Endangered & Protected Species

 

New Orleans Flood Control Harms Endangered Species, Suit Says. According to Bloomberg Environment, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission are violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider how a flood-control measure near New Orleans is affecting wildlife and its habitats, conservation groups say in a new lawsuit filed in federal court. The agencies never completed a mandatory ESA consultation for several animal species and their habitats, and they have failed to ensure that the operation of the Bonnet Carre Spillway isn’t jeopardizing listed species or destroying their habitat, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Wednesday.” [Bloomberg Environment, 4/16/20 (=)]

 

Corps ‘Ignored’ Endangered Species Along Coast When Opening Bonnet Carré, New Lawsuit Says. According to Biloxi Sun Herald, “Two nonprofit environmental groups claim in a federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi River Commission that the agencies have violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to properly study the damage Bonnet Carré Spillway openings cause. The nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group headquartered in Washington, and Healthy Gulf, based in New Orleans, name treasured Gulf Coast species harmed by the openings, including the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, piping plover shorebirds and Gulf sturgeon, an enormous fish often referred to as a ‘living dinosaur.’ The lawsuit is at least the third filed against the Corps in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The Mississippi Secretary of State has filed one of the lawsuits, while a second was filed by Coast localities and two associations. All three lawsuits are pending before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. Mississippi River water that floods into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound beyond to avoid flooding the New Orleans area decreases salinity levels, carries a high load of pollutants and sediment, and lowers water temperatures. All these factors potentially harm the endangered species and their habitats, the lawsuit says. The Corps has long operated under the assumption that the Bonnet Carré would open an average of once every 10 years, the lawsuit says. But with increased river flooding, the spillway has opened six times in the last nine years, including an unprecedented 123-day opening in 2019 that resulted in federal fisheries disasters for Gulf states, including Mississippi.” [Biloxi Sun Herald, 4/16/20 (=)]

 

California To Review Protections For Mountain Lions. According to Associated Press, “California wildlife regulators voted Thursday to move forward on a proposal to give state Endangered Species Act protections to certain mountain lion populations that have become vulnerable because of development and other human activities. The state Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously in favor of a petition to start a one-year review to determine whether six lion populations in Southern California and on the Central Coast should be formally protected. The act’s protections apply during the study period. Currently, California’s mountain lions are not considered threatened or endangered. They are legally classified as a ‘specially protected species’ under a voter-approved 1990 ballot measure that makes it illegal to hunt the big cats, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The killing of mountain lions is only allowed when a depredation permit is issued to target a specific cougar that has been killing livestock or pets, to preserve public safety or to keep protected bighorn sheep safe. The proposal to include the six puma populations in the Endangered Species Act was made last year in a petition by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.” [Associated Press, 4/17/20 (=)]

 

Wildlife Corridors

 

Survey: Strong Support In OR For Protecting Wildlife Migration Routes. According to Public News Service, “Most Oregonians want to protect wildlife migration corridors, according to the latest poll results. The survey - commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted in February before the COVID-19 outbreak - finds 86% of Oregon voters think it’s important to conserve migration routes for species like deer, elk and pronghorn, and the same number want the state to build special passages across or under highways to protect these routes and drivers. Ken McCall, vice president of the Oregon Hunters Association, says his group was ‘pleasantly surprised’ with these results. ‘It shows a very positive interest on the part of Oregon’s public for our deer population health,’ says McCall, ‘and for the human health associated with deer-vehicle collisions that are pretty common in the state of Oregon now.’ There are about seven thousand wildlife-vehicle crashes and 700 injuries - as well as a number of deaths - from these crashes each year, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. In addition to supporting special habitat designations, 75% of respondents support increased funding to build wildlife crossings. Matt Skroch, the manager of the U.S. public lands and river conservation program at The Pew Charitable Trusts, says underpasses and overpasses have proven to reduce collisions by 85% to 90%. He says crossings on Highway 97 in central Oregon already are doing this.” [Public News Service, 4/17/20 (=)]

 

 

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