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From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To: ACLU Action Network Members
Date: September 3, 2003
Congress has returned from summer recess and will be addressing several pieces of legislation that directly affect your right to privacy and freedom from government surveillance.
The Senate will soon begin considering an important bill that responds to recent government actions and several of the PATRIOT Act's most grevious provisions -- including one that allows government agents to conduct "sneak and peek" searches of your home or office. Not only would the bill require a higher standard of proof before allowing government access to highly private and sensitive data (such as library, bookstore and medical records), it also bans federal agencies from engaging in "data-mining" without explicit congressional authorization.
This legislation would correct many of the PATRIOT Act's flaws and protect constitutional rights threatened by other government actions. It deserves your full support.
Take Action! Click here to get more information and send a free fax to your Senators:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=13292&c=206
2) Keep Federally Funded Programs Free from Religious Discrimination
A key Senate committee will soon be considering two pieces of legislation that could include provisions for government-funded religion.
Both the Head Start bill and the Workforce Reinvestment Act as passed by the House contain provisions that would allow religious organizations to use government funding to discriminate. This discrimination could be based on religion and other characteristics the religious organizations might find objectionable -- such as marital status, sexual orientation, gender or HIV status.
These provisions would violate the Constitution and would be an unprecended roll back of civil rights.
Click here to get more information and to send your Senators a free fax:
http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=13435&c=37
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For more information on other issues and the latest news, please visit our website at http://www.aclu.org
Help Strengthen the ACLU's Voice in Congress... Click below to become a card-carrying Member or donate today!
http://www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm?ORGID=AA02
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To find out what more you can do to protect your civil liberties, please visit http://www.aclu.org/action
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*Your WildAlert for Wednesday, September 3, 2003
*************************************************
Keep our forests safe and reduce forest fire risk to
communities by asking your Senators to support S. 1453,
the Forestry and Community Assistance Act of 2003.
Take action now by clicking here:
http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws
Or, to use the auto reply feature, click on reply and
put this in the subject line of your email:
TakeAction
NO NEED TO LOG OUR FORESTS TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES,
FORESTS FROM WILDLAND FIRE
In May, the House of Representatives passed legislation
that purports to deal with forest wildfire concerns.
The Administration has endorsed the bill and it has
been reported to the U.S. Senate which will debate
it soon. The bill's provisions fall far short of what
should be the primary goal of sensible fire-related
legislation: protecting communities and keeping people
and their property safe from the risk of forest fires.
Unfortunately, what it will do is cut the heart out
of national environmental safeguards, cut the public
out of the forest management process and set up a rigged
judicial game in favor of logging interests and against
the public.
A BETTER SOLUTION
The "Forestry and Community Assistance Act of 2003,"
S. 1453 will protect communities and property from
fire and leave intact long-established environmental,
procedural and legal safeguards. This bill is sponsored
by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
but the legislation needs additional cosponsors. Will
you please take a moment to ask your U.S. Senators
to cosponsor S. 1453? You can send that message to
your senators immediately from http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws
*******************************************
BACKGROUND: Handouts for Industry, No Help for Worried
Homeowners
Last year's highly-publicized forest fire season has
given the Administration and its timber allies just
the excuse they needed to increase timber harvests
from our National Forests, to eviscerate environmental
laws and public participation safeguards and to jack
up subsidies to the timber industry. All this masquerades
as legislation meant to ease fire threats and address
fears among those whose homes are at the forest's edge.
It does nothing of the sort.
The House of Representatives passed this legislation
in May. Its provisions are a true parade of ugliness:
--The bill fails miserably to meet its major claim,
that it will make communities safer from wildfire.
It doesn't provide the funding needed to make communities
safer. It also focuses solely on National Forests even
though studies show that 85 percent of the land surrounding
communities most at risk from wildfire is private,
state or tribal, not federal.
--The House bill allows federal land managers to sharply
curtail environmental safeguards when they develop
logging projects. That means there would be no process
to evaluate options and identify those least harmful
to our forests, a process that the National Environmental
Policy Act now requires.
