Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #37
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Southwest Biodiversity Alert #37
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southwest center for biological
diversity
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ksuckling@sw-center.org
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http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/sw-center
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1.
FOUR COASTAL CALIFORNIA PLANTS LISTED AS ENDANGERED
2. JUDGE OVERTURNS
DECISION NOT TO LIST WOLF AS ENDANGERED
3. COMMENTS NEEDED ON THREE
SALVAGE TIMBER SALES
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1.
FOUR COASTAL CALIFORNIA PLANTS LISTED AS ENDANGERED
In response to
petitions and a lawsuit by the Southwest Center, the
U.S Fish and Wildlife
Service has issued a decision to list four
southern California plants as
endangered, but denied listing to two
others. All six plants are
limited to the remaining 2,500 acres of
southern maritime chaparral
habitat between northern San Diego
County and southern Orange County.
Much of this acreage is extremely
fragmented- the two largest patches
are no more than 600 acres each.
The big-leaved crown beard, Del Mar
Manzanita, Del Mar sand aster,
Encinitas baccharis, Orcutt's spineflower, and
short-leaved dudleya
are primarily threatened by developers. The sand
aster was denied
listing because of taxonomic uncertainty. The dudleya was
denied
listing because the Service claims it will be protected under
the
soon to be released San Diego County Multi-Species Conservation
Plan.
The Service has recently lost two lawsuits (see below) for
denying
listings based on future plans, because the ESA clearly
states
listing decisions must be based on *existing* plans only.
The
Southwest Center will soon be filing suit.
The short-leaved
dudlaya has been reduced to only 5 location along a
highly developed ten mile
stretch of coastline. Fewer than twenty
individual Orcutt's chorizanthe
plants remain at one location.
2. JUDGE OVERTURNS DECISION NOT
TO LIST WOLF AS ENDANGERED
In response to lawsuit by the Biodiversity
Legal Foundation (BLF)
and the Southwest Center, a federal court has
overturned a decision
by the Fish and Wildlife Service not to propose the
Alexander
Archipelago Wolf as endangered. In his ruling, Judge
Sporkin
concluded that the Service could not rely on a promise by the
Tongass
National Forest to adequately protect the wolf in a long
promised
revision to its Forest Plan. Cutting through the Service's
bizarre
argument that the wolf will be endangered in the future but is
not
now, Sporkin declared : "If, with the continuation of
current
circumstances, the wolf will be 'endangered' in the future, it
is
clearly 'threatened' today."
Last month, in response to a suit by
the Southwest Center and BLF,
Sporkin overturned an identical Fish and
Wildlife Service decision
not to propose the Queen Charlotte goshawk as an
endangered species.
The two old growth rainforest species are critical
players in the
ongoing revision of the Tongass National Forest Land
Management Plan.
3. COMMENTS NEEDED ON THREE SALVAGE TIMBER
SALES
The Peaks Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest
is
proposing three salvage timbers sales totalling 6.28 million board
feet
from the 25,000 acre Horseshoe and Hochderffer Fires. The sales
will be
exempt from appeal and evironmental laws under the Logging
Without Laws
salvage rider.
The Saddle salvage sale is slated for 2.98 million board
feet, the
Kendrick salvage sale 1.9 million, and the Toe salvage sale
1.4
million. Contrary to many studies indicating ponderosa pines
can
survive up to 80% crown scorch, the Forest claims trees with 50%
crown
scorch will die and thus qualify for logging under the salvage
rider. Many of
the largest live tree will be cut under this
definition.
Comments will
be accepted until October 25th:
Alvin Brown,
Peaks Ranger District
5075 N. Highway 89, Flagstaff,
AZ 86004
ph: (520)526-0866 fx:
(520)527-8288