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For Immediate Release, July 8, 2008

Contacts:

David Gaillard, Defenders of Wildlife, (406) 586-3970
Tim Preso, Earthjustice, (406) 586-9699
Joe Scott, Conservation Northwest, (360) 671-9950 x 11
Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495

Endangered Species Protections Sought for U.S. Wolverines:
Groups Urge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Protect
Highly Imperiled Species From Global Warming

WASHINGTON— The United States must protect endangered wildlife from global warming and other threats within its own borders and not rely on other countries, such as Canada, to do the job, according to a coalition of 10 conservation organizations that announced today its intention to file a legal challenge against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The groups contend that the Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it refused to protect wolverines in the United States on the grounds that a healthy population still persists in Canada. The Service’s decision is its latest justification for denying long overdue protections to this imperiled animal — protections that were first petitioned for nearly a decade ago.

“With the wolverine decision, the Bush administration is essentially outsourcing responsibility for our wildlife to other countries,” said David Gaillard, the Rocky Mountain region representative of Defenders of Wildlife . “Wolverines are as American as the bald eagle, gray wolf, and grizzly bear, all of which might have vanished from the lower 48 if the same reckless policy were applied to them. Now with global warming compounding the many threats facing snow-dependent wolverines, protections are needed more than ever to ensure that this magnificent animal continues to call the U.S. home.”

Earlier this year, the agency conceded that if nothing is done, “the [lower 48 wolverine] population will be at risk of extinction.” Yet it decided that it would not take steps to protect the species. According to the coalition, the fewer than 500 wolverines left in the lower 48 represent a distinct population that is only tenuously linked to the Canadian population of wolverines and in desperate need of habitat and other protections.

The Fish and Wildlife Service decision not to list the wolverine as a threatened or endangered species underscores the current trend by the Bush administration to deny full Endangered Species Act protections to at-risk species whose range extends beyond U.S. borders, including the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, Montana fluvial arctic grayling, Mexican garter snake, and others. The Service also recently refused to create a recovery plan for the jaguar, citing the existence of jaguars in Mexico.

“This policy essentially tells our children and grandchildren to go to Alaska or Canada to see wildlife. That is not right, and it’s certainly not what Congress intended in the Endangered Species Act,” said Tim Preso, an attorney with Earthjustice, which is representing the coalition in court. “We will do everything we can to reverse this stunning new interpretation of the law.”

The wolverine, already suffering in the United States from trapping, habitat loss, and other human actions, is especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming because it depends on deep snow for everything from travel corridors to snow dens where they raise their young. Wolverines once roamed across the northern tier of the United States and as far south as New Mexico and southern California. But now wolverines have been reduced to small, fragmented populations in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.

“Americans pride themselves at looking after their own, and this absolutely includes our wildlife and the places they need to survive,” said Joe Scott, the conservation director for Conservation Northwest. “How can we ask poor, developing nations to protect their rainforests if we won’t lift a finger to protect nature in our own backyard? It is time that we live up to our responsibilities and provide the conservation leadership that the world desperately needs right now.”

"The decision to deny the wolverine protection is characteristic of the Bush administration's disdain for the nation's wildlife,” said Noah Greenwald, science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bush administration has protected the fewest new species under the Endangered Species Act of any administration since the landmark law was passed, to date having only protected 60 new species compared to 522 under the Clinton administration and 231 under the senior Bush administration.”

Earthjustice filed the 60-day notice of intent to sue on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Northwest, Friends of the Clearwater, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Alliance, and Wyoming Outdoor Council.

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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org .

The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 180,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org


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