--The bill abolishes citizens' statutory right to appeal
Forest service hazardous fuels projects as now required
by the Appeals Reform Act. It would exempt all such
projects from existing public comment and administrative
appeals processes. Then, to make sure the public is
effectively locked out, it establishes absurdly short
deadlines for filing legal challenges.
--Assuming any legal challenges are brought under the
truncated schedule, the House bill would force our
courts to place them ahead of all other civil or criminal
cases pending. Then, to further undermine our independent
judiciary, the bill would force courts to rush to judgement
on such suits.
The rationale for these provisions is the phony claim
that environmental reviews and legal challenges have
unduly delayed fuel reduction projects. Three independent
studies have concluded that the vast majority of fuel
reduction projects proceed in a timely manner, even
when questions are raised about them.
--The House bill tips the scales of justice firmly
in favor of timber interests and the Forest Service
by requiring our courts to give special weight to the
agency's views, potentially even after a project has
been found to be in violation of the law. Analysts
call this an astounding and perhaps unprecedented change
in American legal standards.
--Finally, though the House couldn't seem to find sufficient
money to provide meaningful help to communities at
risk from fire, it managed to provide another $125
million per year in taxpayer subsidies for the timber
industry. That's on top of the $362 million the Forest
Service spent in 2002 to subsidize commercial logging.
*******************************************
A REAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM
The action now moves to the U.S. Senate which will
debate the House-passed bill this fall. The fears of
Americans whose homes abut the forest are real, and
they shouldn't be manipulated to gut environmental
laws, shower more subsidies on big timber companies
or allow the Forest Service to cut what timber it wants,
where and when it wants, with virtually no accountability.
These legitimate fears deserve serious solutions and
one exists. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Barbara
Boxer (D-CA) have introduced S. 1453, the "Forestry
and Community Assistance Act of 2003."
The Leahy-Boxer bill's provisions rely on the best
available science to protect homes, communities and
municipal drinking water supplies. Most important,
it establishes programs for truly restoring forests
and watersheds that have been damaged over time by
such activities as fire suppression, logging and road
building. And it provides the money to do the job,
both on our National Forests and on state and tribal
lands.
*******************************************
PROTECTS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
In stark contrast to the House bill, the Leahy-Boxer
bill protects forests that are now healthy and resilient,
such as in roadless areas and old growth stands. Both
those forest categories are now under threat of logging
and roadbuilding because of recent decisions by the
Administration.
And the Leahy-Boxer legislation will move us toward
healthier forests and safer communities without interfering
with our courts, without barring the public from decisions
affecting our forests, and without gutting the National
Environmental Policy Act.
*******************************************
PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY!
Decades of progress toward sound, scientific forest
management will evaporate if the Senate approves the
House legislation. The Forest Service will return to
managing our forests as mere tree farms. And the public
will, once again, be on the outside looking in. The
sensible alternative to that virtual certainty is the
Leahy-Boxer bill.
Will you please write, phone or fax your U.S. Senators
and urge them to cosponsor the Leahy-Boxer bill? You
can send a fax immediately from http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws
If you'd rather write your own letter or fax or to
call your senators' offices, we've provided a sample
letter below that includes the most important points
to make. Feel free to draw from it.
You can find contact information for your senators
at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
A draft letter is below.
THANK YOU
Thanks for taking action to help us protect our forests,
communities closest to them and our right to be fully
involved in forest management decisions! Thanks, as
always, for being an essential part of WildAlert, our
online community of wilderness activists!
*******************************************
You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws/
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws/forward/
We encourage you to take action by September 30, 2003
Tell Senate to Support Real Wildfire Prevention
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://ga1.org/campaign/leahy_tws/
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program.
You MUST Reply with "TakeAction" in the subject.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Senators
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
Soon the Senate will consider legislation that has
already passed the House, the so-called "Healthy Forest
Restoration Act of 2003," HR 1904. I strongly urge
you to oppose this bill.
