Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #52

Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #52

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           SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT #52
                        2/27/97           
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1. CACTUS FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN ARIZONA

2.  BUREAUCRATS SUPPRESS HABITAT PROTECTION FOR SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW
    FLYCATCHER- LETTERS NEEDED TODAY!

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CACTUS FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN ARIZONA

In response to a petition and three lawsuits by the Southwest
Center, the USFWS will list the Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl as
an endangered species on Friday, February 28th.  The tiny but
ferocious bird of prey is an obligate of the Southwest's dwindling
mesquite/cottonwood and xeric riparian areas. The Arizona
population has been reduced to 18 known pairs. A relatively large
population remains on the private King Ranch in south central
Texas. The Texas population will not be listed under the ESA
because of a conservation agreement which the Center has not yet
seen.
   Though most of the 18 Arizona pairs are in immediate peril from
proposed housing developments in the Tucson area, the Fish and
Wildlife Service has already stated it will issue take permits to
avoid conflicts. The Southwest Center believes that any loss of
individual pygmy-owls will result in jeopardizing the continued
existence of  the species. 
   The Service did not designate critical habitat as required by the
ESA, so the Southwest Center will continue its ongoing lawsuit for
habitat protection. The Center is represented by Matthew Kenna
and Geoff Hickcox of Kenna and Associates.


BUREAUCRATS SUPPRESS HABITAT PROTECTION FOR ENDANGERED SOUTHWESTERN
WILLOW FLYCATCHER- LETTERS NEEDED TODAY!

  The Southwest Center has obtained documents showing that a
1994 Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to designate 1,200 river
miles of critical habitat for the Southwestern willow flycatcher
was suppressed by high level bureaucrats who forced the agency to
falsely claim that no critical habitat could be delineated because of
"scientific uncertainty." The Southwest Center has sued the agency and
is currently awaiting a court decision on critical habitat.
  An obligate of riparian habitat (especially bording wetlands), the
flycatcher has declined dramatically since being listed as
endangered. Although the Fish and Wildlife Service has stated that
"at current population levels, and with continuing threats,
extinction of this species is foreseeable," it continues to issue take
permits and authorize habitat degradation.

The following river miles would have been protected:

CALIFORNIA
 Santa Ynez        30        Santa Ana River    16
 Santa Margarita   20        San Luis Rey       28
 San Dieguito      17        San Diego River     5
 Tijuana River      3

ARIZONA
 San Pedro River   60         Gila River         92
 Salt River         8         Tonto Creek         4
 Verde River       90         Little Colorado    30
 Bill Williams     36         Santa Maria River   6
 Big Sandy River    6         Colorado River     55
 Paria River        8

NEW MEXICO
 Chama River        5         Rio Grande del Rancho  4
 Rio Grande       264         Gila River          95
 San Francisco     65         Tularosa/Apache     35

UTAH
 Virgin River      52          Shunes Creek        4   
Santa Clara         4          Kanab Creek        12
Paria River        10          San Juan River     36

Please write Nancy Kauffman, Southwest Director of the Fish and
Wildlife Service; tell her to designate critical habitat for the
Southwestern willow flycatcher and stop any more take of this
endangered species:

   U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
   500 Gold Ave. SW
   Albuquerque, NM 87102

_______________________________________________________________________________
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