BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG
We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
POLITICS, not science, is what is driving the Obama administration's consideration of removing wolves from endangered species protections. Democrats are in danger of loosing their seats in congress if they don't declassify wolves as an endangered species. Science has shown that wolves do not present an economic threat to farmers, ranchers and hunters (competition for the same big game in the Rockies) but instead improve the overall health of the entire ecosystem in areas where they have been reintroduced and allowed to establish packs and territories. Politicians follow the money, and as long as ranchers and farmers and the nra can threaten them by giving their campaign donations to a candidate who will do as he is paid by them to do. Click the link to the sign the petition to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to keep gray wolves on the Endangered Species List....
Help turn back a dire threat to America’s embattled wolves.
Tell the Obama Administration to cancel its reckless plan and give wolves a fighting chance at recovery.
We’ve been granted one more chance to keep life-saving protections in place for our nation’s wolves -- but we must make our voices heard in the next 10 days.
The truth is finally out: an independent panel of scientific experts has unanimously agreed that the
Obama Administration’s proposed plan to strip wolves of their
endangered species protections across most of the Lower 48 states is not
based on the “best available science” -- just as we have long argued.
The
return of gray wolves to areas like the Northern Rockies and the
western Great Lakes has been one of the greatest conservation success
stories of our time.
But wolves are only starting
to return to large portions of their former range, like the Pacific
Northwest. Lone wolves have crossed into California, Utah, Colorado and
states in the Northeast.
Removing federal protections now would slam the door on wolf recovery long before the job is done.
The
administration’s disastrous plan would leave vulnerable wolf
populations at the mercy of state governments and local politicians -- with potentially deadly consequences.
Since the Fish and Wildlife Service kicked wolves off the endangered species list in the Northern Rockies, more than 1,000 wolves have been killed. In Wyoming, wolves can be shot on sight across most of the state.
And right now in Idaho, the state legislature is considering a bill that aims to kill 500 wolves -- more than 75 percent of Idaho’s entire wolf population.
We can’t afford more wolf-killing policies like these! Yet that is exactly the gamble that Fish and Wildlife appears ready to take ... unless we move quickly to stop them.
Thank you for making your voice heard in defense of America’s imperiled wolves.
Sincerely,
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
The
mission of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is to safeguard
the Earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems
on which all life depends.
WHO'S afraid of a big, bad wolf? Everyone who doesn't understand the necessity of a healthy wolf population in the Northern Rockies it would seem. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is considering removing Endangered Species protection for wolves in Wyoming and allowing a shoot on sight program to begin. Wolves are vital to maintaining a healthy, balanced ecosystem in the Rockies, and the federal government has taken steps to restore wolves in their natural habitat. That could all be undone if the US F&WS gives in to political pressure and allows unlimited hunting and killing of wolves in Wyoming. Please participate in the action to stop the killing before it starts, just click the link. And then watch the PBS program on EarthJustice and wolf restoration and the calls for open season hunting of wolves in Wyoming below (click embed link)....
This
could be our last chance to save Wyoming wolves before hunting begins!
Tell President Obama to stop a deadly proposal to allow unlimited,
shoot-on-sight killing of wolves in most of the state. Take action now!
Wyoming’s remaining wolves are in danger!
Under intense political pressure from Wyoming state officials, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cut a deal that could remove Endangered
Species Act protections for wolves and open most of the state to
unlimited killing, trapping and even gassing of wolves and their pups. Wolves could be in the crosshairs as early as this month, unless we stop it!
Last
year, Congress gave anti-wolf interests the right to hunt and kill
wolves in Montana and Idaho, and we’ve seen the grim results. If we don’t act now, Wyoming will soon take the killing even further!
As
the Managing Attorney for Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office, I
know first-hand the power of our law and courts to stop these deadly
proposals once they are released. We’ve successfully shut down
wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies twice. But I also know that the
easiest way to stop the hunt is for it to never start.
The
federal government has spent 17 years and millions of dollars to
restore wolves to the West. But Wyoming’s proposal now threatens the
recovery that is under way—even including a dangerous loophole that
would make it legal to kill wolves no matter how few remain.
Wyoming’s
wolves should remain protected under the Endangered Species Act until
they have fully recovered and there are laws in place to ensure their
survival.
Thank you for being a hero for wolves and their pups,
Tim Preso Managing Attorney Northern Rockies Office
P.S. After taking action,
share this news with as many people as possible. We need all the help
we can get to make sure President Obama hears our request to stop this
brutal and deadly proposal before hunting begins!
Week of 2.26.10
Hunting Wolves, Saving Wolves 26FEB10
Is the Obama Administration breaking its promise to protect endangered species?
Last year the Obama Administration removed federal protection from some
of the wolves that had been restored to the northern Rockies under the
Endangered Species Act. The move paved the way for controversial
state-regulated wolf hunts.
Wolf advocates strongly oppose the administrations decision saying the
three states in the region, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming need a cohesive
management plan that allows for a much larger wolf population. "It was
very disappointing when Secretary Salazar in the Obama Administration,
signed off on this rushed-through Bush administration delisting package
for wolves," said Doug Honnold, a lawyer with Earthjustice, who is
representing conservation groups challenging the government's decision.
