Wildlife

 

White House Releases New Plan For Seismic Tests In Arctic Refuge. According to The New York Times, “The Trump administration has relaunched long-delayed plans to conduct a seismic survey in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a prelude to drilling for oil there. The Bureau of Land Management on Friday released a proposal to begin a seismic survey in December that would look for underground signs of oil reserves over more than half a million acres on the east side of the refuge’s coastal plain. The Bureau said it would accept public comments on the plan, which was proposed by an Alaska Native village corporation, for 14 days before deciding whether to issue a permit. Environmental and conservation groups in Alaska and elsewhere immediately criticized the action, saying it would permanently harm the delicate Arctic tundra and affect polar bears and other wildlife in what is one of the most remote and pristine parts of the United States. They also said that the rapid time frame meant that a thorough environmental review would not be possible. ‘The submission of this application and BLM’s choice to act on it so close to the election shows how desperate the administration is to turn over one of the nation’s most sensitive landscapes to the oil industry,’ Lois Epstein, director of the Arctic program for the Wilderness Society, said in a statement. ‘The federal government is recklessly rushing and irresponsibly denying the public adequate time to assess the application and submit comments.’” [The New York Times, 10/24/20 (=)]

 

Interior Processing Application For ANWR Oil Exploration. According to Politico, “The Interior Department is processing a proposal to do oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge starting this December, according to a new document posted on a government website Friday. Details: The application was filed by Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation, a private company formed by members of the native tribe in the area of ANWR where drilling is being proposed. Houston-based SAExploration would do the work over a large swath of the so-called 10-02 area of ANWR starting in December, according to the proposal. Context: If approved, the permit would be the first for large-scale oil exploration in the ANWR’s 10-02 region, an undeveloped patch of wilderness that Congress opened up for potential drilling in its 2017 tax bill. A host of groups have been fighting efforts to open the area to exploration, saying that the seismic testing used to find oil and gas deposits harms wildlife and that the infrastructure built for oil and gas drilling could destroy the polar bear and caribou population there. Several environmental groups, native tribes and individual states are suing Interior, alleging that its environmental reviews on the possible impacts of oil and gas development in ANWR were faulty and that the administration has downplayed the effects exploration will have on wildlife in the refuge.” [Politico, 10/23/20 (=)]

 

Testing For Oil In Arctic Wildlife Refuge Proposed For This Winter. According to The Hill, “Testing for oil deposits at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) could begin in December, according to a proposed plan for such testing that was posted online Friday. The government posted a plan submitted by the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation to conduct seismic testing in the refuge, including in an area where polar bears and other wildlife may be found. Seismic testing uses acoustic waves that bounce off formations beneath the surface, generating images that help detect oil deposits. This type of surveying can cause damage to tundra vegetation and soils. According to the plan, the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation hopes to conduct the surveys in a 847.8 square mile area of the refuge. Politico first reported on the corporation’s application earlier this month. The Alaska-based corporation anticipates conducting surveys in December and January. It said that wildlife that can be found in the area during the winter might include polar bears, caribou, grizzly bears, wolverines and arctic foxes. ‘Although encounters with polar bears or grizzly bears are unlikely, the operator and its contractors will exercise caution during the project,’ the plan states.” [The Hill, 10/23/20 (=)]

 

BLM Releases Plan For ANWR Seismic Testing. According to E&E News, “An Alaska Native corporation is seeking to shoot seismic surveys in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) this winter, according to an application published Friday by the Bureau of Land Management, reigniting concerns that heavy-duty trucks and machinery may kill threatened polar bears and damage the sensitive tundra. The Kaktovik Iñupiat Corp.’s (KIC) proposal, which would give industry a clearer understanding of mineral reserves beneath the refuge, also sparked speculation about the Trump administration’s long-awaited plans to hold the first ever oil and gas lease sale in ANWR. KIC’s Marsh Creek East seismic program would have a smaller footprint than earlier, failed attempts to conduct 3D seismic surveys in ANWR’s 1.6 million-acre coastal plain. KIC would limit its activity to a half-million acres in the eastern plain, where the corporation has land and mineral access. BLM oversees most of that land, but KIC holds 92,000 acres, with the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. owning some mineral rights. During seismic surveying, heavy vibrator trucks typically trace a grid pattern as they shoot acoustic waves into the ground that are picked up by sensors. Geophysical companies then create 3D imagery from the data that reveals oil and natural gas mineral deposits.” [E&E News, 10/26/20 (=)]

