Great white sharks get more protection in California

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Great white sharks may get full protection under the California Endangered Species Act. Photo courtesy Terry Goss via Wikimedia and a GNU Free Documentation License.

Candidate status under the state’s endangered species act bans any take

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Just a few decades after Jaws, there’s been a sea change in public attitudes about sharks, as people recognize the importance of the ocean’s apex predators.

Along with other recent shark conservation measures, the shift is reflected by the efforts to list great white sharks under the California Endangered Species Act. Starting March 1, great whites will have additional protection as a candidate species under the act.

While there is still some scientific debate about whether California’s great whites need protection, the California Fish and Game Commission has ruled that the sharks may be warranted for listing and will get all the protection of the act until a final listing decision is made. (more…)

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Biodiversity: Is Florida a global hotspot for reptile extinction?

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Freshwater turtles, like this specimen in Butrint, Albania, are facing serious threats. Bob Berwyn photo.

Freshwater turtles among the most threatened species

By Summit Voice

A recent far-reaching study of the world’s amphibians and reptiles finds that Florida is hotspot for environmental threats, with one of the highest concentrations of threatened reptiles in the world.

The new report highlights the need to address the global reptile extinction crisis: One in five reptiles is facing extinction from threats like habitat loss, overharvest and climate change.

“Florida is blessed with a rich diversity of lizards, turtles and snakes,” said Collette Adkins Giese, reptile-and-amphibian specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Unfortunately, threats like habitat loss from rapid development are continuing to push many of these rare reptiles to the brink of extinction.”

More than 200 experts from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission collaborated to study a random sample of 1,500 of the world’s reptile species. Globally, one in five reptiles is facing extinction. The study also flagged the rapidly deteriorating plight of freshwater turtles, estimating that 50 percent of these animals are at risk of extinction. (more…)

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Endangered species listing sought for boreal toads

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Do boreal toads need immediate protection under the Endangered Species Act? Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Conservation groups say they’ll go to court to force action 20 years after federal biologists first said the species qualifies for protection

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Rare boreal toads need Endangered Species Act protection sooner rather later, according to conservation activists who this week said they will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over it’s failure to protect dwindling populations of the ampibian.

Although Colorado populations of boreal toads have also declined from historic levels, the state is still somewhat of a stronghold, thanks in part to a state-led restoration effort and other protective measures. Boreal toads exist in less than 1 percent of their historic breeding areas in the southern Rockies. (more…)

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Colorado ski industry should embrace wolverine restoration

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Bob Berwyn.

Bob Berwyn.

Opinion: Obstructing conservation runs counter the interest of most skiers

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The upcoming listing of North American wolverines as an endangered or threatened species has huge implications for Colorado, and also gives the Colorado ski industry a chance to work off some of the bad karma it earned for opposing the reintroduction of lynx to the mountains of our state.

Wolverines are largest member of the weasel family and need rugged alpine terrain covered with deep snow to reproduce. Sometime soon, within the next few weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will announce its listing decision, with the best available science suggesting that global warming is likely to reduce habitat for denning and breeding to the point that it will threaten the existence of the species.

That’s were Colorado comes in. With more high-elevation terrain than any other state in the Rockies, and plenty of steep, remote brush- and rock-strewn avalanche paths, our mountains could be a climate refuge for the animals, according to conservation biologists working on recovery plans for the rare critter. (more…)

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Groups want critical habitat for loggerhead sea turtles

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
A loggerhead sea turtle off the coast of New England. Photo courtesy NOAA/Matthew Weeks.

A loggerhead sea turtle off the coast of New England. Photo courtesy NOAA/Matthew Weeks.

Lawsuit filed to speed up designation

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Gill net fishing in Mexico and coastal development in Florida is driving loggerhead sea turtles to the brink of extinction, according to conservation groups, who filed a lawsuit this week to try and get better protection for the turtles’s critical habitat.

The groups acknowledge that conservation efforts in Florida have helped populations recover, but insist that the overall long-term threats require greater protection. The number of loggerhead sea turtles nesting along Florida beaches has grown in recent years, but these numbers have varied significantly over the past two decades.

North Pacific loggerheads, which nest in Japan and cross the Pacific to feed along the coasts of Southern California and Mexico, have declined by at least 80 percent over the past decade and were recently reclassified from threatened to endangered. It has been estimated that more than 1,000 loggerheads die each year as a result of gillnet fishing in Mexico, with more than 400 washing ashore dead last summer. (more…)

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Biodiversity: Feds proposed endangered species listing, critical habitat designation for rare Gunnison sage-grouse

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado wildlife officials disappointed by listing proposal

Colorado Gunnison Sage-grouse critical habitat map

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating about 1.7 million acres of critical habitat for Gunnison sage-grouse in Colorado and Utah.

Gunnison sage-grouse

A male Gunnison sage-grouse struts as part of its spring mating ritual. Photo courtesy BLM.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Despite ongoing voluntary conservation measures, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said this week that the best available science indicates that the Gunnison sage-grouse is in danger of extinction and needs protection under the Endangered Species Act.

