HONOLULU, Hawaii, October 5. 2008 (ENS) – Conservationists are expressing mixed reactions to the federal government’s proposal to add 48 species found only on the island of Kauai to the federal endangered species list and also to designate critical habitat for them. While advocates support the ecosystem approach proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, some say it was used during the Clinton administration but abandoned under President Bush.

The proposal, made on Tuesday by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne includes 45 plants, two Kauai birds – the ‘akikiki and ‘akeke’e – and one Hawaiian picture-wing fly.

Kempthorne said the proposal applies “a newly developed, ecosystem-based approach to species conservation.”

“By addressing the common threats that occur across these ecosystems, we can more effectively focus our conservation efforts on restoring the functions of these shared habitats,” said Kempthorne. “This holistic approach will benefit the recovery of the listed species and also all the species within the native ecological community.”

The akeke’e uses its offset bill to pry open
leaves and flower buds of just one tree,
the Åhi‘a. (Photo by Eric
VanderWerf courtesy American
Bird Conservancy)

The species are found in six ecosystem types from rainforest mountains to moist lowlands and dry cliffs. Twenty-two separate geographic areas covering 27,674 acres are being proposed as critical habitat.

But only 1,646 acres are proposed as new critical habitat. The Service says 26,028 acres overlap existing critical habitat set aside for other species.

The majority of the proposed critical habitat is located on State of Hawaii lands, while 5,970 acres are located on private lands owned by approximately 12 different landowners.

Some conservationists say the proposal holds promise for species protection.

“We are pleased about the ecosystem approach – it makes sense. It looks like for the first time they’re combining plants and animals, and taking an ecosystem approach toward recovery,” said Marjorie Ziegler, who heads the 58 year-old Honolulu-based Conservation Council for Hawaii.

“Kauai is really hammered,” Ziegler said. “We’re really glad they’re listing the two birds. They are being pushed up to the upper elevations of the Alakai Swamp and if they don’t get protection from pigs, we’re going to lose them very quickly.”

But Mike Senatore, senior counsel with the Center for Biological Diversity, takes issue with Kempthorne’s assertion that the ecosystem approach is new.

“It was the Clinton administration that developed and implemented an ecosystem-based approach to species conservation – an approach that the Bush administration all but disregarded,” he said.

“Most, if not all of these species, have been the subject of listing petitions and ongoing litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity to force the administration to protect hundreds of species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously had determined warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act,” said Senatore.

Other conservation organizations also have been requesting protection for the rare birds.

The American Bird Conservancy and Hawaiian bird expert Eric VanderWerf had petitioned the agency requesting protection for them. There are estimated to be fewer than 1,400 ‘akikiki and fewer than 3,500 ‘akeke’e in 2007. The populations of both birds dropped drastically since 2000, the group says.

George Fenwick, president of the bird conservation group, called the listing proposal “an important victory for the ‘akikiki and ‘akeke’e, which need every bit of help that they can get.”

The akikiki lives only on the high, wet
slopes of Kauai’s highest mountain.
(Photo by Eric VanderWerf courtesy
American Bird Conservancy)

“Recent population surveys indicate that these species are on the brink of extinction,” he said.

The ‘akikiki is categorized as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its extremely small and declining population and geographic range.

The ‘akeke’e is categorized as Endangered by the IUCN due to its small and declining geographic range and declines in habitat quality.

Patrick Leonard, field supervisor with the Pacific Islands office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that over the next few years, the Service plans to use the ecosystem approach to propose listing and designating critical habitat for all of the endemic candidate species from the Hawaiian Islands.

There will be one rule each for Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii and a single rule for the three islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

The Service will also propose a single rule for Hawaiian species that are found on multiple islands. Each rule will propose endangered or threatened status for each species and will also propose critical habitat for species “when prudent,” said Leonard.

“Kauai, the oldest island of the main Hawaiian Islands, has been called a ‘treasure trove of biodiversity’ and is believed to house the greatest diversity of plants in the state,” said “Therefore, it is appropriate that we begin this new approach to listing species and designating critical habitat in Kauai.”

All of the Kauai species are threatened by ongoing destruction or modification of habitat due to feral ungulates such as pigs and goats, nonnative plants and hurricanes.

Several Kauai species are threatened by destruction or modification of habitat due to fire, landslides and flooding.

In addition to the threats to their habitat, one or more of the 48 species are threatened by limited numbers, predation, competition from nonnative plants, lack of reproduction, avian diseases, vandalism and over collection.

Senatore says the proposal to protect the 48 species falls short of the Interior Department’s announcement earlier this year that it would propose adding 71 species to the list of endangered and threatened species.

“While we welcome this action to protect these incredibly rare and imperiled species, in no way does it make up for the administration’s abysmal track-record of listing and protecting endangered and threatened species,” said Senatore. “This action also does nothing for the hundreds of additional species that have languished for years awaiting protection under the Endangered Species Act.”