The return of the gray wolf to the northern Rockies is considered to be
the most successful wildlife reintroduction project in the history of
the 27 year old Endangered Species Act. In 1995 and 1996, 66 gray wolves
we relocated from Canada to Yellowstone National Park and central
Idaho. Today there are more than 1,600 wolves in the region.
For its part the federal government says that just 300 wolves are needed
for legitimate recovery in the region. "Wolves are back and there's
plenty of them in plenty of places. They're never really going
anywhere," said Ed Bangs, the Northern Rockies Wolf Recovery Coordinator
for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
More than a dozen conversation groups have sued the Interior Department
to return federal protection to the northern Rockies wolves. Some
believe the result of this legal debate is a litmus test for the Obama
Administration's overall approach to wildlife issues and the Endangered
Species Act.
THIS is sad and disgusting, and it isn't only creatures as glorious as Bald Eagles being killed....consider the slaughter of Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies. From Mother Jones / MOJO....
It's
a sad fact of life in wildlife management: Every now and then, wild
animals have to be killed for the sake of ecological or agricultural
protection. "Culling," as it's known, is often a last resort and is
usually carried out with a grim sense of necessary duty. After all, most
wildlife professionals aren't big on the idea of killing wildlife.
Right?
An unsettling new investigation by the Sacramento Bee found that the federal Wildlife Services agency, an obscure bureau within the USDA tasked with "resolving wildlife conflicts,"
has in the last decade accidentally killed over 50,000 animals that
posed no threat to people or the environment (in addition to nearly a
million coyotes killed intentionally). The execution roster would make
John Muir roll over in his grave: wolverines, river otters, migratory
shorebirds, bald and golden eagles, and more than a thousand dogs
(averaging eight a month!), including family pets. According to the Bee:
In most cases, [employees of the agency] have officially revealed
little or no detail about where the creatures were killed, or why. But a
Bee investigation has found the agency's practices to be
indiscriminate, at odds with science, inhumane and sometimes
illegal…because lethal control stirs strong emotions, Wildlife Services
prefers to operate in the shadows.
"We pride ourselves on our ability to go in and get the job done
quietly without many people knowing about it," said Dennis Orthmeyer,
acting state director of Wildlife Services in California.
Officially, Wildlife Services exists to take care of things like
aggressive bears, coyotes that eat a rancher's sheep, geese that won't
get off the tarmac, etc. But the Bee reports that the methods
the agency uses, like traps with spring-loaded poison cartridges, leave a
grisly wake of bycatch, sometimes of federally protected species, that
has been deliberately hushed up by top officials. Even people are at
risk: 18 employees and "several members of the public" have been exposed
to cyanide from the traps.
Carol
Bannerman, a Wildlife Services spokesperson, said that 80 percent of
the animals the agency goes after are "dispersed," meaning chased away,
rather than "lethally removed," meaning (you guessed it) killed. But she
admitted that the agency's methods were sometimes sloppy. She described
a recent incident where a team was dispatched to remove arctic foxes
from an area where there were nesting endangered shorebirds. Traps were
set, but instead of foxes, they caught snowy owls. There was nothing to
do but return to the drawing board and try again.
Bannerman insisted such mishaps were accidental and regrettable.
"No one goes into this profession because they want to kill animals," she said.
That may be true, but it doesn't explain the behavior of one agency
official who, according to a former employee interviewed by the Bee, instructed that employee to cover up an accidentally killed golden eagle:
"I called my supervisor and said, 'I just caught a golden eagle and
it's dead,' " said Strader. "He said, 'Did anybody see it?' I said,
'Geez, I don't think so.'
"He said, 'If you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don't say nothing to anybody.' "
"That bothered me," said Strader, whose job was terminated in 2009. "It wasn't right."
Bannerman declined to confirm or deny this report, saying it was "a
complex personnel situation" that she couldn't comment on. Still, she
defended the basic premise of the agency, saying, "It benefits the
species as a whole by providing a response and giving people help with
problems they're having."
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/28/4450678/the-killing-agency-wildlife-services.html#storylink=cpy
Okay. But if you see a USDA pickup rolling up the road, consider locking Fido in the house.
Tim McDonnell is a Climate Desk fellow. For more of his stories, click here. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email at tmcdonnell [at] motherjones [dot] com. RSS | Twitter
UPDATES and information on coal power plants in Kansas, keystone xl tar sands oil pipeline, EPA and the 112th Congress, Lake Tahoe, salmon, gmo crops gray wolves and more.
