Biodiversity: Scientists slam feds on possible wolf de-listing

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Wolves are recovered in Yellowstone, but a possible plan to take them off the Endangered Species List is highly controversial. Photo courtesy Yellowstone NP.

Leaked plan doesn’t live up to intent of Endangered Species Act

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A group of prominent scientists with expertise in wolf biology is taking issue with a draft plan to take wolves off the Endangered Species List. The document was leaked a few weeks ago, eliciting widespread criticism from wildlife advocates.

Federal wildlife agencies are under intense pressure from states to turn over wolf management. Congress has already set the stage for political interference in the wolf recovery process, and that step has put the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service at the edge of a very slippery slope. Any proposal to de-list wolves is likely to face significant opposition and legal challenges from conservation advocates. (more…)

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Federal judge says Forest Service must consider critical habitat designations in regional forest plan guidance for lynx

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Federal agencies rebuked for violating Endangered Species Act. Photo courtesy USFWS.

Decision will trigger new reviews of forest plans and projects in northern Rockies

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The U.S. Forest Service has once again been called out for failing to live up to its legal obligations to protect endangered species, this time by a federal judge in Montana, who ruled last week that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a regional forest plan amendment.

Dana L. Christensen, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the State of Montana, ordered the Forest Service to re-initiate consultation, but did not block any specific projects on the affected forests, saying that plaintiffs couldn’t show any “irreparable harm.” (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, public lands, Uncategorized, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Wildlife advocates want more polar bear protections

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A United States Fish & Wildlife Service polar bear biologist labels blood samples taken from a bear being examined.
Photo Credit: Karen Rode/USFWS.

New report says threats have increased since bears were listed in 2008

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — While nobody thinks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can slow or stop global warming, wildlife conservation advocates say the agency must do more to try and save polar bears from extinction.

The great Arctic predators have become a poster child for the impacts of global warming, but five years after they were put on the Endangered Species List, the USFWS has not developed a recovery plan.

According to the Center for Biologicial Diversity, the federal agency also should be considering new scientific evidence that threats to polar bears have increased, warranting a change from “threatened” to “endangered” status. (more…)

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Conservation groups challenge federal wolverine plan

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Can wolverines survive global warming? Map courtesy USFWS.

More protections needed to preserve North America’s rarest mammal

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A federal proposal to list wolverines as threatened under the Endangered Species Act doesn’t go far enough to protect the rare species, according to the Western Environmental Law Center, which called on the agency to use a “threatened” listing to ensure survival of North America’s rarest mammal.

The comment letter to the USFWS was submitted on behalf of 26 conservation groups  from across the wolverine’s range in the West. Federal biologists proposed listing wolverines in early February, responding to a court-ordered deadline. Global warming and habitat loss are seen as the main threats.

After being nearly extirpated from the contiguous 48 states by poisoning and trapping, populations started to recover, but there are only an estimated 250 to 200 individuals. (more…)

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Biodiversity: Draft wolverine plan gets mixed reviews

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Draft listing proposal ends with mixed reviews

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The USFWS takes another step toward finalizing a wolverine recovery effort. Photo courtesy USFWS/Steve Kroschel.

By Bob Berwyn

*Click here for more Summit Voice wolverine stories

FRISCO —A draft federal proposal to list wolverines as threatened under the Endangered Species Act elicited mixed reviews as the formal comment period ended May 6. Some states  in the northern Rockies opposed the proposal, saying that wolverines don’t need federal protection, but Colorado is generally supportive of the plan. At the same time, coalition of conservation groups asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ratchet up protection with an “endangered” listing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will now consider all the comments and finalize a listing decision during the next year.