Hawaii leads the nation in the total number of endangered and threatened species with 329, and in extinctions – with over 1,000 plants and animals having disappeared since human colonization.

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WASHINGTON, DC, September 15, 2008 (ENS) – The Bush administration’s authorization of increased snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park violates the fundamental legal responsibility of the National Park Service to protect the clean air, wildlife, and natural quiet of national parks for the benefit of all visitors, a federal court ruled today.

The administration authorized increased snowmobile use despite scientific conclusions by the National Park Service that the decision would multiply noise and unhealthy exhaust, which disrupt the experiences of visitors, and traffic that harms Yellowstone’s wildlife, including bison.

Judge Emmett Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today invalidated the Bush decision in a case brought by six conservation groups that together represent more than two million members.

A snowmobile tour at Yellowstone National Park
(Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The groups sued the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Mike Snyder, director of the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service over their new Winter Use Plan that allows 540 recreational snowmobiles and 83 snowcoaches to enter Yellowstone every day.

The plaintiff groups claimed the Bush adminstration’s decision violated numerous laws, including the National Park Service Organic Act.

In his ruling, Judge Sullivan wrote, “The Organic Act clearly states…that the fundamental purpose of the national park system is to conserve park resources and values.”

“NPS fails to explain how increasing snowmobile usage over current conditions, where adaptive management thresholds are already being exceeded, complies with the conservation mandate of the Organic Act,” the judge wrote, adding that, “NPS also fails to provide a rational explanation for the source of the 540 snowmobile limit.”

According to the National Park Service’s own data, the Winter Use Plan “will increase air pollution, exceed the use levels recommended by NPS biologists to protect wildlife, and cause major adverse impacts to the natural soundscapes in Yellowstone. Despite this, NPS found that the plan’s impacts are wholly ‘acceptable,’ and utterly fails to explain this incongruous conclusion,” Judge Sullivan concluded.

The judge directed that the National Park Service must substitute a plan that ensures all visitors can safely experience the park, and uphold laws that require stronger protection of Yellowstone’s air quality, wildlife, and natural sounds.

“Beyond Yellowstone, the court’s ruling reaffirms that a cornerstone purpose of our national parks is to provide opportunities to enjoy nature and these opportunities must not be compromised, particularly when protective alternatives are readily available,” said Bob Rosenbaum, attorney with Arnold & Porter, a law firm that represented the plaintiffs in Washington, DC.

“I’m thrilled that this ruling will restore Yellowstone’s profound winter quiet,” said Tom Murphy of Livingston, Montana, a Yellowstone guide and photographer since 1979 and author of three books about the Park.

“Yellowstone’s values have been diminished by snowmobiles,” said Murphy. “There’s no excuse for it when visitors are increasingly choosing modern snowcoaches that are less expensive and much less disruptive of the park and other visitors’ enjoyment.”

A group of snowmobilers in Yellowstone
(Photo by DaSmart)

“This is an important victory for Yellowstone and all of America’s national parks,” said Sean Helle, an attorney in Bozeman, Montana with Earthjustice who represented the plaintiff groups. “Yellowstone is an embodiment of one of America’s great ideas – that our cherished lands must be conserved and protected. The court’s opinion reaffirms this principle.”

The plaintiff groups are: the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and the Winter Wildlands Alliance.

They cited research conducted by the National Park Service showing that even with an average of 263 snowmobiles per day during the past five winters, snowmobile impacts have exceeded Yellowstone’s noise thresholds.

“This ruling reaffirms the idea at the heart of our National Park System – that the duty of Yellowstone’s managers is to preserve the park for the sake of all visitors, and to place the highest value on protection of Yellowstone’s unique natural treasures,” said Tim Stevens, senior Yellowstone Program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.

Park service research showed that the 540 snowmobiles a day authorized by the administration would double the current snowmobile use and triple the area in Yellowstone where visitors would hear motorized noise for half or more of the visiting day.

More snowmobiles would degrade Yellowstone’s air quality with snowmobile exhaust, which contains carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulates, benzene and formaldehyde, park service researchers found.

And the park service found that more animals would be pushed out of their preferred habitat, impacting their health and increasing mortality.

Visitors travelling by snowcoach watch
wolves in Yellowstone National Park.
(Photo by Jon Catton courtesy Greater
Yellowstone Coalition)

“This ruling will ensure that visitors are not disappointed by air and noise pollution when they make the one winter trip to Yellowstone of their lives,” said Amy McNamara, National Parks Program director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

“We take our hats off to the tour businesses that didn’t wait for this ruling,” she said. “Their increasing investments in modern snowcoaches are already making it possible for winter visitors to access and enjoy Yellowstone while protecting it.”