-EPA Admin. Lisa Jackson on looming fight with Congress
Congress Ready To Attack EPA
Storm clouds are gathering on Capitol Hill as a new Congress prepares to attack the Environmental Protection Agency's mission of protecting America from large scale, industrial polluters. The nation's health is at stake, warns Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. Read More
Kansas Permits Coal Power Breaking News... Today, in a major setback for America's clean energy, the state authorized massive expansion of a highly polluting coal-fired power plant. Read More
From Earthjustice's blog:
David Guest: Florida's slimy water and politicians. Read
COP16: The world takes a critical step towards combating climate change. A firsthand report from the climate change conference in Cancun. Read
Around the world of Earthjustice:
Environmental Justice On Trial
A human rights ruling is due anytime in the case of two Mexican activists tortured and imprisoned for trying to protect their homeland from illegal logging. The group AIDA, co-founded and supported by Earthjustice, interceded on their behalf with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Read their story.
Let's Unite Against Oil Pipeline
A coalition including Earthjustice is asking President Obama to refuse a permit for a pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Canada—endangering drinking water and the aquifer that irrigates America's breadbasket. Take action against this environmentally disastrous idea. Read More.
Keeping The Sparkle In Tahoe
The sparking clarity of California's Lake Tahoe has been dimming over the years because of human development and activity—but the pace of degradation has been slowed because of court action taken by Earthjustice and its clients. Read More.
EPA Failing Salmon, Steelhead
After the EPA's repeated failure to take action, Earthjustice is back in court hoping to force the agency to start protecting West Coast salmon and steelhead from toxic pesticides. Read.
Vote For Earthjustice Through CREDO!
If you're a CREDO member, you get to vote on how to distribute the 2010 donations funding. We're on the ballot need your votes! Go to CREDO and vote for Earthjustice.
Earthjustice and its allies won advances—or outright victories—across a broad front:
Why You'll Breathe Easier
If you like to breathe, you'll love to hear what Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew has done for your lungs. Pew's litigation recently closed a gaping air pollution loophole known as the startup, shutdown, and malfunction exemption, which allowed industrial facilities to blanket nearby communities with toxic air pollution, all without warning or accountability. Listen to this interview with Jim as he describes what this landmark victory means to you. Read More
Judges Delay Destruction Of GMO Sugar Beet Crop
Destruction of a genetically modified sugar beet crop has been stayed by a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court, pending a ruling on an appeal. The original order to destroy the crop was issued Dec. 1 after Earthjustice sued on behalf of farmers and conservation groups concerned about cross-contamination with other crops. The destruction order is the first-ever for a GMO crop. Read More
Court Rules For Clean Air
In a huge victory for America's clean air, a federal court swept aside attempts to keep the EPA from enforcing greenhouse gas rules for motor vehicles and stationary polluters. Read More
Don't Develop More Smog, Court Says
Builders of large developments in California's San Joaquin Valley must somehow offset air pollution caused by their projects, a federal appeals court ruled. The court rejected an appeal by developers that challenged an existing rule for the valley—one of the nation's smoggiest regions. Read More
Court Tightens Net On Midwater Herring Bycatch
A lethal loophole in U.S. fishery laws has been closed through court action initiated by Earthjustice. A court-ordered rule will allow inspection of all fish accidentally caught as bycatch by midwater herring trawlers. Read More
Take Action: My MTR Story Submit Your Photo; Share Your Story! Join hundreds of Earthjustice members by uploading your own photo story to help stop mountaintop removal mining. We'll present all of your photos to the Obama administration as a powerful public photo petition to stop the destruction once and for all! See all photos—and then add your own!
Earthjustice. Because the earth needs a good lawyer. Earthjustice is the nation's leading, non-profit law firm for the environment. To learn more about our work, visit our website, http://www.earthjustice.org.
Photo Credits -'Why You'll Breathe Easier': So-called 'malfunctions' at industrial facilities often cause fires and explosions that pollute the air in surrounding neighborhoods. Credit: Jesse Marquez. 'Environmental Justice On Trial': La Oroya is one of the most contaminated cities on the planet. Doe Run Peru's smelter emits such enormous quantities of pollution that many residents suffer from chronic respiratory illnesses and nearly all the children in the city have lead poisoning. Credit: AIDA. 'Monday Reads: The Musk Oxen Edition': Florian Schulz / visionsofthewild.com.
The legislation proposed in the bills was designed to permanently strip protections from the wolves of the northern Rockies. But it could also pave the way for assaults on other "inconvenient species," from the humble delta smelt to the majestic polar bear.
With a hostile Congress set to take office in January, there's a real risk of backsliding on environmental protections in the coming year. Oversight of environment-related House committees will transition to anti-environment Congress members—and they owe their backers a few favors.
Your generous support will provide Earthjustice's legal and legislative experts with the resources necessary to mount an effective defense of strong environmental protections in 2011.
There is a lot at stake. In addition to the looming threat to the wolves...
Department of the Interior officials have stated their intention to strip grizzly bears of their Endangered Species Act protections;
A federal agency responsible for overseeing oil and gas exploration is considering approving Shell Oil's plans to drill in the Arctic this summer;
The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed setting tougher rules on smog and toxic emissions in response to industry pressure;
and The Bureau of Land Management has proposed a 1,000-acre timber sale in the heart of old-growth forest vital to the spotted owl.
We clearly have our work cut out for us in 2011. But with your generous year-end support in 2010, we will be in a position to meet these challenges head-on in the coming year.