By some estimates, there are only about 4,000 to 5,000 of the iconic western birds remaining, scattered in eight small population pockets in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. As a result, the USFWS has proposed listing the species as endangered and also proposed designating about 1.7 million acres of critical habitat.

The proposal triggers a 60-day public comment period, with input due by March 12. The agency will also hold a series of public meetings to take input from residents and landowners in areas that could be affected by the listing. The meetings will likely be held in Gunnison, Montrose, Delta and Cortez, Colorado, or in Monticello, Utah and will be advertised at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, Colorado, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Parks, endangered species, Environment | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Biodiversity: Deadline looming for federal endangered species decision on wolverine

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Will wolverines make a comeback in Colorado? PHOTO BY ZAC DOWLING, VIA THE CREATIVE COMMONS.

Will wolverines make a comeback in Colorado? Photo by Zac Dowling, via the Creative Commons.

Conservation strategy could include a Colorado reintroduction effort

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is on track to issue a proposed rule on the status of wolverine by Jan. 18, with most signs suggesting the agency will move forward to protect the rare mammal under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species.

Federal biologists are working under a court-ordered deadline to issue a proposed rule by Jan. 18.  In a Dec. 14 status report, they said they will have rule ready on time. Once the proposed rule is issued, there will be a public comment period, with a final listing decision about one year later.

“All signs are pointing to a threatened listing,” said the Western Environmental Law Center’s Matt Bishop, adding that the USFWS may also prepare a critical habitat designation for release along with the proposed rule. (more…)

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Honduran hummingbird to get endangered species status

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Habitat loss puts brilliant bird at risk of extinction

hummingbird

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing endangered species status for the Honduras emerald hummingbird. Photo via Wikipedia and the Creative Commons.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Although it doesn’t live in the United States, the Honduran emerald hummingbird may get protection under the Endangered Species Act, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers listing the small bird as endangered. The emerald hummingbird is the only bird species endemic to Honduras, living in a few isolated patches of dry thorn forests and scrub habitat.

As a practical matter, the listing would restrict the importation of either the animal or its parts. Listing can also generate conservation benefits, such as increasing awareness of the species, prompting research efforts to address their conservation needs, or funding conservation in range countries. (more…)

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Global warming: Citing shrinking sea ice, feds list several Arctic seal species as threatened and endangered

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Listing decision underscores climate-change threats to Arctic ecosystems

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Bearded seals are vulnerable to shrinking sea ice, declining snow cover. Photo courtesy NOAA.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Recognizing that the best available science suggests a significant loss of Arctic sea ice in the next few decades, federal biologists last week finalized Endangered Species Act protection for two species of ice-dependent seals.

NOAA will list as threatened the Beringia and Okhotsk populations of bearded seals, and the Arctic, Okhotsk, and Baltic subspecies of ringed seals. The Ladoga subspecies of ringed seals will be listed as endangered. The species that exist in U.S. waters (Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia population of bearded seals) are already protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“Our scientists undertook an extensive review of the best scientific and commercial data. They concluded that a significant decrease in sea ice is probable later this century and that these changes will likely cause these seal populations to decline,” said Jon Kurland, protected resources director for NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska region. “We look forward to working with the State of Alaska, our Alaska Native co-management partners, and the public as we work toward designating critical habitat for these seals.” (more…)

Filed under: Arctic, biodiversity, climate and weather, endangered species, Environment, global warming, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: U.S. Forest Service rejects appeal of Peak 6 expansion at Breckenridge Ski Area

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Opponents of controversial expansion considering legal action

The Peak 6 expansion at Breckenridge Ski area would add about 550 acres of new terrain.

*Read all Summit Voice Peak 6 stories

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Barring legal action, Breckenridge Ski Area could start implementing the controversial Peak 6 expansion as soon as early December after regional Forest Service officials rejected an appeal filed by a coalition of conservation groups, skiers and local residents. Read the appeal here.

Scott Armentrout, Supervisor of the Gunnison, Uncompahgre and Grand Mesa National Forests, the appeal reviewing officer, wrote Nov. 14 that he found that the approval for the project did not violate any federal laws, regulations or policies and recommended upholding White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams’ decision to approve the 550-acre expansion.

The formal decision was made by appeals deciding officer Brian Ferebee, a deputy regional forester for resources. Read the full appeal decision here, and a summary of the appeal decision here.

“I agree with the ARO’s analysis as presented in the enclosed letter. All appeal issues raised have been considered and the record is adequate to support the Forest Supervisor’s decision,” Ferebee wrote in his Nov. 19 decision letter. “I affirm the Forest Supervisor’s decision to approve the Breckenridge Ski Area Peak 6 Project. I deny requested relief to set aside the decision or complete additional analysis.” (more…)

Filed under: Breckenridge Peak 6 expansion, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Colorado, endangered species, Environment, public lands, ski industry, Ski Resorts, skiing and riding, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news, US Forest Service, Vail Resorts, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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