The 670 member Coalition of National Park Service Retirees today welcomed Judge Sullivan’s ruling. “This decision reaffirms the most essential value of our national parks – that these are among the most special places in our country where Americans are supposed to be able to enjoy the nation’s cleanest air, undisturbed sounds and quiet of nature, and wildlife living as free as possible from the pressures of our modern society,” said Bill Wade, executive council chair of the coalition.

He said, “The court’s ruling strongly echoes the caution submitted to this administration by every living former director of the National Park Service – that Yellowstone’s managers have a fundamental responsibility to provide stewardship on behalf of all visitors and future generations, rather than catering to special interests in a manner that damages Yellowstone’s resources and erodes the unique values and qualities of our oldest national park.”

To read Judge Sullivan’s ruling, click here [news.greateryellowstone.org].

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WASHINGTON, DC, August 21, 2008 (ENS) – Saying the Bush administration’s most recent Endangered Species Act rulemaking is “anti-democratic,” 104 conservation and scientific organizations today submitted a letter to Cabinet officials calling for increased transparency and opportunities for public participation.

The new rule published in the Federal Register last week would change the way the Endangered Species Act is administered concerning both land and marine species.

The groups say the rule would “radically weaken” the Endangered Species Act yet only 30 days have been allowed for public comment and the public comment process has been restricted in other ways as well.

Their letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez requests an extension of the comment period to 120 days.

The groups say a longer comment period would allow the public adequate time “to address the breadth and depth that these changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations will have on protecting our most imperiled wildlife.”

The rule would, for the first time, give federal agencies the authority to decide without expert consultation whether their activities such as logging, mining or roadbuilding could harm endangered and threatened species. It also would prohibit consideration of the impacts of global warming on wildlife.

The rule states, “These regulations would reinforce the Services’ current view that there is no requirement to consult on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions’ contribution to global warming and its associated impacts on listed species (e.g., polar bears).”

Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform
for hunting seals, their main food source.
(Photo courtesy Wikipedia)

Earlier this year, Secretary Kempthorne added the polar bear to the federal endangered species list, classifying it as Threatened. But he qualified the listing with a requirement that it cannot be used to limit greenhouse gas emissions although it is the warming climate that is destroying the sea ice needed for polar bear survival.

Administration officials maintain the proposed rule is a minor change that would make the law easier to implement, but the conservation groups say the rule is a fundamental change in the law.

“Rather than a narrow tweaking of the regulations, the proposal represents a back-door attack on the Endangered Species Act,” said Leda Huta, director of the Endangered Species Coalition, a national network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, sporting, religious, humane, business and community groups.

“The American people deserve and expect a full public process to vet such far-reaching changes to this landmark conservation law,” Huta said.

The administration is refusing to accept e-mail comments or hold public hearings on the proposed rule.

Instead, comments will be accepted by postal mail, or through a government website that warns reviewers their personal information will be posted on the Internet for public dissemination.

“It appears as if the administration is doing whatever it can to discourage participation in the democratic process,” said John Kostyack, of the National Wildlife Federation. “I think we can expect more sneaky assaults like this on our public land and wildlife laws as this administration heads for the exits.”

The proposed regulatory changes were published on August 15, while Congress was out for recess and many Americans were enjoying the summer holiday.

The groups warn that the abbreviated timeline and restrictive commenting options raise serious concerns that the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce is attempting to rewrite a bedrock environmental statute without allowing for adequate public involvement.

Sean Cosgrove with the Conservation Law Foundation said today, “For one of our nation’s most important and successful environmental laws, the 30 day comment period is woefully inadequate for the public to review and comment on this critical proposal.”

“The Bush administration proposal eliminates the critical checks and balances needed to protect imperiled birds and cuts species experts from the process of making decisions that need to be science-based,” said Mike Daulton, with National Audubon Society, a bird conservation organization.

“The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for our nation’s wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction, said Bill Snape of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bush administration’s proposed regulations will cut a giant loophole in the safety net.”

Susan Holmes of Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, said, “Animals on the brink of extinction need consideration and protection guided by the best experts in the federal government – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service biologists.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, August 12, 2008 (ENS) – The Bush administration has proposed sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act, releasing a plan to give federal agencies the authority to decide without expert consultation whether their activities could harm endangered and threatened species. Administration officials contend the proposal will make the law easier to implement, but critics say the plan would undermine federal protection of imperiled plants and animals.

Announced Monday by the head of the U.S. Interior Department, the proposed changes would relax the current requirement that federal agencies consult with federal wildlife experts to ensure activities they undertake or approve – such as logging, mining and road construction – do not adversely affect listed species.

Endangered southern sea otters at
play in Morro Bay, California
(Photo by Carol DiNolfo)

Thousands of such consultations occur each year, but the administration argues they are not worth the hassle.

“The existing regulations create unnecessary conflicts and delays,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who told reporters the proposal aims to bring the Endangered Species Act “into the 21st century.”