Its proponents, including the Administration, continue
to trade on last year's fire season as an excuse to
advance timber industry proposals. Like the Administration's
monumentally mislabeled "Healthy Forests Initiative,
HR 1904 will undermine environmental review, eliminate
meaningful public comment and meddle with our independent
judiciary to favor big timber interests over community
protection.
There is a much better way and it exists in the "Forestry
and Community Assistance Act of 2003," S.1453, which
Sens. Patrick Leahy and Barbara Boxer recently introduced.
I urge you to cosponsor this legislation. Unlike the
House bill, its provisions are true to its title.
The legislation makes solid sense and stands on solid
science. It provides the necessary funding to help
at-risk communities by thinning small-diameter trees
and brush in the Community Protection Zone around a
community's structures and drinking water supply systems.
Instead of logging the largest, most fire-resistant
trees far from communities, S.1453 focuses fuels reduction
work precisely where it is needed: within the defensive
Community Protection Zone. According to the Forest
Service's own research, this is the only proven method
for protecting lives and homes. As such, it is the
best use of taxpayer resources.
In significant contrast to the House-passed bill, S.
1453 will establish, and fund, watershed and forest
restoration programs without locking citizens out of
the forest planning process and without gutting environmental
laws. At the same time, it will protect our old-growth
forests and those in roadless areas. These are the
healthiest, most resilient and most fire-resistant
of forests. S. 1453 will also prohibit road construction
in these ecologically valuable lands.
The Leahy-Boxer bill will save taxpayers money and
genuinely benefit communities. It respects established
rules of law and provisions for public participation
in management of our public lands. The House-passed
bill would do the opposite in every case.
I strongly urge you to oppose HR 1904 when it comes
before the Senate and to support instead S. 1453. Thank
you for your consideration.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Dear U.S. PIRG supporter,
A coalition of power companies has launched a multi-million dollar campaign to convince members of Congress to support the Bush administration's misnamed "Clear Skies" air pollution bill. Through the Edison Electric Institute, hundreds of companies are pushing their employees, retirees and shareholders to send faxes to Congress, meet with members of Congress, and write to local newspapers. Even worse, these faxes falsely claim that the dirty air bill is good for the environment and public health!
The truth is that the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" air pollution plan will weaken public health protections, leading to more smog, soot and mercury pollution from old electric power plants than under current law.
Please take a moment to e-mail your members of Congress today and tell them that we need real solutions to the over 30,000 premature deaths and 160,000 asthma attacks that power plant pollution causes. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
UPDATE
As you may have heard, the Bush administration recently signed into law the second set of regulatory changes in only six months aimed at weakening the Clean Air Act's "New Source Review" (NSR) program. The Bush administration's newest changes will exempt 17,000 of the oldest and most polluting power plants, refineries and other facilities from the Clean Air Act New Source Review program.
The New Source Review provisions are a central part of the nation's clean air laws. They require the largest sources of air pollution to install modern pollution controls when they make changes to their facilities that increase pollution. For grandfathered sources, they are one of the few pollution control requirements under the law. While the EPA has done the bidding of the polluters, members of Congress need to step in and stop the Bush administration's attacks on the Clean Air Act.
BACKGROUND
The Bush administration's air pollution plan, dubbed "Clear Skies," would lead to more smog, soot and mercury contamination than would be allowed under the current Clean Air Act. That's why the White House plan is opposed by groups like the American Lung Association, American Heart Association, American Public Health Association and American Cancer Society.
It is unacceptable that in the year 2003 we are relying on a fleet of power plants that are using antique emission control technologies, if any at all. The consequences include millions of avoidable asthma attacks and tens of thousands of premature deaths each year, as well as acid rain, haze in our national parks, toxic mercury in our fish, and perhaps the most serious threat to our future, global warming.
Unfortunately, industry is working with the Bush administration to push plans that would weaken protections already in the current Clean Air Act. Industry wants more time to meet modern pollution standards, but they've had more than enough. Also, their plans fail to require any mandatory reductions of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming.
Current technology allows us to do better, and the urgency of the health threats posed by this pollution demands that we address power plant pollution more seriously than industry and the Bush administration have proposed. Please take a moment to e-mail your members of Congress today, telling them that we need real solutions to the over 30,000 premature deaths and 160,000 asthma attacks that power plant pollution causes. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
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Urgent! Forests in jeopardy!
