|
WWP Wildlife News
~ Jon Marvel
 Friends,
This Online Messenger is the very first in the new format chosen by WWP's Media Director Brian Ertz to better illustrate WWP's latest news. Please let us know what you think of this new look.
Tortoise Goes to Court: Groups File Lawsuit Against Feds for Failing to Answer Request for Federal Protection
Arizona—June 1. Today, Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth
Guardians filed suit in federal court in Arizona against the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service) over the agency’s failure to decide
whether it will consider listing the Sonoran desert tortoise
population under the Endangered Species Act. An answer to the groups’
petition requesting federal protection of the Sonoran desert tortoise
was due in January.
The petition shows that Sonoran desert tortoises have declined by 51
percent since 1987, or about 3.5 percent annually, in monitored areas
throughout the animal’s range in Arizona. The groups alerted the Obama
administration about the urgency of the Sonoran desert tortoise’s
situation in January, but the administration has failed to act on
behalf of the beleaguered tortoise.
“We are very disappointed that the Obama administration has turned a
blind eye to the tortoise’s unfortunate race toward extinction,” stated
Dr. Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians.
“We provided the Service with a detailed scientific analysis showing
that Sonoran desert tortoise populations are in serious trouble and
that the tortoise is faced with ever-increasing threats in its habitat.
The Service needs to comply with the Endangered Species Act and act now
to conserve and recover the tortoise,” stated Dr. Michael Connor of
Western Watersheds Project.
The petition describes many threats that contribute to tortoise
declines including disease, livestock grazing, climate change, urban
sprawl, off-road vehicles, border patrol activities, a lack of adequate
legal protections, and additional factors. Extended drought caused by
climate change is a real concern. Biologists fear that human activities
combined with environmental stress may be increasing susceptibility to
two diseases that are now becoming increasingly common among Sonoran
desert tortoise populations. Stated Connor, “The combined assault of
threats such as development, cattle grazing, new roads, and disease are
pushing Arizona’s unlisted desert tortoise populations closer and
closer to extinction.”
The required 90-day finding triggers further agency actions. If the
finding is positive, the Secretary is then required to undertake a
review of the status of the species and to make a decision based on
that review. If, as a result of that status review, the tortoise is
listed under the Endangered Species Act, it would be protected from
“take” (including killing and harassment) of individual tortoises, and
the Service would have to develop a recovery plan to map out the steps
that must be taken to reverse the population declines. The Service
would also have to identify critical habitat required by the tortoise
so that it can be protected to aid the conservation and recovery of the
species.
“The Sonoran desert tortoise population has been slashed in half
over the past two decades, but the administration is failing to act on
its behalf. We’re forced to go to court to speed up federal safeguards
for this rapidly declining reptile,” stated Rosmarino.
WWP Joins Northern Rockies Wolf Delisting litigation to prevent Salazar's removal of Endangered Species Act protection from wolves
CONSERVATION GROUPS CHALLENGE NORTHERN ROCKIES WOLF DELISTING
Missoula, Montana— Conservation groups today filed their challenge to the removal of Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Idaho and Montana. On April 2, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped the wolves from the Endangered Species list, finalizing an effort launched by the Bush administration to deprive the wolves of legal and habitat protections, thus allowing state management and hunting. The challenged delisting decision is the second time in a year the federal government has removed federal protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. Conservation groups, represented by Earthjustice, successfully sued to get the protections reinstated in July 2008.
Delisting wolves means they will be subject to state-sponsored wolf “control” efforts and hunting unless stopped by legal action. Idaho and Montana plan to allow hundreds of wolves to be shot.
The decision to lift wolf protections comes as Yellowstone National Park wolves declined by 27 percent in the last year – one of the largest declines reported since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. The northern Rockies wolf population also has not achieved a level of connectivity between the greater Yellowstone, central Idaho, and northwest Montana areas that is essential to wolves’ long-term survival. In delisting wolves, the Fish and Wildlife Service authorized Idaho and Montana to reduce their wolf populations from a current population of roughly 1,500 wolves to only 200-300 wolves in the two states.
Wolves will remain under federal control in Wyoming because a federal court previously ruled that Wyoming’s hostile wolf management scheme leaves wolves in “serious jeopardy.” The Fish and Wildlife Service in the recent past held that a state-by-state approach to delisting wolves was not permitted under the Endangered Species Act, including in its earlier decision to not delist
wolves without Wyoming’s inclusion. In the challenged delisting decision, the federal government flip flopped from its earlier position.
In addition to Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have refused to make enforceable commitments to maintain viable wolf populations within their borders. On the very day the first wolf delisting took effect in March, 2008, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed a law allowing Idaho citizens to kill wolves without a permit whenever wolves are annoying, disturbing, or “worrying” livestock or domestic animals. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission established rules that would have allowed 428 wolves to be killed in 2008 alone had the court not returned wolves to the endangered species list. Montana also authorized a fall wolf hunt.
Earthjustice represents Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, The Humane Society of the United States, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Friends of the Clearwater, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Western Watersheds Project, Wildlands Project, and Hells Canyon Preservation Council.