Under the proposed revisions, federal agencies would be permitted to bypass the consultation process if they believe the action in question would cause little harm to listed species. If an agency chooses to skip consultation, it would be responsible for any subsequent harm caused to the species in question.

The plan also imposes new deadlines on federal wildlife agencies to respond to a request for consultation, requiring a response within 60 days. If they fail to respond within that timeframe, the project in question may proceed without their analysis.

“The proposed regulations will continue to protect species while focusing the consultation process on those federal actions where potential impacts can be linked to the action and the risks are reasonably certain to occur,” Kempthorne said. “The result should be a process that is less time-consuming and a more effective use of our resources.”

The proposal is in part driven by the administration’s concern about the potential use of the Endangered Species Act to force limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Polar bears in the Alaskan Arctic
(Photo by Jesse Harris courtesy
USFWS)

In May, the Interior chief reluctantly listed the polar bear as threatened, citing evidence that global warming is melting Arctic sea ice and putting the ice-dependent bears at risk.

Such a listing could force federal agencies to consider the impact of greenhouse gas emissions of their activities on polar bear habitat, something the Bush administration opposes. When announcing the polar bear decision, Kempthorne suggested he would take steps to ensure that concern is eliminated – something the new proposal addresses.

“It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species,” Kempthorne told reporters Monday, adding that concerns about global warming should be tackled by new national legislation and international agreements.

Dale Hall, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, called the proposal a “positive step forward.”

The existing consultation requirements were developed more than 20 years ago, he said, and federal agencies now have far more expertise to determine whether their activities imperil listed species.

The proposal would “reduce ambiguity, improve consistency, and narrow interpretive differences,” Hall explained.

Environmentalists and congressional Democrats are far from convinced.

“With these changes, the Bush administration threatens to undo more than 30 years of progress,” said John Kostyack, a senior official with the National Wildlife Federation, one of the nation’s largest environmental groups.

Kostyack and other critics contend federal agencies do not have the expertise to assess the impacts of their activities on endangered species – and little interest in ensuring species are protected.

“These changes take unbiased, professional wildlife biologists out of the equation and put decisions in the hands of political appointees,” he said.

Top Democrats offered similar reactions.

The proposal “gives federal agencies an unacceptable degree of discretion to decide whether or not to comply with the Endangered Species Act,” said Representative Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Endangered juvenile Kirtland’s
warbler in Wisconsin (Photo courtesy
USFWS)

The new plan is part of a larger effort by the Bush administration and some Republicans in Congress to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, which they contend is in dire need of reform.

But to date their attempts to revise the law have failed. A federal court struck down a 2004 Bush administration rule that sought to expedite approval of pesticides by revising the consultation process, and a Republican-led House bill reforming the law died in the Senate in 2005.

And last year the Bush administration became embroiled in controversy over alleged political meddling with Endangered Species Act decisions, forcing the resignation of top Interior Department official Julie MacDonald and the review of several endangered species decisions she made.

Critics say the administration has little interest in enforcing the law and is keen to relax endangered species protections in a bid to please homebuilders as well as mining and logging interests.

The new plan “repeats and includes all of the disdain for science and political trumping of expertise that has characterized previous Bush administration efforts to dismantle fundamental environmental laws,” said Sierra Club President Carl Pope.

Kempthorne said such opposition to the plan was hardly surprising.

“There will always be criticism any time you suggest changes to the Endangered Species Act,” he told reporters.

The public will have 30 days to comment on the proposal. The Interior Department will publish a notice of the plan in the Federal Register either late this week or early next week, says DOI spokesman Frank Quinby. Information on how to submit comments will be included in that notice.

By J.R. Pegg

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WASHINGTON, DC, June 18, 2008 (ENS) – President George W. Bush today called on Congress to expand domestic oil production to lower record high oil and gas prices by lifting a ban on oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981.

Drilling for oil offshore is one of four measures the president proposed to increase U.S. oil production – all of them certain to meet resistance from the Democratic Congressional leadership.

Bush says America should develop oil shale in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; he again proposed drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and he also again proposed increasing refinery capacity.

With U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne at his side, President
George W. Bush today called on
Congress to expand domestic oil
production. (Photo by Luke Sharrett
courtesy the White House)

In his speech in the Rose Garden at the White House this morning, the president blamed Congress for blocking these methods of oil production, saying, “I know the Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions.”

“If congressional leaders leave for the 4th of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act. And Americans will rightly ask how high oil – how high gas prices have to rise before the Democratic-controlled Congress will do something about it,” Bush said.

“The proposals I’ve outlined will take years to have their full impact. There is no excuse for delay – as a matter of fact, it’s a reason to move swiftly,” he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said last night in advance of the president’ energy speech, “The President’s proposal sounds like another page from the Administration’s Energy Policy that was literally written by the oil industry: give away more public resources to the very same oil companies that are sitting on 68 million acres of federal lands they’ve already leased.”