A message from Earthjustice
****************************
The giant timber industry is taking full advantage
of the political climate created by President Bush
and his administration. Today, we urgently need your
help to fight them. Click here:
https://secure.ga3.org/02/forests2/
We're up against a dangerous California logging proposal
with a September 12th public comment deadline. The
Bush administration, acting on behalf of its friends
in the timber industry, has proposed changes that would
gut the Sierra Nevada Framework, a landmark agreement
that launched a new era of ecologically sound management
for 11.5 million acres of National Forest.
As the law firm for the environment, we are playing
a singularly important role in holding the line right
now against the timber industry's rabid quest to profit
at the expense of the unparalleled beauty and natural
diversity of our forests.
As a committed supporter of Earthjustice, you also
play an important role:
:: First, your immediate financial support is essential
to this fight. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
https://secure.ga3.org/02/forests2/nhd1aAPE1hcJn
:: And second, please tell the U.S. Forest Service
what you think of timber industry greed. Click here:
http://ga0.org/campaign/snf/
Earthjustice is at the center of this battle in California,
as we are throughout the country, providing our legal
expertise free of charge to local and national environmental
groups. Thank you so much for your support today in
protecting our forests and the health of those who
depend upon them.
Sincerely,
Vawter "Buck" Parker
Executive Director
****************************
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You're no doubt aware that many chemicals disrupt the hormones of both wildlife and people, and that we need to do a lot more research into how these chemicals affect living things. Here's an opportunity for you to drive passage of recently introduced legislation that calls for critically-needed research into the hazards posed by chemicals in our environment.
For more than a decade, World Wildlife Fund has been calling the world's attention to chemicals that interfere with reproduction, reduce resistance to disease, and change behavior in wildlife and humans. These chemicals have been building up in wildlife and humans, even in the most remote populations of marine animals, polar bears, and other wildlife. At the same time, there have been worrisome increases in human cancers, children's diseases, and other health disorders to which these chemicals may contribute.
The World Health Organization recently confirmed that these "hormone-disrupting chemicals" are affecting wildlife, and urged that high priority be given to research on these chemicals' contribution to human health problems. The recently-introduced Environmental Health Research Act of 2003 would do just that by requiring the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to lead a government-wide program of research on hormone-disrupting chemicals.
Follow the steps below to urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the legislation.
**************************TAKE ACTION NOW!*********************
If you received this email from World Wildlife Fund's Conservation
Action Network, follow the steps below for taking action. If a friend forwarded this email to you, go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=3439 to take action.
TAKE ACTION QUICKLY -- To send the message below, as is, to your members of Congress, hit "reply" to this email and then "send." We will automatically send the messages for you.
ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR IMPACT -- Log in to your Personal Action Center -- http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=3409 -- with your email address (alerts@earthhopenetwork.net) and your password. Once you are in your Personal Action Center, click on "Protect Wildlife and Humans from Hazardous Chemicals" and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message.
If you have any questions or problems, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help. Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.
***************************LETTER TEXT**************************
Dear (your senators' and representative's names will be inserted here):
I write to urge you to cosponsor the Environmental Health Research Act of 2003 (H.R. 852 and S. 1588). If you have already decided to cosponsor, thank you for recognizing the value of increasing our knowledge about the hazards of chemicals in our environment.
Sadly, despite progress in recent years in reducing threats from various chemicals in our air and water, we still know very little about the health and environmental effects of most of the chemicals that surround us. Chemicals used in everyday products are accumulating in the bodies of whales, fish, seals, and even our children. What we don't know could be hurting generations of wildlife and people.
Many chemicals that we are exposed to disrupt the function of hormonal systems. These chemicals can interfere with reproduction, reduce resistance to disease, and change behavior in wildlife and people. Hormone disruption can occur at very low doses, especially when exposure occurs in the womb or immediately after birth. Effects in wildlife have been repeated in laboratory studies and may be occurring in humans. Earlier this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Americans' exposure to 116 chemicals. The hazards of most of these chemicals, alone or in combination with other chemicals, are not well understood.
