CDP: Wildlife Clips: February 1, 2023
Biden Administration Blocks Controversial Mine To Protect Major Salmon Fishery. According to the Hill, “The Biden administration has blocked a controversial proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska in order to protect the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) blocked construction for the Pebble Mine, citing its potential impact on Bristol Bay — a southwestern Alaska watershed that’s home to numerous animal species including the salmon.” [The Hill, 1/31/23 (=)]
Interior Asks SCOTUS To Reject Alaska Bear-Baiting Case. According to Politico, “Biden administration attorneys are urging the Supreme Court to stay out of a fight over the Interior Department’s authority to stop sport hunters from baiting brown bears on Alaska’s Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The solicitor general’s brief, docketed Monday, comes in response to a petition from the state of Alaska, arguing that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) prohibits Interior from overstepping state rules on hunting methods on federal refuges.” [Politico, 1/31/23 (=)]
Departments
E.P.A. Blocks Long-Disputed Mine Project in Alaska. According to the New York Times, “The Biden administration on Tuesday moved to protect one of the world’s most valuable wild salmon fisheries, at Bristol Bay in Alaska, by effectively blocking the development of a gold and copper mine there. The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final determination under the Clean Water Act that bans the disposal of mine waste in part of the bay’s watershed, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Streams in the watershed are crucial breeding grounds for salmon, but the area also contains deposits of precious-metal ores thought to be worth several hundred billion dollars.” [New York Times, 1/31/23 (=)]
Western Monarch Butterfly Rebounds In Latest Count. According to Politico, “Monarch butterfly census-takers tallied 335,479 of the beloved and vulnerable insects on the West Coast last year, marking the second straight year of a seeming population boom. The closely watched event called the Western Monarch Count, conducted around Thanksgiving, found a huge increase over the roughly 2,000 monarchs found in 2020 and the roughly 250,000 found in 2021.” [Politico, 1/31/23 (+)]
N.D. fights NPS plan to remove Roosevelt park's wild horses. According to Politico, “The National Park Service is under growing pressure to abandon a plan that would remove roughly 200 wild horses from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. On Monday, North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum said removing the horses would lower park attendance, calling them “a major tourist attraction treasured by hundreds of thousands of visitors and social media followers from near and far.” "For decades upon decades, these horses have coexisted peacefully with the national park and in the process have become a hugely popular attraction and an indelible symbol of the untamed character of the Badlands,” Burgum said in a letter to the park’s superintendent.” [Politico, 1/31/23 (=)]
AP| Groups Say Plan Isn’t Helping Fish Species In Montana. According to AP, “Environmentalists are suing U.S. wildlife officials in a bid to force federal protections for a rare, freshwater fish in Montana’s upper Missouri River Basin that’s suffered due to climate change and other pressures. The lawsuit over Arctic grayling was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Montana. The legal challenge comes more than two years after federal officials rejected Endangered Species Act protections, citing a conservation plan intended to boost grayling populations. The fish, which are related to salmon and known for their sail-like dorsal fin, can reach 30 inches (76 centimeters) in length and are prized by many anglers.” [AP, 1/31/23 (=)]
Habitat Loss And Climate Change Increase The Risk Of New Diseases. According to the Economist, “Although scientists have not determined how covid-19 emerged, the leading theory is zoonotic spillover (transmission from animals). The death toll from covid has given efforts to prevent future pandemics new urgency. A recent study in Nature on bats, which carry sars-CoV-2’s closest cousins, finds that the risk of such spillovers is rising—though changes in human activity could return it to safer levels.” [The Economist, 1/31/23 (=)]
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