If oil companies tapped the 68 million federal acres of leased land it would generate an estimated 4.8 million barrels of oil a day – six times what the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would produce at its peak, Pelosi said.

“The fact is 80 percent of the oil available on the Outer Continental Shelf is in regions that are already open to leasing, but the oil companies haven’t decided it’s worth their time to drill there,” the speaker said.

In defense of what the Democratic leadership has done since it won control of Congress in 2006, Pelosi said, “In just the last year, Congress has promoted energy independence by raising efficiency standards for vehicles for the first time in 32 years, investing in American-grown biofuels, and forcing President Bush to increase gas supplies by suspending government purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”

“We have provided enforcement tools to go after those who are speculating on oil and manipulating the price and we will continue to push for solutions that end our dependence on foreign oil,” she said.

Bush says that Offshore oil drilling can now be done safely. “Advances in technology have made it possible to conduct oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf, OCS, that is out of sight, protects coral reefs and habitats, and protects against oil spills,” he said today. “With these advances – and a dramatic increase in oil prices – congressional restrictions on OCS exploration have become outdated and counterproductive.”

Offshore oil rig in U.S. waters (Photo
courtesy Minerals
Management Service)

“There’s also an executive prohibition on exploration in the OCS. When Congress lifts the legislative ban, I will lift the executive prohibition,” the president said.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona also called for an increase in domestic oil production from offshore drilling Tuesday during a speech in Houston, Texas, which the candidate called “the oil capital of America.”

“The price of a gallon of gas in America stands at more than four dollars. Yesterday, a barrel of oil cost about 134 dollarsm” said McCain. “And various oil ministers and investment firms have confidently informed us that soon we can expect to pay 200 dollars for every barrel, and as much as seven dollars for every gallon of gas.”

McCain said he does not support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but he does support offshore oil drilling.

“We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production,” said McCain. “And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.”

“We can do this in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of environmental protection. And in states that choose to permit exploration, there must be an appropriate sharing of benefits between federal and state governments. But as a matter of fairness to the American people, and a matter of duty for our government, we must deal with the here and now, and assure affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production,” he said.

McCain also recognized the dangers of climage change, but said to deal with global warming, America must first insulate itself from “the sudden shocks and ever-rising prices that come with our dependence on foreign oil.”

“In the face of climate change and other serious challenges, energy conservation is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue,” McCain said. Conservation serves a critical national goal.”

“Over time, we must shift our entire energy economy toward a sustainable mix of new and cleaner power sources,” he said. “This will include some we use already, such as wind, solar, biofuels, and other sources yet to be invented. It will include a variety of new automotive and fuel technologies, clean-burning coal and nuclear energy, and a new system of incentives, under a cap-and-trade policy, to put the power of the market on the side of environmental protection.”

The energy plan of presumptive Democratic presidential nomineee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois does not feature offshore oil drilling.

“John McCain’s plan to simply drill our way out of our energy crisis is the same misguided approach backed by President Bush that has failed our families for too long and only serves to benefit the big oil companies,” Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan told the “Washington Post.”

Obama says his plan will reduce oil consumption by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030. This will more than offset the equivalent of the oil we would import from OPEC nations in 2030.

Obama says that as president he would double fuel economy standards within 18 years. His plan would provide retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers, so that they can build new fuel-efficient cars rather than overseas companies. Obama would also invest in advanced vehicle technology such as advanced lightweight materials and new engines.

Environmental groups began immediately to denounce President Bush’s energy policy as what the Wilderness Society call an “abject failure.”

“At a time when creative thinking is urgently needed, President Bush’s approach does not provide real solutions or move the country toward a more forward-thinking energy policy,” said David Alberswerth, senior energy policy advisor for the Wilderness Society.

“From day one, his administration promoted a ‘drill everything’ agenda, but the only result has been record high energy prices for average Americans, record profits for oil companies, and more degradation of our Western public lands from their reckless development policies,” he said.

To relieve fuel prices, said Alberswerth, America should instead move into the 21st century with measures that will conserve American energy use and speed the development of renewable energy sources. “Such approaches cut American demand for oil and provide true relief at the pump.”

But industry approves of President Bush’s proposals. The National Association of Manufacturers, NAM, today praised the president for pressing Congress to lift the legislative ban on offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and said his call to utilize oil shale and open ANWR to exploration and expand refinery capacity is “right on target.”

“America is facing a significant energy shortage and crisis,” said Jay Timmons, NAM executive vice president. “We urge the executive and legislative branches, Republicans and Democrats alike, to step forward in a positive, bi-partisan way to help ease the problem.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, June 12, 2008 (ENS) – The federal Migratory Bird Conservation Commission today approved $4 million to purchase more than 18,000 acres of prairie wetland and grassland habitat for the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota

In one of the largest purchases to use dollars generated by Federal Duck Stamp sales and import duties on firearms and ammunition, the commission says the nation’s hunters are contributing to conservation of the habitat on which wetland waterfowl depend.