Federal government research on hormone disruption has been scattershot and underfunded. Even as evidence about hormone disruption has grown, the public remains largely in the dark about hazards to health and the environment. The Environmental Health Research Act of 2003 responds to this challenge by providing for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to lead a government-wide research program on hormone disrupting chemicals, and to report to the public on exposures and effects. The information gleaned can reduce threats to wildlife, help citizens avoid dangerous chemicals in household products, encourage companies to make their products safer, and prevent serious health effects in our children.
Please do all you can to promote passage of this landmark legislation.
Sincerely,
Your name and address
will be inserted here
**************************END OF LETTER TEXT*************************
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Direct any questions about the WWF Conservation Action Network to
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org
_____________________________________________________________________
The Conservation Action Network is sponsored by World Wildlife Fund-
US. Known worldwide by its panda logo, WWF is dedicated to
protecting the world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity
that we all need to survive. The leading privately supported
international conservation organization in the world, WWF has
sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more
than 1 million members in the United States. WWF calls on everyone
-- government, industry, and individuals -- to take responsibility by
taking action to save our living planet.
World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-fourth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.worldwildlife.org
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org
Tell the Gallatin National Forest to protect Wildlife, Fisheries and Quality
Recreation!
Help Shape the Gallatin's Travel Management Plan - Comments Due October 3.
Greater Yellowstone's Gallatin National Forest provides outstanding hiking
and horse packing opportunities, world class fisheries, remote wildlands,
and is still the home to every wildlife species, including the grizzly bear,
elk, wolves, bald eagle, lynx and wolverine, that was present when Lewis and
Clark passed through nearly 200 years ago. The key to this wildlife heritage
is an abundance of largely undisturbed roadless land - our highest quality
wildlife habitat.
All this could change in the next few years. Because an explosion of
inappropriate off road vehicle use in the Forest is impacting these
resources, the Gallatin is now developing a Travel Management Plan that will
determine what forms of travel, such as hiking, biking, horse packing, and
off road vehicle use are permitted within different parts of the 2.2 million
acre forest.
Please take action today by asking the Gallatin National Forest to safeguard
its unique wildlife, fisheries and quality recreational opportunities.
For more information, contact Tim Stevens at (406) 587-1593.
Go to:
http://www.greateryellowstone.org/take-action/action-alerts/act_gallatin.html
***
Restoring the Whole:
A Conservation Vision for the Northern Rockies and Northern Plains
Predator Conservation Alliance's Fourth Annual Conference
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel
Yellowstone National Park
October 2-5, 2003
To download a complete Conference Agenda and Registration Form, go to:
www.predatorconservation.org
Keynote Speakers:
* Mike Phillips was formerly the NPS project leader for restoration of grey
wolves in Yellowstone. He also worked on red wolf recovery in the East. He
is Executive Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund. Mike will give
the opening keynote on future directions of predator recovery efforts.
* Rick Bass is a passionate conservationist and author (The Ninemile
Wolves; The Book of Yaak) from the Yaak valley in NW Montana. Rick will give
a special evening presentation about how restoration of wildlife is
culturally and spiritually beneficial to people.
* Ray Rasker is Director of the Sonoran Institute's SocioEconomics Program.
Ray will review his research findings on the economic benefits of a healthy
environment and discuss how the restoration of wildlife could lead to
improved economies for regional communities.
* Don Barry was Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife
and Parks in the Clinton administration. He is an expert on the Endangered
Species Act, and is well known for his efforts to rid the National Parks of
snowmobiles and jet skis. Don is presently Executive Vice President of The
Wilderness Society. He will give the closing keynote on what we should
expect from the federal government in wildlife restoration efforts, and how
organizations and individuals can work more effectively in those efforts.
