Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #50
Pardon the previous
alert..a few technical
difficulties
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SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#50
2/29/97
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1.
DON HENLEY, STEVIE NICKS, BRUCE HORNSBY TO PERFORM BENEFIT
CONCERT FOR SOUTHWEST CENTER
2. GETTING POLITICAL- SOUTHWEST CENTER
LAUNCHES 501(c)(4)
3. JAGUAR ESA LISTING MEDIA
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*** *** ***
DON HENLEY, STEVIE NICKS, BRUCE
HORNSBY TO
PERFORM BENEFIT CONCERT FOR SOUTHWEST CENTER
Don Henley
(Eagles), Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) and Bruce
Hornsby will perform a
benefit concert for the Southwest Center on
March 9, 1997 at the Union Hall
in Phoenix, AZ.
GETTING POLITICAL- SOUTHWEST CENTER LAUNCHES
501(c)(4)
The Southwest Center has launched "Southwest Action" a
non-profit
501(c)(4) environmental action group. The Center, like
most
environmental groups, is a 501(c)(3) and therefore prohibited
from
endorsing or opposing political candidates. Southwest
Action,
however, can legally enter the political area.
In 1996,
Southwest Center Conservation Chair, Dr. Robin Silver, ran
against John
Shadegg in the Republic primary, garnering 25% of the
vote.
JAGUAR
ESA LISTING MEDIA
"FUR IS ABOUT TO FLY OVER FIGHT TO PUT JAGUAR ON
ENDANGERED LIST"
Barry Burkhart, Arizona Republic, 2/9/97
Most of the jaguars you've ever seen either were in zoos or on TV
wildlife
shows
These beautiful spotted animals show a high affinity for
swamps or
rain forests. But they also live in the desert and at least
make
occasional visits into Arizona.
And they're causing a
ruckus among Arizona and New Mexico
wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the
Southwest Center for Biological
Diversity.
Since 1900, the presence of 64 jaguars has been
documented in
Arizona - four since 1971 and two last year, according to Bill
Van
Pelt, non-game mammals program manager for the Arizona Game
and Fish
Department.
Last year's sightings were in the Peloncillo Mountains on
the
Arizona-New Mexico Border and in the Baboquivari Mountains
southwest
of Tucson. Both sites are near the Mexican border where
they are most likely
to live.
...
The conflict that arises is whether
the animals should be designated
endangered species by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service or become
part of a joint conservation program instituted by
Arizona and New
Mexico.
...
In 1993, the
Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit
environmental
organization, sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to propose the jaguar
for endangered listing in the United States. The
Service did so in
1994.
In August of last year, the Center sued again because the
Service
still hadn't made a final determination. In December, Arizona
and
New Mexico began planning a conservation agreement that would
head off
listing the animal.
The Center went back to court last month to
push for a decision. It
will come in the next two weeks.
The
Center sees the conservation agreement as "a fraud". It says the
cat still
would be subject to institutionalized threats such as trapping,
shooting, and
habitat loss.
It also believes Gov. Fife Symington is at the
root of the problem.
"Just add Endangered Species Act violations to
Symington's list of
federal indictments," said David Hogan, Desert Rivers
Coordinator
for the Center.
...
Van Pelt said
listing the animal as endangered would put severe
limitations on ranchers,
the ones who most often encounter such
animals. That's why he wants them
involved.
"If the animal is listed, we're afraid rural people
will just keep quiet
when they see one. If it's on our land we're not going
to tell you about
it," he said.
Currently in Arizona, the
jaguar can't be killed for sport. But it could be
killed for destroying
private property such as livestock.
Under the Endangered Species Act, it
could not.
The cooperative agreement does call for stricter
laws, but passing
them is another matter.
...
Critics say the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity doesn't
give a whit
about jaguars, that it is more interested in protecting the
San Pedro River
and stopping the Army from using its water. If the
jaugar is listed, studies
may indicate that the San Pedro is critical
habitat for its existence. The
Center is already beating up Fort
Huachuca pretty well.
And it's
probably going to win this one, too.
...
And
there's another matter.
"There are five criteria for listing a
species," Van Pelt said.
"One is enough to get it done. The jaguar meet
four."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Kieran
Suckling
ksuckling@sw-center.org
Executive
Director
phone: 520-733-1391
Southwest Center for Biological
Diversity fax:
520-733-1404
POB 17839, Tucson, AZ
85731
www.envirolink.org/orgs/sw-center