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SPECTACULAR GREAT LAKES
DRAGONFLY TO BE PROTECTED
In response to a lawsuit filed by the
Center for Biological Diversity and other conservationists, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to designate and
protect critical habitat for the spectacular Hine’s
emerald dragonfly. The brilliant green-eyed dragonfly is
dependent upon healthy wetlands and is threatened by urban
sprawl, agricultural development, toxic pollution, logging,
water diversions, off-road vehicles, vacation home development
and road & pipeline construction. Formerly widespread, it
has been reduced to small populations in Michigan, Illinois,
Wisconsin and Missouri. It is extinct in Ohio, Indiana and
Alabama.
Lacking a clear identification of the
species' most essential habitat, the Fish and Wildlife
Service has not formally reviewed a single habitat destruction
proposal on the species' behalf since it was placed on the
endangered species list in 1995. During that time thousands of
acres of wetlands have been destroyed and degraded. The agency
will publish a proposed designation on July 7, 2006 and final
rule on May 7, 2007.
Data presented to Congress by the Fish
and Wildlife Service shows that species with critical habitat
are recovering twice as fast as those without it. Nonetheless,
the Bush administration bizarrely asserts that critical habitat
does not benefit imperiled species.
For
more information and photos of this beautiful
species.
UTAH STATE
FISH HEADED TO COURT
On 9-8-04, the Center for Biological
Diversity, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Biodiversity
Conservation Alliance, and the Pacific Rivers Council notified
the Bush administration that it will soon file suit over
the administration's refusal to protect the Bonneville cutthroat
trout under the Endangered Species Act. Logging, cattle grazing,
pollution, mining, water pumping and exotic trout have
eliminated Utah's state fish from 90 percent of its historic
range.
The Bush administration has placed
only 31 species on the endangered list, compared to 394 species
protected during the Clinton administration's first term
and 234 during the first Bush presidency. The administration has
denied the safety net of the Endangered Species Act to more
species (45) than it has protected.
MASSIVE ARIZONA LAND TRADE CHALLENGED BY
ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND NATIVE AMERICANS
The Western Mining Action Project, the Center for
Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Western Land Exchange
Project, and San Carlos Apache Tribe have filed formal protests
opposing the transfer of 16,297 acres of federal land in
southern Arizona to the Phelps Dodge mining company. In exchange
for BLM lands worth billions to its mining operation, the
corporation will hand over just 3,867 acres of private land
valued at $5.2 million. And the value of those lands has been
vastly inflated to justify the deal. The land valuation was
conducted by a private contractor paid for by Phelps Dodge.
LAST RARE SEA TURTLE DIES IN NORTHERN MEXICO
The lone survivor of 52 Olive Ridley sea
turtle eggs found near Guaymas, Mexico died this week despite
efforts by fishermen, conservationists, and the Mexican
government to protect it. The endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle
rarely nests as far north as the northern Gulf of California, so
the discovery of 52 eggs in August set off an around-the-clock
effort to protect them from predators and human disturbance.
Though an immediate loss for the species, the effort reaffirmed
the importance of sea turtle preservation in Mexico.
LAST DITCH EFFORT TARGETS HAWAIIAN FOREST BIRD
Discovered just 31 years ago, the
Po'ouli may be the world's most endangered species: only three
birds exist. This September the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
captured the lone remaining female and hopes to soon capture the
last two males for a last-ditch captive breeding effort. The
secretive Po'ouli inhabits Hawaii's densest rainforests
where it lives on native snails. Hundreds of Hawaiian snails
have already gone extinct due to habitat loss, pesticide
spraying, and invasion of exotic species.
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Diversity, and ensure a future for
wildlife and habitat.
Center
for Biological Diversity | PO
Box 710 Tucson, AZ 85702 | 520-623-5252 | [email protected]
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