Endangered & Protected Species

 

Judge Orders Poaching Protections For Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves. According to Public News Service, “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has six months to develop new language in its Mexican gray wolf recovery plan, after a judge ruled it does not adequately address the illegal killing of wolves. The judge’s ruling was in response to a lawsuit by conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife. Wildlife officials estimate there are currently only about 180 of the endangered lobos in Arizona and New Mexico. Defenders’ Southwest Program Manager Bryan Bird said one of the highest sources of wolf mortality is poaching by humans, and protections are needed for that. ‘Poaching is especially nefarious,’ said Bird. ‘The person that’s killing a wolf illegally doesn’t have any idea whether that wolf in important, genetically, to the population in the wild.’ The group’s 2018 lawsuit claimed that the federal agency’s plan failed to meet basic requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Mexican grey wolves became one of the most endangered mammals due to federally sanctioned hunting, trapping and poisoning. The wolves range from southern Mexico into the American Southwest, but the recovery plan specifically covers sections of southeastern Arizona and southwest New Mexico. According to Bird, the centuries-long coexistence conflict between wolves and humans - especially over territory and livestock - has nearly led to their extinction.” [Public News Service, 10/21/21 (=)]

 

Hundreds Of Manatees Starved Due To Algae Blooms, Contamination, Official Says. According to The Hill, “A wildlife official in Florida said hundreds of manatees have starved to death along the state’s east coast due to the algae blooms and contaminants that are killing seagrass resources they eat, The Associated Press reported. Melissa Tucker, director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s habitat and species conservation division, told the House State Affairs Committee Tuesday the seagrass population has been decimated in the Indian River Lagoon and neighboring areas. Tucker noted that seagrass, an aquatic plant, thrives in clear, sandy water but murkier conditions have caused algae and pollutants to grow in the water, making it harder for the seagrass to survive, according to the AP. ‘Our statewide death count from all sources has been higher than it’s ever been reported before,’ Tucker told the committee. ‘This is a starvation issue. There’s not enough seagrasses that are available to the manatees.’ Tucker also said officials noticed a sharp rise in manatee deaths from December through May when sea cows usually gather in warm water. Six hundred and seventy-seven manatees died during that span when typically only 156 perish, the AP reported.” [The Hill, 10/20/21 (=)]

 

Wildlife

 

Meet The Rogue Birding Group Blocking Wind Energy At Every Turn. According to Grist, “Erin McGrath, Audubon’s policy manager in Albany, told Grist that the birding group was negotiating a ‘tug and pull’ between the need to build renewables while preserving avian habitats. But she expressed faith in the state’s ability to maintain the right balance. ‘We strongly support the deployment of renewable energy projects as long as they are sited responsibly and avoid intense consequences to birds and vulnerable wildlife,’ she said. The office has received strong support from a number of other conservation groups, including The Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the New York League of Conservation Voters.* Nevertheless, the fledgling office, which only released its first decision in June, is now in jeopardy due to the work of a rogue avian protection nonprofit: the American Bird Conservancy, or ABC. In late June, ABC led a flock of fellow fowl enthusiasts and rural New York towns in a lawsuit to overturn the new office’s renewable energy siting guidelines. Among their claims is that the office is captured by corrupt special interests who are eager to ‘level hilltops, degrade or destroy sensitive habitat, harm wildlife, [and] kill birds.’” [Grist, 10/20/21 (+)]

 

Wildlife Corridors

 

Florida Environmentalists Turn To Cattle Ranchers For Help. According to Axios, “The Florida cowboy is a dying breed, but we need them to survive to keep Florida healthy. Driving the news: Environmentalists want to help cattle ranchers preserve their swaths of land and be a line of defense against sprawling development, protecting watersheds and wildlife’s habitat and migrations. Journalist Craig Pittman, in a new piece for Flamingo, documents the transformation of the Florida cowboy, an occupation that dates back 500 years. Flashback: Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon brought cattle when he landed at Charlotte Harbor in 1521, his second trip to La Florida. He came under attack, but four heifers and a bull fled into the scrub, introducing cows to America. Today, Florida ranchers count 929,000 head of beef cows and 111,000 dairy cows. Including calves, that’s more than 1.6 million cows grazing in Florida pastures on more than 5 million acres. … The big picture: Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved spending $50 million on land preservation deals for seven parcels covering almost 20,000 acres — including Corrigan Ranch and Cow Creek Ranch in South Florida. The environmental goal: Preserve links through the Florida Wildlife Corridor, the green veins that run the length of the state and serve as migration routes for the Florida Panther and other animals. What they’re saying: ‘We’ve got to keep these ranchlands intact somehow,’ Julie Morris, with the National Wildlife Refuge Foundation, told Pittman. ‘They’re keeping Florida green.’” [Axios, 10/20/21 (+)]

 

Wildlife Crossings Are Imperative To Keeping North Dakota's Animals Safe. According to Williston Herald, “On a recent road trip back from Denver, after exhausting all my podcast downloads and Spotify playlists, boredom struck, and in desperation to stay awake, I decided to count roadkill. I’ve always called out game when driving, pointing out deer, antelope, or pheasants, while often annoying my passengers, but never roadkill. This impromptu ‘roadkill bingo’ was triggered by a nice, and I mean a really nice pronghorn buck dead on the highway’s shoulder. I know it’s just one animal in a species, but it was sad to see a monarch meet its end that way. On a 25 mile stretch of Highway 85, I counted over 20 animals who met a similar fate. That didn’t include the numerous skunks, rabbits, and other small, pancaked fur on the side of the road. Playing this grisly version of road trip bingo made it clear how numb we’ve become to seeing roadkill and how we’ve accepted it as a part of driving. According to the Federal Highway Administration, drivers across the country hit an estimated 1.5 million animals each year. Nationally, it costs the us upwards of $8 billion, approximately 200 people die, 30,000 more are injured, not to mention the loss of wildlife from these collisions. It’s a real problem. Elk, mule deer, white tailed deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and moose, North Dakota’s big game animals, are prominent species on our landscape, and their presence and abundance are highly valued by hunters, wildlife watchers, and the people who both live in and visit the state.” [Williston Herald, 10/20/21 (+)]

 

 

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