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CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
<www.biologicaldiversity.org>
5-18-01
#274
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§
VENTURA MARSH MILK-VETCH LISTED AS "ENDANGERED"-
FIRST
LISTING OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION
§ 23,903 ACRES PROTECTED FOR CHECKERSPOT
BUTTERFLY
§ GLOBAL WARMING TOLL ON BIODIVERSITY
MOUNTS:
PETITION FILED TO LIST ALASKA SEABIRD AS
"ENDANGERED"
§ LIVESTOCK DECISION STRUCK DOWN TO PROTECT
ARIZONA
WILDERNESS
§ SCIENTISTS: MEXICAN WOLF
RECOVERY WORKING, BUT IS
WEAKENED BY LIVESTOCK
COMPROMISES
VENTURA MARSH MILK-VETCH LISTED AS "ENDANGERED"-
FIRST
LISTING OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION, ONLY 26 YEARS LATE
In keeping with an
agreement negotiated by the Center for Biological
Diversity, the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service listed the Ventura Marsh
milk-vetch (Astragalus
pycnostachyus var. lanosissimus) as an
endangered species on
5-18-01.
The Ventura Marsh milkvetch occurs on less than half an acre of
private
land near Oxnard, CA slated for development. It formerly occupied
coastal
wetlands in Ventura, Orange, and Los Angeles counties, including
the
much fought over Ballona Wetlands.
The milkvetch is one of many
thousands of the Department of Interior's
Dickensian stepchildren. It was
petitioned for Endangered Species Act
listing in 1975 by the Smithsonian
Institution. Since then it has bounced
around the federal listing bureaucracy
like Oliver Twist from orphanage to
orphanage. At one point the only known
plants were found among
lawnmower clippings at a state park. The single
remaining population was
rediscovered in 1997. The only reason the site was
not developed is
because it has been used as a dump for petroleum products.
Coastal land
prices has escalated so much that even this site is now slated
for condos.
The milkvetch is the first Endangered Species Act listing of
the Bush
Administration which in it's first hundred days set a record in
listing no
endangered species while denying federal protection to four. It is
also the
first listing in the nation since the Department of Interior
announced a
moratorium on endangered listings just days after the
presidential election.
The Center has won endangered species listings for
116 species
since
1993.
_______________________
23,903 ACRES PROTECTED FOR BAY CHECKERSPOT
BUTTERFLY
In keeping with a legal settlement obtained by the Center for
Biological
Diversity, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated 23,903
acres of
critical habitat in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, CA for
the
endangered Bay checkerspot butterfly on 5-2-01. By law, critical
habitat
must include all areas necessary for the survival and full recovery
of the
endangered species.
The Bay checkerspot depends on host plants
which grow primarily in
grasslands on serpentine soils, a bluish-green soil
type that is naturally
highly mineralized, high in magnesium, and low in
nitrogen and calcium.
This specialized soil system is very valuable
biologically because it
supports a high percentage of California's endemic
species.
Unfortunately, the majority of the checkerspot's serpentine soil
habitat in
San Mateo and Santa Clara counties has been destroyed. It is
virtually
certain to go extinct if its remaining habitat is not
protected.
_______________________
Throughout the West, the Center has won over 39.2
million acres of
critical habitat since 1995. It's "Golden State Biodiversity
Initiative" has
won over 5.8 million acres of critical habitat in California,
including over
1,000 miles of river. To find out more about the Golden State
program:
<http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/goldenstate/goldenstate.html>
_______________________
GLOBAL WARMING TOLL ON BIODIVERSITY
MOUNTS:
PETITION FILED TO LIST ALASKA SEABIRD UNDER E.S.A.
On 5-10-01, the
Center for Biological Diversity, Sitka Conservation
Society, the Coastal
Coalition, Eyak Preservation Council, and Lynne
Canal Conservation filed a
scientific petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service to list
Kittlitz's murrelet as endangered under the Endangered
Species
Act.
This small, diving seabird breeds only in certain regions of coastal
Alaska
and to a limited extent in the Russian far east. It is sometimes
called the
"Glacier Murrelet" because during the breeding season it forages
almost
exclusively at the face of tidewater glaciers or near the outflow of
glacial
streams. It nests in alpine areas in bare patches in the ice and
snow.
This intimate association with glaciers is unique among seabirds,
and
makes Kittlitz's murrelet especially vulnerable to global warming.
The
Bush Administration's current energy policy virtually guarantees
the
extinction of this imperiled species. In order to ensure the
continued
survival of the Kittlitz's murrelet in the wild, reductions in
greenhouse
gases must be achieved in the very near future.
Marine oil
pollution, vessel disturbance, and near shore gill-net fishing
have also
helped to cause dramatic population declines over the past
decade. To see
photos, read the petition and find out more about Kittlitz's
murrelet visit
our website at
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/murrelet/index.html
_______________________
LIVESTOCK DECISION STRUCK DOWN TO PROTECT
WILDERNESS
The Center for Biological Diversity, Sky Islands Alliance, and the
Sierra
Club won our appeal of a decision by the Coronado National Forest
to
allow cattle, bulldozers, and stock tanks in the Rincon Wilderness.
The
regional office of the Forest Service overturned the Forest's
decision,
saying that wilderness protection values and the impacts of
intensive
livestock development must be given more consideration.
The
Rincon Wilderness has not been grazed since 1994 and is just now
showing
signs of recovery from decades of abuse. Cattle should not be
permitted back
in. Nor should we allow bulldozers and stock tanks in
designated wilderness
areas.
The appeal decision is available at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/grazing/happy-valley-appeal.pdf
_______________________
SCIENTISTS: MEXICAN WOLF RECOVERY WORKING, BUT
IS
WEAKENED BY LIVESTOCK COMPROMISES
A team of independent scientists
convened to review the Mexican gray
wolf reintroduction program has declared
that the federal/state effort is
working, should continue, but is being
weakened by too many
unbiological compromises with the livestock industry.
Their preliminary
report is part of a mandated federal review of the
reintroduction program.
The scientists recommended:
-
Allowing wolves be allowed to move outside the currently
designated
recovery area. The area is too small and
not adhered to by wolves.
- Only recapturing wolves if they
threaten human life. Wolves are now
routinely
recaptured if they come too close to cattle. Too
much
handling by humans counteracts efforts to
acclimate them to the wild.
- Reintroduce wolves directly into
New Mexico. Currently wolves must
first be
introduced into Arizona, rounded up after cattle conflicts,
then
be moved to New Mexico.
-
Remove cattle carcasses from public lands. Leaving dead
cattle
encourages wolves to prey on live
cattle.
- Increase efforts to condition wolves to avoid
humans.
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