CALIFORNIA
CREATES LARGEST MARINE PROTECTED
AREA ON WEST COAST
On 10-23-02, the California
Fish and Game Commission
voted to create the largest
marine protected area on
the West Coast of the United
States. The vote bans fishing
within 12 areas totaling
175 square miles. Though the
areas are already within
the Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary, the sanctuary
does not prohibit fishing
and thus has not helped to
reverse the collapse of fisheries
spreading across the West
Coast.
The
waters of the Channel Islands
are especially important
to the boccacio (also called
red snapper) and white
abalone. The abalone was
listed as endangered species
in May 2001 in response to
a petition filed by the Center
for Biological Diversity.
It is the first marine invertebrate
to be listed as an endangered
species. It has declined
by over 99% due to overfishing
and could be extinct
within a decade unless extraordinary
recovery measures
are implemented. The Channel
Islands support the most
important remaining abalone
populations. The Center,
NRDC, and Ocean Conservancy
filed a petition to list
the boccacio as an endangered
species in January 2001.
It was once was the dominant
rockfish caught by trawlers
on the Pacific coast but
is now set to be the first
commercial marine species
to be listed as an endangered
species. It has declined
by 98% decline since 1969.
The
new no-fishing reserve, however,
is not large enough
for the white abalone, boccacio,
angel shark or other
declining marine species.
The Center will continue campaigning
to ensure the federal portion
of the National Marine
Sanctuary is also protected
from overfishing. When this
occurs, the safe haven will
cover 426 square miles,
making it the largest marine
protected area in the United
States.
CENTER
ATTENDS CITES CONFERENCE
TO PROTECT WHALES, SEA TURTLES,
SHARKS AND SEA HORSES
Center
for Biological Diversity
population ecologist Dr Martin
Taylor is attending the 12th
Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered
Species in Santiago de Chile
from November 2-15. As
a representative of the Center
and the Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society, he
will be working with an international
coalition dedicated to heading
off a campaign by Japan
to reopen international trade
in whale products. He
will also work to obtain
greater protection for sea
turtles and support CITES
protection for basking sharks
and seahorses.
16,000
ACRES PROTECTED FOR TWO CALIFORNIA
PLANTS
Fulfilling
a court order won by the
Center for Biological Diversity
and the California Native
Plant Society, the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service designated
16,110 acres of critical
habitat for two endangered
California plants on 11-7-02.
The
Lompoc yerba santa (Eriodictyon
capitatum) was
granted 6,401 acres of critical
habitat. A shrub in
the waterleaf family, the
yerba santa has lavender flowers
and reaches heights of ten
feet. It grows in maritime
chaparral and bishop pine
forests in western Santa Barbara
county, and has just 4 known
locations: 2 on Vandenberg
Air Force Base, and 2 on
oil fields and private land,
with 11-20 populations each.
It is threatened by habitat
fragmentation and fire management
practices.
The
Gaviota tarplant (Deinandra
increscens ssp. villosa)
was granted 9,709 acres of
critical habitat. A member
of the sunflower family,
the tarplant occurs in rare
needlegrass grasslands on
coastal terraces and ridgelines
in the Santa Ynez Mountains,
including Vandenberg Air
Force Base. Most of the populations
are on private lands
owned by the petroleum industry,
and are threatened
by habitat loss and degradation
due to development of
oil and gas facilities.
SIERRA NEVADA
TIMBER SALE SHUT DOWN
On
11-1-07, the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals issued a
preliminary injunction banning
the logging of live trees
within the 1,700 acre Star
Fire Timber Sale on the Eldorado
National Forest. Ignoring
scientific research published
in a peer-reviewed journal
by Center biologist Monica
Bond, the Forest Service
exempted itself from logging
restrictions in two California
spotted owl habitat areas.
The agency claimed that a
forest fire rendered the forest
unsuitable to owls and thus
could be logged. Bond, however,
studied owls on the Eldorado
National Forest for three
years before publishing a
scientific article entitled
"Short-term effects
of fire on spotted owl survival,
site fidelity, mate fidelity
and reproductive success"
demonstrating that spotted
owls continue to use burned
forests.
The
suit is being argued by Rachel
Fazio of the John Muir
Project.
For
more information on the CA
spotted owl, click
here...
22% TO 47% OF PLANTS ENDANGERED
Based on studies outside
the tropics, scientists have
traditionally estimated that
about 13% of the world's
plants are endangered. In
a new study published in Science,
however, researchers from
Duke University's Center for
Tropical Conservation and
the Missouri Botanical Garden
estimate that the actual
imperilment rate is between
22% and 47%. The new estimate
help close the knowledge
gap by analyzing global endangerment
patterns and high
rates of plant endemism in
the tropics.
120
FROGS DISCOVERED, 100 MORE
MAY BE EXTINCT
Researchers
have discovered about 120
new frog species in the 750
square kilometers of Sri
Lanka's remaining rain forest.
The fact that Sri Lanka's
amphibian population was thought
to be well known prior to
this study is an indication
of the tremendous numbers
of species that have yet to
be discovered. Most of the
new species hatch as miniature
adults from land based eggs.
This unusual lifestyle
may make them less susceptibly
to ultra-violet light
and water pollution- two
of the major culprits causing
a global wave of amphibian
declines.
The
bad news is that 95% of Sri
Lanka's rain forests have
disappeared and the researchers
were unable to find
about 100 frog species that
existed at the turn of the
century. They think the frogs
may be extinct.
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