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200
HOMES BURN AS BUSH
ADMINISTRATION FUNNELS "FUEL-REDUCTION" MONEY
TO WILDERNESS LOGGING
The
human-caused Aspen fire
burning on Mt. Lemmon outside
of Tucson, yesterday burned
through the mountaintop
village of Summerhaven,
destroying over 200 houses
and structures. The lack
of fuel-reduction treatments
conducted outside of Summerhaven
starkly illustrates
the shortcomings of the
Bush Administration’s
so-called “Healthy
Forests Initiative,” as
well as the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003,
passed by the House of
Representatives in May and
currently pending before the
Senate.
With support from local residents,
scientists, and conservationists,
the Coronado National
Forest attempted
to burn and thin dense stands
of small trees surrounding
Summerhaven. It estimated
that the project would cost
in excess of $1 million,
prompting Center for Biological
Diversity director Kieran
Suckling to predict: "you
can be quite sure the Bush
administration isn't going
to favor doing anything of
this sort on Mount Lemmon.
Instead, it will divert millions
of dollars to log
large trees that are dozens
of miles from the nearest
house." Those predictions
came true. A Forest
Service official was quoted
on 6-20-03 in the Arizona
Daily Star as stating “We
had an allocation of
$120,000 last year. That
wasn’t enough. We had
to beg, borrow and steal
to get $50,000 more.” With
such little funding, the
Forest was only able to treat
200 acres last year, prompting
Summerhaven residents
to circulate a petition demanding
treatment of a defensible
perimeter around the community.
According to Forest
Service documents, a key
project to reduce hazardous
around Summerhave has been
on hold since October, 2001
due to lack of funding.
Meanwhile, the administration
is spending tens of
millions of dollars subsidizing
the logging of large
trees in roadless and wildland
areas dozens of miles
away from the nearest town.
For
more information.
55,000
ACRES PROTECTED FOR HAWAIIAN
SPHINX MOTH
In keeping with a legal settlement
negotiated by the
Center for Biological Diversity,
the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service designated
55,451 acres as critical
habitat for the endangered
Blackburn sphinx moth on
6-10-03. The designation
includes native dryland forest
on Maui, Hawaii, Molokai,
and Kahoolawe. These are
among the rarest remaining
habitats on the heavily
developed, logged, and grazed
Hawaiian Islands. Seventy
percent of these forests
have been destroyed or degraded.
In typical Bush administration
fashion, however, the
final decision sliced 44,000
acres from the proposal
developed by Fish and Wildlife
Service biologists.
With a wingspan of 5 inches,
Blackburn's
sphinx moth is one of Hawaii's
largest native insects.
When discovered
in 1880, it was abundant
across the 2 million acres
of forests on the main Hawaiian
Islands. After massive
forest loss and degradation,
it was declared extinct
in the 1970's. It was rediscovered
in 1984 and put
on the federal "candidate"
list for protection,
but was not listed as an
endangered species until 2000,
and only after two lawsuits
by the Center.
The sphinx moth is threatened
by livestock grazing,
agricultural expansion, wildfire,
and the spread of
exotic plants and animals.
Remaining populations are
closely associated with large
stands of `aiea (Nothocestrum
sp.) trees. Two of the
four ‘aiea species
are themselves listed as
endangered species.
The Center was represented
by Dave Henkin of Earthjustice
(Honolulu).
SUIT FILED
TO PROTECT FLORIDA AND
ALABAMA BEACHES
The
Center for Biological Diversity
and Sierra Club filed
suit against the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service on
6-17-03 for delaying habitat
protection for the Alabama,
Perdido Key, and Choctawhatchee
beach mice. These
highly endangered species
live in sand dunes along
the Gulf Coast between
Fort Morgan, Alabama, and
Shell Island, Florida.
Critical habitats were designated
for them in 1985, but excluded
areas known to be
essential to their recovery.
The Fish and Wildlife
Service agreed that expansion
of critical habitat
was warranted in 2000,
but has stalled in response
to opposition by developers.
The
case is being argued Robert
Wiygul (Biloxi) and Daniel
Hannan (Mobile). For
more information.
SUIT FILED
TO PROTECT PUERTO RICAN
FROG
The
Center for Biological Diversity
and the Maunabo Development
Committee file suit against
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service on 6-10-003 for
refusing to protect the habitat
of, and develop a recovery
plan for the endangered
coqui guajon, also known
as the Puerto Rico rock
frog. The guajon lives
in caves and grottos in southeastern
Puerto Rico. It was listed
as an endangered species
six years ago due to threats
from development, deforestation,
and pollution, but is still
lacking a federal recovery
plan. The Fish and Wildlife
Service refused to designate
critical habitat for the
species, arguing that local
people fear it and would
kill it if they knew where
it lived. The coqui, however,
beloved throughout
Puerto Rico where it appears
on everything from t-shirts,
posters, key chains, stuffed
toys, to corporate logos.
The case is being argued by
Center staff attorney
Jay Tutchton. For
more information.
NORTH
COUNTY SAN DIEGO HABITAT PLAN
STRENGTHENED
At
the urging of activists,
and in opposition to developers
and the city of Carlsbad,
the California
Coastal Commission
expanded habitat protections
and scaled back coastal
property development in
northern San Diego County on
6-12-03. The decision followed
Carlsbad’s request
for Coastal Commission
endorsement of a city-wide Habitat
Management Plan allowing
some harm to endangered species
in exchange for habitat
protection elsewhere. Testimony
by Center and others convinced
the commission of the
legitimacy of a disputed
and endangered vegetation
community – southern
maritime chaparral – and
a decision to scale back
development by 75% on properties
supporting the vegetation.
TUCSON
APPROVES BOND TO PROTECT ENDANGERED
SPECIES, OPEN SPACE
In a major victory for endangered
species, the Pima
County Board of Supervisors
has agreed to place a
new open space bond on the
May 2004 ballot. The decision
on 6-17-03 followed a major
organizing effort by
the
Center for Biological Diversity,
the Coalition for
Desert Protection, and
others that produced an overflow
crowd of more than 300 cheering
supporters at the hearing.
The Supervisor’s endorsement
of the bond measure
brings Pima County’s
regional habitat conservation
plan a significant step closer
to reality. A County-appointed
citizens advisory committee
for the plan has recommended
that funds from the bond
be used to acquire state and
private lands according to
science-based conservation
priorities. The Center is
working as a member of the
desert protection coalition
to ensure that the plan
will live up to Endangered
Species Act and other legal
and scientific standards.
ENDANGERED
SPECIES WEB PAGES REMODELED
We have just completed a redesign
of our endangered
species web pages. The new
pages feature full-color
artwork designed especially
for the Center for Biological
Diversity by artist and poet
Andrew Rodman, and a new
look and feel. The new design
will provide you with
a web of information on each
species, and our work
to protect them and their
habitats.
For more information on the
various creations by Andrew
Rodman visit his website.
Click
now and become a member of
the Center for Biological
Diversity, and ensure a future
for wildlife and habitat.
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