The current Federal Duck Stamp features
a pair of ring-neck ducks drawn by
Richard Clifton. It expires on June 30,
2008. (Image courtesy USFWS)

“The purchase of these lands for the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge symbolizes the tremendous investment our nation’s sportsmen and women have made to natural resource conservation through their purchase of Federal Duck stamps, and through the import duties paid on firearms and ammunition,” said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who serves as the commission’s chairman.

Established in October 2004, the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge is located near Crookston, in Minnesota’s Polk County.

The acquisition of the 18,118 acres for the refuge will provide wetland and grassland habitat for migratory waterfowl such as the mallard, northern pintail, blue-winged teal, and ring-necked duck species, and the Canada goose and tundra swan.

It will form a large area of contiguous prairie habitat to help compensate to the fact that currently, less than one percent of Minnesota’s original northern tallgrass prairie habitat remains.

The refuge is open to the public for recreational activities such as hiking, hunting, fishing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

The commission meets three times a year and includes Senators Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat, and Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican; Representatives John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat; and Wayne Gilchrest, a Maryland Republican; as well as Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson.

At this meeting, the commission also approved the purchase of an additional 3,000 acres of waterfowl habitat for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The Commission’s approval of refuge acquisitions also secured breeding, resting and feeding habitat that will be added to three other National Wildlife Refuges.

* Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Camden, Gates and Pasquotank Counties, North Carolina – Acquisition of 1,481 acres to protect wetland forests that provide important nesting, feeding, and resting habitat for waterfowl, including the American black duck, wood duck, mallard, and Canada goose.

* Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, Oxford County, Maine – Acquisition of 1,129 acres to protect wetland habitat for the American black duck, ring-necked duck, common goldeneye, wood duck, common merganser, and hooded merganser.

* Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Washington and Yamhill Counties, Oregon – Acquisition of 180 acres supporting the tundra swan, mallard, northern pintail, canvasback, ring-necked duck, lesser scaup, and Canada goose species, including dusky, lesser, Taverner, cackling, western, and the Aleutian subspecies.

The Commission also approved more than $24 million in federal funding to protect, restore, enhance and manage more than 107,000 acres of wetlands and associated habitats in Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, NAWCA.

This total includes $19.7 million for four Canadian projects that will benefit North American migratory waterfowl on nearly 80,000 acres in 12 provinces and territories across Canada.

It also includes nearly $640,000 for two projects that will help protect 2,470 acres in Mexico.

Partners will contribute an additional $33 million in total for these six projects.

The commission also authorized more than $1.67 million to fund 27 projects under the NAWCA U.S. Small Grants program. These projects were previously approved for funding, along with 35 others, by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, and will restore, enhance or protect more than 28,657 acres in 24 states.

Partners will contribute another $29 million toward these projects.

The grants are funded by annual Congressional appropriations; fines, penalties and forfeitures levied under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; interest accrued on funds under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act; and excise taxes paid on small engine fuels through the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Fund.

More information about NAWCA grant programs and summaries of the projects approved today is online at: www.fws.gov.

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By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, May 14, 2008 (ENS) – The Bush administration reluctantly declared the polar bear a threatened species today, concluding that the loss of Arctic sea ice has put the future of the iconic species in peril. But the administration also took steps to ensure the decision will not require new efforts to tackle global warming or put new restrictions on oil and gas development in polar bear habitat.

The announcement ends a three-year legal dispute over whether the polar bear should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because of the impact of global warming on its Arctic habitat. Three conservation groups first filed a petition requesting the decision in 2005.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service missed a January deadline to issue a decision and was under a court order to finalize its decision by Thursday.

“I wish the decision could be otherwise,” U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told reporters, bemoaning the “restraints of the inflexible law that guides me.”

Polar bear family. (Photo
courtesy First People)

Kempthorne said the growing body of evidence that the polar bear is at risk from melting sea ice left him with little choice but to list the species. The Endangered Species Act requires that the decision is supported by the best available science.

Although there are an estimated 22,000 polar bears spread across the Arctic, including some 4,700 within the United States, there are worrying signs that rising temperatures have put the species in jeopardy.

A key scientific study issued last fall by the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, found that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears, including all those within the United States, could disappear by 2050 due to increased sea ice melt caused by rising temperatures. Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt for prey.

The USGS research came amid startling evidence that the Arctic is melting faster than predicted, as ice loss last year reached levels not predicted to occur until mid-century. Some scientists now predict the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer as early as 2012.

The loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the “foreseeable future,” Kempthorne said, and thus meets the criteria for the species to be listed as threatened.

Listing the polar bear requires federal agencies ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out will not jeopardize the polar bears’ continued existence or adversely modify their critical habitat.

In addition, the Fish and Wildlife Service must prepare a recovery plan for the polar bear, specifying measures necessary for its protection.