########
“We look forward to celebrating the transfer of wolves to state management but not until a federal delisting rule is developed that ensures the future of wolves in the region. This plan ignores current science on what wolves need to maintain a healthy population over the long term. It also ignores the hundreds of thousands of citizens who have asked for a better plan,” said Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative for Defenders of Wildlife.
“The recovery of wolves in the Northern Rockies is tantalizingly close — but we are not there yet,” said Louisa Willcox, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s office in Livingston, Montana. “And sadly, state-sponsored hunts are only going to push the finish line further away. The science is clear; so until we see natural connectivity between Yellowstone and the rest of the Rockies and states willing to give the wolves a break, not drive them to the brink of extinction, this fight will continue.”
“Unfortunately, leaving wolves in state hands right now threatens their survival. Wolves are one of America’s natural treasures, and they should be managed that way,” Melanie Stein, a Sierra Club representative, said. “It makes no sense to delist wolves on a state-by-state basis. Wolves don’t know political boundaries. We look forward to restoring wolves to the care of the federal government until the states have come up with plans that will sustain wolves into the future. We hope to work with the Obama administration to ensure that wolves fully recover.”
"We are disappointed that this early in the new administration, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar choose to ignore sound science and instead choose to pursue a piecemeal delisting plan for the Northern Rockies gray wolf population. It makes no sense to segment an already fragmented population with two different management plans. Taking away Endangered Species protection from wolves in Montana and Idaho while keeping Wyoming’s wolves under federal protection completely ignores the best population and ecosystem science. In addition, we firmly believe that the three states’ management plans will lead to the unwarranted death of hundreds of wolves. As much as we wish to have the states manage their wolves, they simply haven't developed adequate management plans, and the Federal government is acting irresponsibly by proposing delisting under these circumstances,” said Franz Camenzind of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance.
“We are disappointed the new administration has missed this opportunity to rethink the failed wolf persecution policies of the last eight years,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation with The Humane Society of the United States. “The federal government’s efforts to strip wolves of all federal protection have been repeatedly struck down by the courts, and this latest rule is no more likely to succeed than the previous failed attempts.”
“It is unfortunate that the Obama administration has adopted Bush-era legal views that count wolves as ‘recovered’ even when they still only occupy less than five percent of their original range in our country,” said Michael Robinson, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Wolves are still endangered and we believe the court will see through this chicanery.”
“Wolf reintroduction transcends state boundaries, and so does wolf habitat. What one state does to their wolves can greatly affect what happens in another state,” said Jennifer Schwartz, staff attorney for Hells Canyon Preservation Council. “Therefore, until the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves are fully recovered throughout a significant portion of their historical habitat, it makes the most sense for wolves to be managed by the feds, not the states. If Idaho shoots a large percentage of their wolves, it’s highly unlikely that Oregon will have any stable wolf packs at all.
“Wolf populations in the Northern Rockies are nearing legitimate recovery levels. Like most things, you can do it right or you can do it over. Here, FWS did it over, but did it wrong,” said Doug Honnold of Earthjustice, who represents the conservation group plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “When the states demonstrate they are willing to manage wolves for long-term survival and recovery rather than short-term devastation, we can all celebrate true recovery of the wolf.”
******
|
A Desert Tortoise excersizing poor hygiene © Dr. Michael J. Connor, WWP
Spring 2009 Watersheds Messenger Now Available Online !
View and download the Spring 2009 Watersheds Messenger
Enjoy reports on WWP staff work in several western states and an article considering the future for environmental protection under the Obama Administration.
Receive this email as a forward from a friend ?
 Forward this message to a friend
Central Idaho Wolf
© Lynne K Stone
Follow the Phantom Hill Wolf Pack of Central Idaho on Twitter
OR
Join the Cause on Facebook
A Great Editorial From the Salt Lake Tribune
Saving sage grouse: Judge is right to allow lawsuit
Salt Lake Tribune Editorial - May 14, 2009
"A funny-looking bird that fluffs its feathers to dance an elaborate
mating rite just might be able to accomplish what well-funded
environmental groups have been struggling to do for decades: bring
about regional protection of vast swaths of Western lands.[..]"
"In protecting the sage grouse, we protect ourselves and the scenic
wonders we treasure from the headlong rush to extract more fossil
fuels, to pollute our air, and to mar our most fragile landscapes with
excessive ATV traffic.
When creatures like the sage grouse become endangered, so do we."
Click to read the whole editorial
Click to View Map © Advocates For The West and Conservation Geography (used by permission)
WWP Litigates in
Washington State Challenging Livestock Grazing on the
Asotin Wildlife Area in eastern Washington
Chinook salmon - photo: USFWS Asotin Wildlife Area was purchased as a wildlife preserve  Sidehill spring, Pintler Creek - Asotin Wildlife Area, Washington
© WWP 2007
© WWP 2007
WWP member Donald Johnson traverses trecherous slopes above Pintler Creek. Slopes such as these are innappropriate for livestock grazing. Erosion and runoff of sediment following disturbance pollutes the fisheries habitat of which the Asotin Wildlife Area was meant to preserve.
North Fork Big Lost River Watershed
© Brian Ertz, WWP
|
