Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#56
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SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT
#56
3/18/97
SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
silver city, tucson, phoenix, san
diego
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1.
WISE USERS LOSE BID TO DELIST THE THREATENED MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL
2.
E.P.A. REFUSES NAFTA ORDER TO REVIEW DEWATERING OF SAN PEDRO
RIVER
BY U.S. ARMY
3. MEXICAN GRAY WOLF TO RETURN
TO GILA HEADWATERS ECOSYSTEM
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*** *** ***
WISE USERS LOSE BID TO DELIST THE
THREATENED MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL
A federal judge has ruled against the
"Coalition of Arizona/New
Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth" in
their bid to
delist the threatened Mexican spotted owl from the
Endangered
Species Act. The Coalition argued that the Fish and
Wildlife
Service made procedural and substantial errors in denying
their
petition to delist the owl. The Southwest Center, represented
by
Earthlaw, intervened in the case, arguing that the Coalition
of
Counties lacked standing to bring the suit. While the counties
claimed
the listing had caused loss of jobs, loss of Forest Service
payments, and
increased beetle and disease infestation, they were
not able to provide any
documentation of their claims. The judge
agreed with the SW Center, throwing
the case out for lack of
standing.
Special thanks to Earthlaw which
has represented the SW Center
and many other groups pro bono throughout the
Mexican spotted
owl wars, winning 4.8 million acres of critical habitat, a 16
month
logging injunction on eleven National Forests, and now fighting
off
the wise users.
E.P.A. REFUSES NAFTA ORDER TO REVIEW DEWATERING OF SAN
PEDRO RIVER
BY U.S. ARMY
Several months ago, the NAFTA Secretariat
on the Environment
ordered the E.P.A. to respond to SW Center charges that
the U.S.
Army violated American environmental laws by allowing
Fort
Huachuca to dewater the San Pedro River without performing a
NEPA
analysis. The first such ruling ever under NAFTA, this was
a test case to see
if the treaty actually has any environmental teeth
and whether member nations
will take it seriously. The EPA's
response is a resounding "NO" to
both.
Rather than study the well documented effects of Fort Huachuca
on
the San Pedro River, the E.P.A. argues that the military is allowed
to
violate NEPA since Congress placed a special statue of limitations
shielding
the base from citizen lawsuits. Since citizens are limited
in their ability
to sue, the EPA argues, there must be no violation of
law!
The SW
Center was represented by Earthlaw in the NAFTA petition
and two previous
lawsuits against Fort Huachuca.
MEXICAN GRAY WOLF TO RETURN TO GILA
HEADWATERS ECOSYSTEM
Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of Interior, has signed
a Record of
Decision authorizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to
reintroduce at least 3 pairs of endangered Mexican gray wolves
into the
Gila Headwaters Ecosystem of southwest New Mexico
and southeast Arizona. The
US Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to
have at least 100 wolves in a
self-sustaining wild population in the
area within the next decade.
Unfortunately, the FWS has bowed to
political pressure, once again
designating the wolves
"experimental non-essential" which makes the wolves in
captivity
the "essential"
population.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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