Wolverines are the largest member of the weasel family. They were hunted, poisoned and trapped to near extinction across much of their range in the early 20th century. Since then, populations recovered in the North Cascades, as well the Northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon (Wallowa Range), and Wyoming. (more…)

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Biodiversity: Sierra Nevada frogs proposed for listing

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Recovery efforts for Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs may get a boost from a proposed endangered species listing. Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Endangered Species Act protection could help stem decline and boost recovery efforts

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — After suffering decades of decline  from habitat destruction, disease, predation by nonnative trout, pesticides and climate change, native Sierra Nevada amphibians may get some measure of protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week proposed listing Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs and Yosemite toads. The agency also proposed protection for a population of mountain yellow-legged frogs that lives in the southern Sierra Nevada. The plan also includes an initial proposal to designate more than 2 million acres of critical habitat.

The proposal are the result of a 2011 agreement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the USFWS to speed up endangered species protection decisions for 757 imperiled animals and plants around the country. So far, 56 species have been fully protected and another 96 have been proposed for protection under the settlement agreement.  (more…)

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Biodiversity: Wildlife advocates howling mad about draft federal plan to take wolves off the Endangered Species List

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Wolves may not be in danger of extinction, but are they recovered?

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The current legal status of wolves in the U.S.

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A gray wolf follows a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. Photo courtesy NPS/Doug Smith.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO —An oft-discussed proposal to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species List has progressed to the point that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed a fairly detailed draft version of the plan. The draft rule proposes removing all protections for wolves in 29 eastern states but maintaining endangered status for the Mexican wolf by listing it as a subspecies.

“We propose these actions because the best available scientific and commercial information indicates that the currently listed entity is not a valid species under the Act and that the Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) is an endangered subspecies,” the agency wrote in the draft. (more…)

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Study: Greater sage-grouse need wide-open spaces

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Greater sage-grouse. Photo courtesy USFWS.

Biologists take close look at sage-grouse habitat requirements

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A new U.S. Geological Survey-led study illustrates some of the challenges associated with conserving greater sage-grouse in western landscapes that are increasingly fragmented by human activities, including exurban sprawl and energy development.

Within their sagebrush habitat, the scientists documented very specific environmental conditions showing that the birds prefer to breed in drier-than-average regions within a small temperature and precipitation range. The findings suggest that predicted changes in climate may cause lek locations to change depending on where there are optimal arid conditions.

After taking a close look at most of the data available for more than 3,000 active breeding areas, the biologists concluded that the large birds do best in “landscapes with extremely minimal levels of human land use.” (more…)

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California gillnet fishery eyed as threat to whales

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Spem whale photo by Tim Cole, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Endangered whales perishing in mile-long nets

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — California’s drift gillnet fishery may be classified as one of the most deadly to marine mammals, the National Marine Fisheries Service said this week, announcing its proposed list of fisheries classifications in the Federal Register as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

According to federal biologists, more than three sperm whales die inadvertently each year after being entangled in the drifting nets along with other non-target species like sharks, turtles, dolphins and sea lions. The loss of sperm whales isn’t sustainable considering the small overall population, according to the proposed listing. (more…)

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USFWS to consider endangered species listing for woodpeckers that rely on post-fire habitat

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Black-backed woodpeckers rely on recently burned forests for habitat. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Salvage logging, fire suppression seen as key threats

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — U.S. Forest Service programs touted as forest health work may be the the primary threats to two populations of black-backed woodpeckers that rely on post-fire habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week said it will consider those threats to the rare birds in California, Oregon and the Black Hills of South Dakota as it decides whether to protect the birds under the Endangered Species Act based on a petition requesting protection.

Some of the primary threats to the populations that were included in the petition include post-disturbance salvage logging, active fire suppression that limits the acreage and severity of fires each year, and forest thinning programs.

“This is the first time in the history of the Endangered Species Act that the government has initiated steps to protect a wildlife species that depends upon stands of fire-killed trees,” said Dr. Chad Hanson, an ecologist and black-backed woodpecker expert. “We are pleased to see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognize the naturalness and ecological importance of this post-fire habitat.” (more…)

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