Subject: FW: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #88

Subject: SW BIODIVERSITY ALERT #88

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              SOUTHWEST BIODIVERSITY ALERT #88
                           8/11/97          

          SOUTHWEST CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
           silver city, tucson, phoenix, san diego
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1.  COURT REJECTS FOREST SERVICE ATTEMPT TO EVADE TIMBER/GRAZING
    INJUNCTION

2.  GOSHAWK NUMBERS LOOK GRIM IN NEW MEXICO-
    FOREST SERVICE RESEARCHER WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE RESULTS

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COURT REJECTS FOREST SERVICE ATTEMPT TO EVADE TIMBER/GRAZING INJUNCTION

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 8, 1997, rejected a
request by the Forest Service to lift or delay its recent injunction
against timber sales and grazing permits on National Forests in AZ
and NM.

Though the injunction was issued on July 25, 1997, the Forest
Service has yet to move or remove any cattle from allotments
which violate Forest Plan standards and guidelines. It estimates
that up to half of the region's 1,300 allotments may be subject the
injunction. The Forest Service has also refused to halt logging on a
number timber sales identified by Forest Guardians and the
Southwest Center to violate the injunction.

In denying the Forest Service's request, the Appeals Court stated:
"Contempt proceedings may be brought in the district court for
any violation of the injunction."
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GOSHAWK NUMBERS LOOK GRIM IN NEW MEXICO-
FOREST SERVICE RESEARCHER WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE RESULTS

According to a report by the New Mexico Department of Game
and Fish, goshawk data gathered between 1991 and 1996 indicate
a declining goshawk population on New Mexico National Forests.
Territories occupied by nesting birds dropped from 71% to 42%,
successful nesting dropped from 85.5% to 31.4%, and average
young per nest declined from 1.57 to 0.54. The study also notes
that Forest Service monitoring of goshawk nests sites has also
decreased dramatically.

A Forest Service sponsored researcher, meanwhile, has published
an article in the Journal of Raptor Research (31(2):95-106)
arguing that the Southwest Center's petition to list the Northern
goshawk as endangered in the western U.S. should be denied. Patricia
Kennedy claims that there are no data to indicate that
goshawks should be protected under the ESA. To make her point,
however, Kennedy establishes her own criteria for listing under the
ESA, completely ignoring the five legally binding criteria of the
ESA. Even more astounding, Kennedy refused to acknowledge
any unpublished reports (i.e. 90% of all goshawk literature and
data, including the New Mexico Game and Fish report).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must decide in September
whether to issue a positive 90-day ruling on the Southwest
Center's petition. Federal Courts have struck down two previous
denials.


_____________________________________________________________________________

Kieran Suckling                               ksuckling@sw-center.org
Executive Director                            520.623.5252 phone
Southwest Center for Biological Diversity     520.623.9797 fax
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/sw-center      pob 710, tucson, az 85702-710