Migratory Bird Treaty Act

 

Senate Democrats Escalate Fight Against Migratory Bird Rule. According to E&E News, “Democratic senators have escalated their fight against a proposed Migratory Bird Treaty Act rule change, one of a number of potential ‘midnight rules’ that could be teed up for last-minute action by the Trump administration’s Interior Department. In a letter yesterday, 17 Democrats urged Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to clip the wings of the proposed rule, which would limit the law’s reach only to intentional ‘take’ of a protected bird. ‘This is a significant moment for the history of this bedrock conservation law, along with the billions of birds that it protects and the economies that rely upon healthy migratory bird populations,’ the lawmakers wrote. The letter was led by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A December 2017 opinion authored by Daniel Jorjani, who now serves as Interior’s solicitor, reversed an Obama administration legal opinion on the scope of the law. Environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Audubon Society sued, as did eight states.” [E&E News, 10/16/20 (=)]

 

Endangered & Protected Species

 

Colorado Voters Weigh Whether To Bring Back The Endangered Gray Wolf. According to The Aspen Times, “While other Colorado residents spent their stay-at-home days binge-watching Netflix shows or trying to bake Instagram-worthy loaves of bread amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry Desjardin developed an obsession with wolves. More specifically, Desjardin, a conservationist in Routt County, wanted to know how bringing wolves back to Colorado would impact the environment and what would be required to ensure a balance in the ecosystem. Those are among the top questions posed by Proposition 114, a ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves, specifically the gray wolf, to Western Colorado. It marks the first time voters get to decide whether or not to bring back an endangered species, a decision that usually falls to wildlife managers. This has become a major point of contention for naysayers to the proposition, who claim it turns what should be a science-based approach into a political campaign. The debate over wolf reintroduction has become one of the most controversial issues facing Coloradans, on par with polarizing opinions over climate change or gun laws. ‘Even among the conservation community, people are split,’ Desjardin said.” [The Aspen Times, 10/15/20 (=)]

 

Army Machine Gun Plan Gets Airing At Conservation Meeting., According to Worcester Telegram, “Fort Devens - formerly Camp Devens - was founded in 1919. Since much of the base was decommissioned decades ago, the military has continued to use the south fort, in Lancaster, for training. Now, the Army is looking to renovate and expand its Hotel Range. According to a representative of the engineering company, the project would involve 4,700 acres in Lancaster. While he claimed the nearest abutters were 3,000 feet to the east in Harvard, with the nearest residence 4,600 feet away on Meditation Lane, others claimed there were closer people affected, and the noise and other consequences could affect an area from the Mary Rowlandson-Luther Burbank school complex in Lancaster to the Oxbow Reservation in Harvard. … The project was opposed by former commissioner Cara Sanford, due to the endangered and threatened species, like the Blanding turtle, that call the area home. The Nashua River Watershed Association asked for more time to review the lengthy submission before responding, though they expressed concerns over the turtle breeding ground and biodiversity in the area. While the Natural Heritage Division of Fish and Wildlife expressed concern about rare species, including endangered plants, threatened Blandings turtles and a moth of special concern, protected by the Mass. Endangered Species Act, officials there thought the project could proceed with several conditions that would protect these species, plus replicate lost habitat.” [Worcester Telegram, 10/16/20 (=)]

 

Wildlife

 

Murkowski Plots Pebble Response. According to Politico, “Senate Energy Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) signaled Thursday she intends to use the appropriations process to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay in the next Congress. ‘We need longer term protections for the region that can also provide enduring value for Alaskans,’ Murkowski said during a virtual Alaska Federal of Natives convention. ‘And I’m planning on working on that in this next Congress.’ During her remarks, Murkowski added she was monitoring the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay region, which many, including Murkowki, opposes as a threat to the sockeye salmon fishery. ‘I recognize the need for new economic development in southwest Alaska. I think we all do,’ Murkowski said. ‘But I simply think that this is the wrong mine in the wrong place.’ Murkowski, who chairs the Interior-Environment appropriations panel, added that she plans to build on previous appropriations language ‘to ensure that the Bristol Bay region remains protected.’ The current proposal for the Pebble Mine ‘cannot be permitted,’ the Army Corps of Engineers said in August, calling for a series of strict conditions the project’s developers would need to meet to offset environmental harm.” [Politico, 10/16/20 (=)]

 

Judge Continues Halt Of California’s Ban On Gator Products. According to Associated Press, “California’s ban on selling alligator products probably violates federal laws and the state cannot enforce it while various legal challenges remain in court, a federal judge has ruled. The state of Louisiana and companies in California, Florida and Texas are suing the state of California over its decision to ban the import and sale of alligator products, saying the ban will hurt an important industry and ultimately could hurt alligator and crocodile populations. ‘We are encouraged by the court’s decision. We know this is the first step and not the last. But it gives Louisiana’s vital alligator industry the ability to continue operating in California and beyond,’ Bill Hogan, chair of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, said in an emailed statement. Companies that make and use alligator and crocodile leather and ranchers in Louisiana and Florida had filed suit Dec. 10 against the 2019 law, and Louisiana landowners had joined the state commission in another filed Dec. 12. Chief District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller of California’s Eastern District consolidated them in Wednesday’s order against enforcement. ‘Our office is reviewing the court’s decision,’ the California attorney general’s press office said in an email.” [Associated Press, 10/15/20 (=)]

 

Sparring Over A ‘Tiny Little Fish,’ A Legendary Biologist Calls President Trump ‘An Ignorant Bully’. According to InsideClimate News, “Moyle first sounded the alarm over a declining native freshwater fish, the delta smelt, over 30 years ago. The three-inch semi-translucent fish lives only in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, the network of islands and canals that is the hub of the state’s water supply system. Efforts to save the delta smelt and other threatened native species have led to limits on water pumped from the delta to the vast farm lands and cities hundreds of miles to the south. The agricultural industry has cried foul and complained bitterly that California is favoring fish over farmers. President Donald Trump, who counts the agricultural lobby as one of his biggest donors, has taken to predicting California will have to start rationing water to save ‘some kind of tiny little fish.’ But Moyle calls the delta smelt a scapegoat for poor water management and a bellwether for an ecosystem sickened by overuse and major droughts. Several other fish species native to the delta, he notes, are also listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, including the longfin smelt, green sturgeon and spring run Chinook salmon; others, including the splittail, San Joaquin Chinook and Sacramento perch, are in serious decline. With climate change, Moyle added, ‘it will only get worse.’” [InsideClimate News, 10/15/20 (=)]

 

 

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