Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALTER #41
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Southwest Biodiversity Alert #39
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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.
BALLOT INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TO SAVE BIG TREES AND WILD RIVERS
>
>2.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PLEDGED AT BRIDGER SALVAGE SALE
>
>3. APPEALS
COURT ALLOWS SOUTHWEST CENTER TO INTERVENE IN SPOTTED OWL
>
SUIT- CHARGES FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE WITH BETRAYING PUBLIC
TRUST
>
>4. SIERRA CLUB NEEDS YOUR HELP TO STOP A BRIDGE THROUGH
ARIZONA'S
> MOST SCENIC RIVER
>
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>
>BALLOT INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TO
SAVE BIG TREES AND WILD RIVERS
>
>The Southwest Center for
Biological Diversity has announced a
>campaign to place two environmental
initiatives on Arizona's 1998
>ballot. The Arizona Heritage Tree
Initiative will make it official
>state of Arizona policy that no tree
over 120 years old should be
>logged on State or Federal lands. The
Arizona Rivers and Streams
>Initiative will designate approximately 2,000
of rivers and streams
>as federally protected Wild & Scenic
Rivers.
>
>Pollsters at Arizona State University and the Behavior
Research
>Center believe public opinion will initally be very supportive
but
>could drop off in the face of a multi-millions dollar
industry
>campaign.
>
>CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PLEDGED AT BRIDGER
SALVAGE SALE
>
>The Southwest Center has announced that it will
conduct a civil
>disobedience campaign if necessary to stop the Kaibab
National
>Forest from logging the Bridger Salvage Timber sale on the
north
>Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The Southwest Center,
the
>Sierra Club, and the Southwest Forest Alliance blasted the
Forest
>Service's environmental assessment for exaggerating tree
mortality
>within the burn area. The sale is within the Grand Canyon
Game
>Preserve.
>
>APPEALS COURT ALLOWS SOUTHWEST CENTER TO
INTERVENE IN SPOTTED OWL SUIT-
>CHARGES FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE WITH
BETRAYING PUBLIC TRUST
>
>The 10th Circuit Court of appeal has
overturned a lower court
>ruling barring Southwest Center Conservation
Chair, Dr. Robin
>Silver, from intervening in a lawsuit to delist the
Mexican spotted
>owl from the Endangered Species Act. The Arizona/New
Mexico
>Coalition of Counties is suing the Fish & Wildlife Service
over its
>decision to list the owl as threatened in
1993.
>
>The case should strengthen standing arguments
for
>environmentalists since the appeals court found that
"economic
>interest is not the sin qua non" of substantial interest. It
declared
>that "Dr. Silver's involvement with the Owl in the wild and
his
>persistent record of advocacy for its protection amounts to a
direct
>and substantial interest." Dr. Silver petitioned to list the
Mexican
>spotted owl as threatened in 1989, and was lead plaintiff in
suits
>securing 4.8 million acres of critical habitat and halting
all
>National Forest and Navajo Nation logging for the past 15
months.
>
>The appeals court rejected the Fish & Wildlife
Service's argument
>that it is adequately representing the owl and the
public as "all the
>more suspect by its reluctance in protecting the owl,
doing so only
>after Dr. Silver threatened and eventually brought a law
suit to
>force compliance with the" ESA.
>
>The Appeals Court
also rejected the Coalition of Counties'
>argument that Dr. Silver
is attempting to "forum shop". The
>Appeals court declared that the only
forum shopping being done is
>by the Coalition of Counties since it
opted to file its suit in the 10th
>Circuit (NM) rather than join existing
litigation in the 9th Circuit
>(AZ) as it should
have.
>
>SIERRA CLUB NEEDS YOUR HELP TO STOP A BRIDGE THROUGH
ARIZONA'S
>MOST SCENIC RIVER
>
>Red Rock Crossing, on Oak
Creek near Sedona, Arizona, is one of the
>defining symbols of the
American West. It has appeared in hundreds
>of feature films
and documentaries....been displayed on thousands of
>post cards,
posters, calendars and billboards....attracted millions of
>tourists
from around the world.
>
>Now the Yavapai County Board of
Supervisors wants to build a new
>bridge right at Red Rock Crossing.
This massive structure, and the
>vehicular traffic it would bring,
will gravely impact an area of
>exceptional natural beauty and
tranquility.
>
>Comments on the proposal are due by end of November.
You can learn more
>about this project, and what you can do to help
stop it, by visiting
>
> http:www//redrockxing.org
>
>or
contacting Bennie Blake (520) 282-6578 or Tom Slayback (520) 778-4233
>at
Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, Red Rock Crossing Committee:
>Sierra
Club, Sedona-Verde Valley Group, P. O. Box 3913, West Sedona,
AZ
>86340
>