 3-15-02 to
reinstate critical habitat for the endangered southwestern
willow flycatcher in NM, AZ, CO, UT, NV, and CA. Though the old
designation, struck down for technical reasons by the courts,
contained only 600 miles of river, we believe the new
designation will contain over 1,200 miles of protected river.

The original designation was struck down for having an
inadequate economic analysis. Rather than conduct the analysis
and reinstate the protected area, however, the Department of
Interior has allowed the species habitat to continue to be
destroyed since 2001.

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WILD & SCENIC RIVERS IN CA PROTECTED FROM GRAZING, OIL & GAS
LEASES

Over 80 miles of the Big Sur River, Sisquoc River and Sespe
Creek will receive protection under the federal Wild & Scenic
River Act due to a legal settlement struck between the Center
for Biological Diversity, Keep Sespe Wild, the Environmental
Defense Center, and the Los Padres National Forest on 4-04-01.
The agreement requires the U.S. Forest Service to complete a
comprehensive management plan for the rivers, and in the
interim, to prohibit grazing, and oil and gas leasing in the
river corridors.

The Forest Service failed to comply with the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act which required formulating management plans for these
rivers by 1995. Ending a six-year delay, the settlement will
ensure that wildlife will be enhanced, riparian habitats will be
preserved, and heavily used recreation areas will be restored.

The suit was argued by Neil Levine of the Earthjustice Legal
Defense Fund, John Buse of the Environmental Defense Center, and
Brent Plater of the Center for Biological Diversity.

For more information on the settlement:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/wildscenic.html
For more information on the Center's Wild & Scenic Rivers
Campaign:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/watersheds/wild/index.html

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ALASKA SEA OTTERS MOVE CLOSER TO ESA PROTECTION

In response to two petitions by the Center for Biological
Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun to
review the status of the Southwest Alaska population of the
northern sea otter for protection under the Endangered Species
Act as an endangered species.

Once the largest sea otter population in the world, the
population has declined by 95% over the past few years. As few
as 6,000 individuals may be left. Alarmed by the decline, the
Center prepared a scientific review of the species and
petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list as an
endangered species in October 2000. Rather than process the
petition, however, the agency placed the species on its
candidate list which provides no protection.

To keep the pressure up, the Center filed a second petition to
protect Alaska's otters, this one under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act. In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has agreed to review the species status and make a decision
about the level of protection it needs under the Endangered
Species Act.

For more information on the Alaskan sea otter:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/otter/otter.html

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FEDS DELAYING DECISION ON ORCA PROTECTION

The Center for Biological Diversity and a coalition of
environmental groups petitioned the National Marine Fisheries
Service on 5-02-01 to list the Puget Sound population of killer
whales as an endangered species. Though the Endangered Species
Act requires that the Fisheries Service must publish a decision
within one year, it has delayed action, prompting the Center to
inform the agency that it will file suit if a decision is not
rendered soon.

Over the past six years the Puget Sound orca population has
declined nearly 20%, leaving only 78 individuals in the
population at the end of the 2001 survey year. The cause of the
current decline appears to be the synergistic effects of high
levels of toxic pollutants, a population decline in their
preferred salmon prey, and human disturbance. A recent
Population Viability Analysis of the Southern Residents
concluded that these whales may become extinct within 120 years.

For more information on the Puget Sound orca:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/orca/index.html

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