In addition to these keynote speakers, there are six other great speakers
who are all experts on their topic of discussion. The Friday morning
session will be about restoring forest carnivores and their habitat. The
Saturday morning session will be about restoring grasslands prey (bison and
prairie dogs) and their predators. Afternoon field trips around Yellowstone
with the speakers and PCA staff will provide an opportunity for networking
and the exchange of ideas and plans. On Sunday morning there will be a
naturalist-led field trip to the Lamar valley to watch wildlife – always fun
and exciting.
================================================================
Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Working to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations
MEMBERSHIP
By becoming a member of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition you can
help shape the future of the Greater Yellowstone region. Go to:
http://www.greateryellowstone.org/home_join.html
================================================================
TO SUBSCRIBE to the Greater Yellowstone New Bytes visit:
http://www.greateryellowstone.org/home_activist.html
or send a message to saveylstn@greateryellowstone.org
with "Subscribe" in the subject line.
Let me get to the point. In a short time, two very important
environmental protections could be destroyed: snowmobile
quotas could be INCREASED in Yellowstone National Park, and
our Clean Water Act could no longer apply to many bodies of
water across the United States. We need people like you, who
have signed up to recieve alerts when the environment needs
you, to take action now.
Please read below and then sign our petitions to help stop
these horrible things from happening.
Keep Snowmobiles Out of Yellowstone:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/7550
Thanks to the tireless efforts of activists around the country,
both the public and Congress recognize the devastating impacts
snowmobiles have in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
Unfortunately the battle is not yet over.
It has been more than two years since the Bush administration
told us that they intended to "reexamine" the original Park Service
study and decision to replace noisy, polluting snowmobiles with park-
friendly, multi-passenger snowcoaches. Now the new rule will continue
to allow snowmobile use in Yellowstone, and we need your voice in
this final public comment period.
During the public comment period for the Bush draft supplemental
environmental impact statement, more than 360,000 people commented
and 80% of those comments supported the original plan to ban snowmobiles.
Congress heard these voices. An amendment to ban snowmobiles
from Yellowstone in the House lost by virtue of a tie (210-210).
We need to demand protection for our first national park! Sign our
petition and we'll submit an official comment to the Park Service on
your behalf:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/7550
Protect our Clean Water Act:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/7551
We all want clean water. Migrating birds, wild animals, swimmers,
boaters, fisherpeople and more all rely on it, and yet, our water
is at risk again. I find this absurd, but if you look at who's behind
the whole idea, you will start to understand. Oil, chemical,
mining and other polluting industries are telling President
Bush that Clean Water Act safeguards are hindering their ability to
do business. They think the rules that protected our nation's
streams, lakes, wetlands and coastal waters are just getting
in the way.
As all citizens depend on clean water, I don't think they have a
very compelling argument, but Bush appears to be listening.
That's why we need you to send a letter to your representatives
today.
Sign this petition to send your reps a message asking them to sign a special
letter to President Bush being circulated in the House and Senate,
urging the President to uphold the Clean Water Act, not weaken it! http://www.care2.com/go/z/7551
Thank you for your tireless support,
Hilary Stamper
Care2.com
Dear Friends and Animal Lovers:
Like most birds in the U.S, Canada geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918, and since 1939, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been responsible for enforcing the MBTA. Unfortunately, in recent years, because of increasing conflict between humans and Canada geese in urban areas, the USFWS has been issuing kill permits to golf courses, homeowner associations, and municipalities so that they can hire the USDA-Wildlife Services Department to round up and slaughter thousands of beautiful birds. During the summer, geese are rounded up and shipped to slaughter when they are molting and flightless so they have no chance of escape. Roundups cause immeasurable stress—separating lifetime mates from each other and from their young goslings.
Now, the USFWS is proposing to hand the authority for managing Canada geese over to the state wildlife agencies, which will increase the number of adults and goslings captured and killed every summer in your state.
This transfer of power is illegal under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In 1918, Congress empowered the US Fish and Wildlife Service (not state agencies or other governmental entities) to directly oversee all actions that affect migratory birds, including Canada geese. Regardless of how convenient it may be for them, the USFWS does not have the legal authority to delegate this responsibility in such a way that gives state wildlife agencies broad and virtually unrestricted power over the fate of Canada geese. Even though the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does not afford a lower level of protection to Canada geese based on how far they migrate, the USFWS is making policy as though it does. Even so-called "resident" geese migrate hundreds of miles during the course of their seasonal activities.
