No. 301, May 8, 2002
********************************** CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Biodiversity Activist No. 301 May 8, 2002 www.biologicaldiversity.org ********************************** 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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