 

Insects In Trouble, But Humans Can Help. According to The Gainesville Sun, “Insects account for 80% of life on Earth, but because of habitat loss, climate change and pollution, they are declining in number and diversity. And while some may find them frightening or annoying, life is far better with insects than without them, experts say. ‘From what is known, the general consensus is rather alarming,’ said Chase Kimmel, a postdoctoral associate at the Daniels Lab: Conservation of Native Insect Pollinators. ‘From what we have historically found [based on where insects were caught], we have many species that are no longer in those locations.’ Insects perform many vital tasks, such as decomposition, nutrient recycling, acting as natural pest control for other insects and pollinating many fruits and vegetables that all animals eat. ‘We have over 200 different agricultural commodities that Florida produces that need pollination,’ said Jaret Daniels, curator at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity.” [The Gainesville Sun, 10/25/20 (+)]

 

James River Shad Face Upriver Battle For Comeback. According to Star Tribune, “A pair of professors at Randolph-Macon College near Richmond likes to challenge their students with real-world problems. When they asked the James River Association what puzzle they should task a class of environmental studies majors with solving, Riverkeeper Jamie Brunkow pointed to the near absence of American shad in the river. ‘It’s a real example where the experts don’t know what’s going on,’ James Brunkow said. ‘It’s a bit of an environmental mystery.’ Brunkow said shad jumped to the top of his organization’s list of concerns while working on the 2019 State of the James report. Nearly every other measurement of water and wildlife health seemed to be improving, except the population of American shad, which came in at 1% of the goal the group had set for the species. The declining number of shad is not a new concern for local river groups — or for scientists across the Chesapeake Bay region and the entire Atlantic Coast. All along the coast, shad populations have been idling at a historic low, despite millions of dollars invested in their restoration. A recent study by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission calls the shad population ‘depleted’ from Maine to Florida. In the Bay region, the Rappahannock and York rivers fare slightly better with a death rate described as ‘sustainable.’ But, in the James River, shad numbers have remained stubbornly low despite decades of effort focused on their revival.” [Star Tribune, 10/26/20 (=)]

 

Wildlife Corridors

 

Wildlife Crossing Update: A Look At Plans For The Massive Bridge To Span 101 Freeway . According to LAist, “A rather big cat was spotted up a tree in Agoura Hills Saturday, sticking around for hours before heading back to nature. That mountain lion and others that live in the Santa Monica Mountain may soon benefit from a wildlife crossing set to break ground nearby next year. The crossing will span 10 lanes of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon and allow endangered mountain lions, as well as other wildlife, to safely travel. Many cougars are killed while trying to cross Souther California’s busy freeways to seek a new place to live, find a mate or flee wildfires. Beth Pratt with the National Wildlife Foundation says local pumas are in desperate need of mating with other cats not closely related to them, with inbreeding becoming an increasing issue. ‘Genetic decline, which is the result of isolation from these freeways for these cats is getting so bad, that they’re starting to show birth defects,’ Pratt said. Robert Rock with the firm Living Habitats is lead architect and says the 101 divides two microclimates with different plants. ‘This project offers an opportunity to kind of stitch those two spaces back together,’ he said, ‘and allow that transition to occur naturally.’” [LAist, 10/25/20 (+)]

 

