No. 304, May 21, 2002

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CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Biodiversity Activist No. 304
May 21, 2002
www.biologicaldiversity.org
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URGENT: YOUR CALL NEEDED TODAY TO SAVE THE SAN PEDRO RIVER!

Representative Jim Kolbe (R) has successfully attached a rider
to the House Emergency Appropriations bill in the Senate that
will exempt the Department of Defense (DoD) and Ft. Huachuca
from responsibility for water conservation measures under U.S.
environmental law. The continued expansion of Fort Huachuca is
the single greatest contributor to the deadly overdraft of water
from the San Pedro river, and baseflows have declined 67% since
the 1940's.

The DoD acknowledges responsibility for 34,500 employees who are
dependant on groundwater pumping, thus drying up the river by
intercepting water that ordinarily would provide the river's
stream flow.

Recently, a Federal Judge ruled that the massive expansion of
Fort Huachuca is dewatering the San Pedro River and jeopardizing
the existence of endangered species. This hard-fought judicial
victory will become meaningless if the rider is approved. The
400-plus animal and bird species that rely upon the river,
including the Huachuca water umbel, Southwestern willow
flycatcher, and thousands of migratory birds, beavers, and many
other species will be threatened. Local efforts for meaningful
river conservation solutions without court order have proven
futile.

IF THE SENATE APPROVES THIS RIDER, THE SAN PEDRO WILL DRY UP
The San Pedro river in some areas already has base flows that
are close to zero. There will be no recourse to save the river
if the rider passes Senate approval and this law becomes
permanent.
This decision will be made soon, so *please* call both Senator
Kyl and Senator McCain today, and ask them NOT to support
Kolbe's San Pedro river-killing rider. A personal phone call
before the decision is made is the most effective way to stop
the rider.

(Calls to Washington DC offices are most effective)
Senator Kyl: *Washington DC:(202) 224-4521*;
Phoenix:(602)840-1891; Tucson:(520)575-8633.
Senator McCain: *Washington DC:(202) 224-2235*;
Phoenix:(602)952-2410; Tucson:(520)670-6334.

BACKGROUND:
The San Pedro River is truly one of our environmental crown
jewels. It is one of the last naturally functioning desert river
ecosystems in the United States, and among the earth's most
biologically diverse and important ecosystems. It supports 400
species of birds (nearly half of the U.S. total), 100 species of
butterflies, 83 species of mammals and 47 species of amphibians
and reptiles.

It has the highest diversity of vertebrate species in the inland
U.S. and the second highest diversity of land-mammals in the
world. It was designated the first "globally important bird
area" by the American Bird Conservancy and one of the northern
hemisphere's eight "last great places" by The Nature
Conservancy. In 1988 Congress recognized the unparalleled value
of the San Pedro, designating 45 miles of it as the nation's
first Riparian National Conservation Area.

For more information call Dr. Robin Silver at: (602) 246-4170 or
rsilver@biologicaldiversity.org, or Daniel Patterson at: (520)
623-5252, ext.306
San Pedro River website:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/activist/sanpedro.html

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