• FAX BLITZ AGAIN DELAYS NM COAL MINE APPROVAL
  • MEXICAN WOLF HEARING ON MARCH 29, YOUR PRESENCE NEEDED
  • BILL INTRODUCED THAT UNDERMINES AZ'S AGUA FRIA MONUMENT
  • BUSH VIOLATES COURT ORDER TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR CA FISH

FAX BLITZ AGAIN DELAYS NM COAL MINE APPROVAL

Faced with an onslaught of nearly 2,000 faxes in late February, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton delayed federal approval of the Salt River Project's massive 18,000 acre Fence Lake coal mine. Located in remote western New Mexico, SRP's mine would pump thousands of gallons of groundwater per day from an aquifer feeding the Zuni Salt Lake, a unique high desert oasis and culturally significant area for the Zuni, Acoma, Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and other tribes. For centuries, these tribes have gathered the lake's pure salt for ceremonial and other purposes.

In addition to its disastrous effect on Zuni Salt Lake, the Fence Lake coal mine would excavate hundreds of human burials, obliterate ancient salt-gathering trails, and decimate the heart of a 182,000 acre area known as ‘‘the Sanctuary,'' a traditional neutral zone where tribes can gather salt without hostilities. The mine permit area, consisting of thousands of acres of rolling hills and grasslands home to prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope, and nesting golden eagles, would be blasted, leveled by enormous drag lines, and then ripped by bulldozers for dirty coal.

The Zuni Salt Lake Coalition, comprised of the Center for Biological Diversity, Zuni Pueblo, Citizen's Coal Council, Water Information Network, and Sierra Club's environmental justice campaign, is working to ensure defeat of SRP's coal mine and to compel Interior Secretary Gale Norton to uphold her trust responsibilities towards Indian tribes and the nation's environment.

For more information click here...


MEXICAN WOLF HEARING ON MARCH 29, YOUR PRESENCE NEEDED

The New Mexico Game Commission may vote on March 29th to withdraw involvement in Mexican wolf recovery, in response to some commissioners' opposition of the program. Your presence at this hearing could stay the course. Withdrawal would send a signal to the Bush Administration that the federal program lacks the state's official support. The livestock industry is pulling out all the stops to prevent upcoming reforms in the program, including direct release of wolves into the Gila National Forest.

Arizona's Game Commissioners held a hearing last May to prepare to withdraw from the program, but backed off of that decision in the face of public testimony that was overwhelmingly supportive of staying involved. The meeting is at New Mexico Tech's Macey Center, 801 Leroy, Socorro, from 9.00am to 4.30pm on March 29.

For more information, contact Michael J. Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity at (505) 534-0360 or click here...


BILL INTRODUCED THAT UNDERMINES AZ'S AGUA FRIA MONUMENT

A bill introduced on 3-21-02 by Congressman Bob Stump (H.R.4076), would destroy protections for Arizona's Agua Fria Monument, re-authorize use to include mining and development, and undermine Presidential authority to create or expand monuments.

The monument's 450 prehistoric cultural sites, grasslands, riparian forests and Agua Fria River, rich with sensitive species, would be threatened by the opening of all "trails" to vehicle travel for "any purpose." Livestock removal would be prohibited, and, contrary to the Antiquities Act and original proclamation, ranching would be listed as monument values. Current water rights that maintain the flow of the Agua Fria River would be given away, and the size of the monument reduced for freeway expansion and development.

This bill goes against most Arizonan's interests: 75% support Agua Fria and Arizona's new monuments, and 71% oppose removing monument lands and allowing mining and development.

For more information click here...


BUSH VIOLATES COURT ORDER TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR CA FISH

On 3-19-02 the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Fisheries Society, California Trout, Inc., and Friends of the River sued the Fish and Wildlife Service over its failure to comply with a court order to protect critical habitat for the endangered Santa Ana sucker fish. The Bush Administration has a pattern of repeatedly refusing to implement environmental policies agreed to by the Clinton Administration.

The Santa Ana sucker was once one of the most common fish in lower elevation Los Angeles rivers and streams. It is now absent from 75% of its historic range as a result of urbanization and water pollution. The species is a prime indicator of water quality in southern California, requiring clean water to survive.

For more information click here...


WANTED: YOUR IDEAS. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

Please take a few moments to click on the link below and complete our online membership survey today, or mail the printable version by April 10th. Whether you work with Center projects directly or prefer to support us from the sidelines, we value your ideas. Your responses will help us shape policy, focus on issues that matter most to you, and better communicate with our supporters about our work. Click here...


Become a member of the Center for Biological Diversity, and ensure a future for wildlife and habitat.