Endangered Species

 

Rare Baby Whale Seen In Cape Cod Bay For First Time In '19. According to E&E News, “Surveyors say a North Atlantic right whale mother and calf have been spotted in Cape Cod Bay for the first time this season. The whales are the focus of conservation efforts because of their declining population. There are only about 411 of the marine mammals, and they’ve suffered high mortality and poor reproduction in recent years. The Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass., said the mother and calf were seen Saturday by surveyors from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Surveyors in an airplane saw them again Sunday. The Cape Cod Times reports the calf was first seen Jan. 17 off the southeastern U.S. It’s the third of seven calves documented this season. The whales arrive in late winter and early spring in New England waters to feed and socialize.” [E&E News, 4/11/19 (=)]

 

Saving Rare Beauties. According to The Chattanoogan, “The focus for Earth Day 2019 is ‘Protect Our Species’—especially those that are endangered or threatened. TVA helps care for such species in the Tennessee Valley in many ways. Here is one example: a rare, lovely orchid. TVA botanist Adam Dattilo carefully read the environmental report, expecting it to be like any other. It came from a team of TVA contractors whose routine transmission right-of-way assessments it is his job to oversee. But something in this particular report immediately jumped out at him. ‘I remember reviewing the report and talking to the team leader who was in the field,’ said Dattilo. ‘It was fascinating what he found.’ What the crew had found in the fall of 2015 was about 30 dried flower stalks. To the untrained eye they looked like ordinary dying flowers. Think two-week-old Valentine’s bouquet. But for Dattilo, the stalks were both puzzling and intriguing.” [The Chattanoogan, 4/11/19 (+)]

 

There’s Another Obstacle For NC 540 To Clear, And Once Again It Involves Tiny Mussels. According to The News & Observer, “In a potential new snag for the Triangle Expressway, the Federal Highway Administration wants to review the potential impacts of the planned highway on rare mussels in light of a court decision involving the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The review would also allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider the highway’s effects on the Atlantic pigtoe, a type of rare freshwater mussel that has been identified as a potentially ‘threatened species’ since the highway agency approved the project last spring. The Fish and Wildlife Service had previously determined that the $2.2 billion highway, also known as N.C. 540, would not threaten the existence of two other mussel species living in streams of southern Wake County that are in the highway’s path — the dwarf wedgemussel and the yellow lance mussel. The Federal Highway Administration cited the agency’s opinion last June when it approved the route of the six-lane toll road from Holly Springs to Knightdale. But a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the pipeline case prompted the federal agencies to take another look at the Fish and Wildlife Service’s conclusions about 540. The proposed 600-mile pipeline would run from West Virginia across Virginia to Eastern North Carolina, delivering natural gas from fracking operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.” [The News & Observer, 4/11/19 (=)]

 

Meet The 'Snot Otter,' Your Official Endangered Species If Missouri Lawmakers Get Their Way. According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The official name is Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, but a giant salamander that lives in creeks and rivers in Missouri is more often known as the hellbender, snot otter or lasagna lizard. And, under legislation advancing in the Missouri Legislature, the amphibian could become the state’s official endangered species. On Thursday, the Missouri House voted 125-11 to designate the salamander in order to raise awareness about its alarming decline. The Senate also endorsed the idea in a separate piece of legislation. The population has dropped as much as 90 percent since the 1970s due to river pollution and overharvesting in the 15 states where it lives. It can live up to 30 years and grow up to 2 feet in length, but its skin is sensitive to water quality issues. The St. Louis Zoo is operating a breeding program to try to save the species through its work at the Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/11/19 (=)]

 

Wildlife & Conservation

 

Bill Revives Trophy Hunting Debate. According to E&E News, “A renewed congressional effort to restrict sport-hunted animal trophy imports from Africa may seem a long shot, as it confronts resistance from influential advocacy groups that command Capitol Hill clout and the Trump administration’s attention. The stark political realities and policy differences will be underscored as early as this afternoon when the Republican-controlled Senate confirms as the next Interior secretary David Bernhardt, a lawyer and former lobbyist who once represented Safari Club International. Nonetheless, in a debate-inciting move, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) yesterday reintroduced the multipronged measure named for Cecil the lion, an animal famously killed in 2015 by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. ‘Species such as African elephants and lions face grave threats to their survival and there is no credible scientific evidence that legal hunting enhances their conservation,’ said Animal Welfare Institute President Cathy Liss, adding the bill would restore ‘crucial protections.’ Dubbed the ‘Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act,’ the bill prohibits the importation of elephant or lion trophies from Tanzania, Zimbabwe or Zambia and would require permits to import other species proposed for Endangered Species Act listing.” [E&E News, 4/11/19 (=)]

 

AP | Maine Preps For Destructive Moth Outbreak. According to E&E News, “A scientist with the University of Maine says the Pine Tree State’s trouble with a moth that defoliates trees and irritates people is likely to be bad this year. Maine has a problem with the browntail moth, which is an invasive species that lives in the state. The moth harms some fruit trees and native trees, and its caterpillars have barbed hairs that can cause severe dermatitis in people. They can also cause respiratory problems for sensitive people. The Maine Forest Service conducted an aerial survey in fall 2018 that showed more than 126,000 affected acres, which was double the amount two years earlier. University of Maine entomologist Eleanor Groden says the problem with the insect is spreading in the state. She’s working with the forest service on management strategies.” [E&E News, 4/11/19 (=)]

 

 

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