Male polar bears sparring
(Photo courtesy First People)

But the Interior chief immediately took steps to limit the impact of the listing and make sure it “isn’t abused to make global warming policies.”

He stressed that decision will not open the door to restraints on activities that produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

“That would be a totally inappropriate use of the Endangered Species Act,” Kempthorne said, adding that the law “was never intended to regulate global climate change.”

While the legal standards under the Endangered Species Act “compel me to list the polar bear as threatened,” he added, “I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting.”

Kempthorne echoed the Bush administration’s standard stance on climate change, saying it is a global problem that will require cooperative action from all major economies.

He touted efforts to further monitor U.S. polar bear populations and to work with Canada and other Arctic nations to protect the species.

Polar bear cub (Photo
courtesy First People)

Kempthorne also invoked a rarely used section of the law that allows the less restrictive Marine Mammal Protection Act, MMPA, to guide regulation of activities, including oil and gas development, in the polar bear’s habitat.

The polar bear has been listed under the MMPA since 1972.

“The loss of sea ice, not oil and gas exploration or subsistence activity, is the primary threat to the polar bear,” he said.

Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity and lead author of the 2005 petition, called the listing decision a “watershed event” but added that the legal battle is far from over.

“The administration’s attempts to reduce protection to the polar bear from greenhouse gas emissions are illegal and won’t hold up in court,” Siegel said.

Kempthorne also told reporters that the decision was not delayed in order to allow new lease sales in the Chukchi Sea, home to some 2,000 polar bears.

The lease sales went ahead in February, despite widespread criticism from Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists who wanted Kempthorne to postpone the sales until the listing decision was finalized.

“If we had been able to make polar bear decision, it would have preceded the lease sale,” Kempthorne said.

A coalition of Alaska native and conservation groups has filed suit to block the lease sales, arguing that the government failed to fully consider the environmental and economic impacts of oil and gas development on local communities.

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PAGE, Arizona, March 6, 2008 (ENS) – More than 300,000 gallons of water per second is now gushing through the Grand Canyon, released from Lake Powell near the Arizona-Utah border in an effort to restore sandbars needed by native plants and fish.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne Wednesday pulled a lever at Glen Canyon Dam to release the water for a 60-hour “high flow test.” The flood of water is expected to push sand built up at the bottom of the river’s channel into a series of sandbars and camping beaches along the river, replenishing the sediment that has been held back behind the dam.

“The water will be released at a rate that would fill the Empire State Building within 20 minutes,” Kempthorne said. “It will transport enough sediment to cover a football field 100 feet deep with silt and sand.”

Water is released from Glen
Canyon Dam. (Photo
courtesy DOI)

The experiment is an inter-agency research effort conducted by three Department of the Interior bureaus – the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS; the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River; and the National Park Service, which manages Grand Canyon National Park.

High flows also create areas of low-velocity flow, or backwaters, used by young native fishes, particularly endangered humpback chub, one of four remaining native fish in the Grand Canyon.

USGS scientists will be monitoring how the high-flow releases affect the survival of a population of young humpback chub.

Researchers will collect data on the changes in sandbars before, during, and after the high flow. This data will be used to improve the predictive capabilities of the existing sediment model and determine the optimal peak flows of future high-flow experiments.

But a conflict over future high-flow experiments has caused a rift within the Department of the Interior.

The fight pits the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which is pushing a plan supported by water and power interests, against the National Park Service which says the plan will harm wildlife and habitat in Grand Canyon National Park, according to a national organization of government employees in natural resource agencies.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER, released documents last week that illuminate the intra-agency conflict.

The Bureau of Reclamation released its plan’s Environmental Assessment, EA, in early February, allowing only 15 days of public comment, and concluded that its experiment would have “no significant environmental impact,” eliminating the need for further review.

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado
River (Photo courtesy USGS)

The National Park Service, which was excluded from the plan’s development, is objecting because the plan does not permit any further high flows during the five-year experimental period so that power generation can be maximized.

Instead, the plan calls for a two-month regime of steady flows during September and October over a five-year period.

In a February 19, 2008 comment letter to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Regional Environmental Manager Randall Peterson, Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin pointed to the lack of scientific basis for the “steady flow periods” and for conducting only one high-flow event in a five-year span.

“It is not apparent where the 80 million dollars in research, conducted over the last 10 years has been used in this decision-making process,” wrote Martin. “Our analysis shows that this document is not consistent with current best information.”

Martin wrote, “Based on current scientific information, lack of inclusion of additional high flows could lead to impairment of the resources of Grand Canyon National Park.”

Martin says high flows should be staged every year or two, whenever enough sediment builds up behind the dam.

Further, the Grand Canyon Trust, a nonprofit group based in Flagstaff, Arizona is suing the Interior Department to get it to honor commitments made in 1996 to seasonally adjust flows and stage more high-flow events.