Santa Monica Mountains Wildlife Crossing Project Unveils New Images. According to Canyon News, “The National Wildlife Federation released new images of the upcoming wildlife crossing project in the Santa Monica Mountains near Liberty Canyon. The project is on track to begin construction in 2021. The project is part the ‘#SaveLACougars’ campaign, which aims to prevent wildlife, especially mountain lions, from straying onto the nearby 101 Freeway and being hit by vehicles. The project consists of an overpass structure that will connect the mountains and provide a safe spot for animals crossing the area. ‘The wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon is no longer just a visionary idea, but quickly advancing toward completion,’ the National Wildlife Federation website says. ‘Building on the significant historic efforts, we are just a few years out from reconnecting this vital habitat corridor for mountain lions and other local wildlife populations.’ The project is a public-private partnership initiative that includes Caltrans, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, and the National Wildlife Federation.” [Canyon News, 10/23/20 (=)]

 

Conservation Easement Protects Missouri Breaks Bighorn Habitat. According to Billings Gazette, “Thousands of acres of ‘world renowned’ bighorn sheep habitat in central Montana will be protected by a conservation easement approved by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday. The Whiskey Ridge Conservation Easement, located about 8 miles north of Winifred, will forever protect from development more than 4,600 acres of sagebrush and grassland habitat adjoining the south side of the Missouri River Breaks. The property abuts another 10,800 acres of leased Bureau of Land Management and state lands. The commission also approved a conservation easement on 1,000 acres known as Pheasant Forever’s Wolf Creek property near Denton. The land adjoins the Beckman Wildlife Management Area, creating a 15,000-acre ‘landscape available for public hunting,’ said Ken McDonald, Wildlife Division administrator for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The easements were two of several land issues the commission dealt with during their meeting. … The ranch is adjacent to state lands and the Bitterroot National Forest in the ‘rapidly growing Bitterroot Valley,’ McDonald said, providing a wildlife corridor for deer, elk and bears. Another conservation easement FWP was approved to pursue is 7,000 acres 18 miles southeast of Chinook in Blaine County. The Box Elder Creek CE is also next to state lands and remains largely intact as native grassland.” [Billings Gazette, 10/25/20 (=)]

 

Malay Ranch Easement Sought For Wildlife Migration Across Bitterroot Valley. According to Missoula Current, “Conservationists are hoping an easement south of Lolo will be added to a larger project to keep an east-west corridor open for wildlife moving between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains. The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission gave FWP the go-ahead this week to work on an agreement creating an 832-acre conservation easement on the Maclay Ranch 1.5 miles south of Lolo. ‘This parcel provides a really important corridor that connects important private and public lands and forms this corridor across the rapidly growing Bitterroot Valley,’ said Ken McDonald, FWP Wildlife Bureau Chief. ‘If you look on the map, you can get a feel for the strategic value of that parcel. With the proximity to public lands and all the development on either side of it, it really highlights the increasingly scarce places in that valley where wildlife can cross.’ As the Bitterroot Valley has filled with houses, the wildlife has gradually been pushed out. In the valley bottom near the Bitterroot River, elk and deer still like to feed in the riparian areas and stubble fields, but sometimes end up dead along the highway trying to cross back to the Bitterroot Mountains.” [Missoula Current, 10/26/20 (=)]

 

Invasive Species

 

'Murder Hornet' Nest Found In Wash. According to E&E News, “The incessantly gruesome year 2020 has now outdone itself, with the discovery of the first Asian giant hornet nest on U.S. territory. Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologists announced the grim but inevitable find today following weeks of searching. Inclement weather forced officials to put off an eradication effort until tomorrow. According to the department, a WSDA trapper collected two live Asian giant hornets on Oct. 21 near the town of Blaine. Two more hornets, also living, were found in another trap on Oct. 22 when WSDA staff arrived to tag the previously trapped hornets with radio trackers. ‘The entomologists were able to attach radio trackers to three hornets, the second of which led them to the discovery of the nest, found about 4 p.m. on Oct. 22,’ the department reported. The nest is inside the cavity of a tree located on private property near an area cleared for a residential home. Dozens of hornets were seen entering and exiting the tree while the WSDA team was present, the department said. … While the hornet rarely attacks people, its stinger is longer than that of a honeybee, and its venom is more toxic. It can also sting repeatedly.” [E&E News, 10/23/20 (=)]

 

 

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