On 10-8-04, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission formally approved a decision by the Arizona Public Service Company to relinquish its license and dismantle the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project and dams on Fossil Creek in central Arizona. The approval is the final ratification of a legal agreement brokered by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Yavapai-Apache Nation and a coalition of environmental groups with the Arizona Public Service Company.

For over 90 years the power company has dammed Fossil Creek and diverted its water to feed the Childs-Irving hydropower plant leaving 14 miles of the river dry. The company had applied to renew its federal license for 30 years, but under the terms of the agreement has given it up. The power plant will be decommissioned by 12-31-04 and the site restored by 2009. Some minor structures will be left for historical reference, but the entire aboveground flume system, bridges, penstocks, and the top six feet of the dam including the intake structure will be removed. The maintenance road will be restored to a hiking trail and three small bridges will be removed to eliminate potential ORV routes. Underground tunnels will be fitted with bat-friendly grates.

On 10-7-04, a coalition of environmental groups reached a settlement agreement with the Bush administration to spare prairie dogs from poisoning on 3,000 acres of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in South Dakota and to halt a decision to allow prairie dog shooting. The plan was hatched in secret under intense pressure from politically powerful ranchers, state officials, and South Dakota’s congressional delegation. There was no public debate or environmental review even though the poisoning was to take place on federal lands and encompassed Conata Basin, the nation’s only successful black-footed ferret recovery program. The poisoning and shooting would have undermined the recovery program as prairie dogs are a critical food source for the endangered ferret.

Under the deal, poisoning will still occur on 5,000 acres, but not on the 3,000 acres where black-footed ferrets have been seen preying on prairie dogs. The ban on prairie dog shooting will be reinstated. "No grazing" buffer zones will be created on a voluntary basis to allow taller vegetation between private and public land. Prairie dogs generally avoid tall vegetation because it reduces their ability to spot predators. The administration also agreed to prepare an Environment Impact Statement, have full public participation, and consider non-lethal alternatives before conducting any additional prairie killing.

The suit was brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, Predator Conservation Alliance, Forest Guardians, Center for Native Ecosystems, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Great Plains Restoration Council, the Humane Society of the U.S., and the Prairie Hills Audubon Society. It was argued by Jay Tutchton of the Center for Biological Diversity/Denver University Environmental Law Clinic.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Nature Serve, and Conservation International have competed a conservation assessment of all of the world’s 5,743 amphibian species. The news is not good. Thirty-two percent are threatened with extinction while 122 have become extinct or missing since 1980. Amphibians are fairing worse than birds and mammals which are imperiled at a rate of 12 percent and 23 percent respectively.

Colombia leads the world with 208 threatened amphibians, followed by Mexico with 191, Ecuador with 163, Brazil with 110, and China with 86. Haiti has the highest percentage of threatened amphibians, with 92 percent of its species at risk of extinction.

In the Americas, the Caribbean and Australia, a highly infectious disease called chytridiomycosis has hit amphibians especially hard. New research is showing that in some regions, outbreaks of the disease may be linked to drought years, which scientists are increasingly attributing to the effects of climate change. But in most parts of the world – including Europe, Asia and Africa – chytridiomycosis is less of a problem. Other threats, such as habitat destruction, air and water pollution and consumer demand are leading causes of amphibian decline.

A summary of the study will soon be published in Science. A searchable database of all the species is available at: www.globalamphibians.org

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Maunabo Development Committee have brokered a legal agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a recovery plan and critical habitat for an endangered frog. The coqui guajon, also known as the Puerto Rican rock frog, is one of sixteen coqui frog species in Puerto Rico. Three are extinct and most of the remaining species are rare or declining. It was placed on the endangered species list in 1997, but has yet to receive critical habitat or a recovery plan. Reports by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that species with recovery plans are less likely to be declining than species without, and those with critical habitat are recovering twice as fast as those without.

Coquies are beloved in Puerto Rico. Their images emblazon art, photographs, t-shirts and products throughout the country.

The recovery plan will be completed by November 2004 and the critical habitat designation by September 2006. The case was argued by Edward J. Bennett of Williams & Connolly LLP and Jay Tutchton of the Center for Biological Diversity/University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic.

Center for Biological Diversity | PO Box 710 Tucson, AZ 85702 | 520-623-5252 | [email protected]

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