“The water released during the test will not change the amount of water to be released over the course of the 2008 water year,” said Larry Walkoviak, Regional Director of Reclamation’s Upper Colorado Region.

“The current plan of operations calls for releasing 8.23 million acre-feet of water from Glen Canyon Dam. That water flows downriver to Lake Mead for use by the Lower Colorado River Basin States and Mexico,” he said. “The experimental flows are included within this annual volume. Monthly releases later in the year will be adjusted downward to account for the water released during the experiment.”

The high-flow test period ends Friday when the gush of water will be shut off and the Colorado River will return to its usual clear, slow flow.

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WASHINGTON, DC, January 4, 2008 (ENS) – Twenty-nine conservation projects encompassing nearly 10,000 acres of coastal wetlands will be funded with $20.5 million from 2008 National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced Friday.

The grants will be used to acquire, restore or enhance coastal wetlands to provide long-term conservation benefits to fish, wildlife and habitat.

“The projects offer enormous benefits,” Secretary Kempthorne said. “Coastal wetlands filter pollution, reduce storm surge from hurricanes, protect coastlines from erosion, provide habitat for many species of fish and wildlife, and offer recreational opportunities for millions of Americans.”

States receiving funds include California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts, along with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

These federal grants will be matched by nearly $46 million in partner contributions from state and local governments, private landowners and conservation groups.

“By tapping into the power of partnership through these grants, we are joining with states, local governments, conservation organizations and other partners across the country to conserve and restore our vitally important coastal wetlands,” Kempthorne said.

The program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and funded under provisions of the 1990 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, drawing from Sport Fish Restoration Act revenue – money generated from an excise tax on fishing equipment and motorboat and small engine fuels.

“The number of plant and animal species that rely on coastal wetlands for their health and well-being is remarkable, and I include people among that group,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall.

Including the 2008 grants, the Service has awarded more than $200 million to coastal states and territories since the program began in 1992. When the 2008 projects are complete, 244,000 acres of habitat will have been protected, restored or enhanced.

Projects funded by the 2008 grant program include one million dollars for each of three California projects – the 2,320 acre Sears Point wetlands and watershed restoration, the 35 acre Malibu Lagoon restoration and enhancement project, and the 730 acre Eden Landing Salt Ponds tidal wetland restoration project in South San Francisco Bay.

TheEden Landing Salt Ponds
border San Francisco Bay
(Photo courtesy Society
for Conservation Biology)

For the Eden Landing Salt Ponds, planning is underway for what will be the largest wetland restoration project ever conducted on the west coast. The project will integrate restoration with flood management, while providing for public access, wildlife-oriented recreation, and education opportunities.

Washington state will receive one million dollars for each of five projects, including a million to acquire and restore Deadwater Slough, Ebey Island in the Snohomish River Delta, an 820 acre project.

In Wisconsin, two million dollar projects will acquire and protect coastal wetlands including the Lake Michigan Ridge and Swale Coastal Wetlands and the Kellner Fen and Sturgeon Bay Canal.

The Kellner Fen Preserve is a unique wetland complex situated north of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal just inland from the shores of Lake Michigan.

“The main feature of this preserve is the open waters of the fen itself and an expansive sedge mat that literally floats on top of the underlying water,” explains Dan Burke, executive director of the Door County Land Trust, which is doing restoration work in the fen.

Also in Door County, a million dollar grant will be spent to acquire Washington Island and Detroit Island, part of a string of islands stretching across the entrance of Green Bay from the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin to the Garden Peninsula in Michigan.

In Puerto Rico, one million dollars will be spent to acquire 174 acres for the San Miguel Natural Reserve. Located on the island’s northeast coast, the dunes of the San Miquel Natural Reserve feature near-shore coral reefs, dunes, and mangrove marshes, and is one of the last remaining nesting grounds for the federally endangered leatherback sea turtle.

Once targeted for development of a large resort and two golf courses, the 270-acre reserve was purchased by Trust for Public Land for protection by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a cornerstone for a proposed 3,200-acre Northeastern Ecological Corridor.

The state of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources will receive a $400,000 grant to restore 300 acres of wildlife habitat at Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary. The federal funding will be matched by more than $150,000 from partners.

Located at the northwest tip of the Hawaiian archipelago within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the atoll provides nesting habitat for 17 seabird species, including four species identified as highly imperiled – the black-footed albatross, Laysan albatross, Christmas shearwater, and Tristram’s storm-petrel.

Much of the work to restore nesting habitat will focus on the removal of the invasive plant golden crownbeard, Verbesina encelioides. The plant overtakes native vegetation, reduces seabird nesting habitat, and leads to heat stress and entanglement of seabirds.

The atoll also hosts the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, threatened green turtle, Hawaiian spinner dolphins, Galapagos and tiger sharks, spotted eagle rays, and large predatory jacks. Kure has almost 80,000 acres of coral reef habitat supporting 155 species of reef fishes.

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