State wildlife agencies want complete control over Canada geese because they will make money from the killings. Longer hunting seasons, higher bag limits (the number of birds a hunter can kill in one day), more way to kill geese all translate into more money. Few people realize that wildlife management decisions are first and foremost acts of economic self-interest - not rational problem solving. Since hunting license fees pay wildlife managers' salaries, lethality is always the "management" choice they pursue. Another financial incentive is that wildlife agencies compete for federal funds (under the Pittman-Robertson Act) based, in part, on how many hunting licenses they sell.
State wildlife agencies have been lobbying the USFWS for control of these birds for years under the false pretense that this control is necessary to "solve goose problems." This explains why Canada geese have been slandered mercilessly by wildlife agencies and others, like Wildlife Services, who profit from their destruction.
While it is true that Canada geese do cause problems in some situations, a state of emergency - such as would be required to change federal policy, does not exist. Claims of the Canada goose population "exploding," or not migrating, or somehow being less worthy than other geese, or causing public health problems are all gross misrepresentations of the truth. The USFWS would know this if they chose to do any of their own investigations rather than rely on self-serving misinformation from second-hand sources, primarily special-interest groups looking for any excuse to kill geese for profit (e.g., state wildlife agencies, Wildlife Services, USDA, etc.). Of course, the USFWS won't do this, because they welcome the opportunity to have someone else do their job for them.
Canada geese are not a significant threat to public health. The USFWS can not prove otherwise. But don't think they (and a couple of state wildlife agencies) haven't tried. All attempts to justify killing based on the "public health argument" are scientifically flawed. Read this to find out more:
http://www.canadageese.org/phealth.html
America's wildlife belongs to ALL citizens; priority should be given to those who want to protect it, not those who want to exploit and kill it. Canada Geese deserve to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Attached is a sample letter you may use to submit comments on the proposed rule to USFWS officials. You have until October 20 to comment on the proposed regulations.
Please send an e-mail to
canada_goose_eis@fsw.gov
including your name and address. Please tell USFWS not to authorize State wildlife agencies to conduct or allow indirect and/or direct population control management activities, including the take of birds, on resident Canada geese population.
Here is a copy of the proposed rule:
http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/fedreg/regs03/CanadaGoosePR.pdf
Please forward this message to all your friends. Thank you for your support.
Dear 20/20 Vision member: The Senate has voted to continue funding research for the nuclear bunker buster. No further action is needed at this time but please check here again for updates. If you would like to see how your Senators voted Click Here. For more background please view our animation and the links below. Thank you to those of you who took action. Your efforts will help us to continue to build opposition to this new nuclear bomb. view flash animation here for more background info go here All the best, Tom Z. Collina Executive Director 20/20 Vision
Welcome to Population in the News. Through Population in the News, NWF's Population & Environment Program will provide an update on what is happening on Capitol Hill on population and environment issues. In addition, we will send population-environment stories from around the globe. We hope you find this information useful. If you ever have comments, please feel free to email us at population@nwf.org. Welcome!
Population in the News, September 2003
Reality Radio: Audio Soap Operas Address HIV, Family Issues in Ethiopia
September 10, 2003: If a character on a popular TV show can induce girls to cut their hair in a
"Rachel," and if an earlier sitcom had the clout to help boost production of a crop of children among unmarried women (just ask Dan Quayle), then a radio show in Ethiopia can increase condom use. That's the premise of a program of the Population Media Center (PMC), a nonprofit organization based in Shelburne, VT. The PMC uses entertainment media in its efforts to educate people around the world about family planning, sexually transmitted diseases and related issues, including the status of women.
To find out more about PMC's programs in Ethiopia, go to: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/living/wednesday/1000h.htm
Senate Appropriations Committee Blocks Bush's Expansion of the Global Gag Rule
September 5, 2003: The Senate Appropriations Committee voted late Thursday to block President Bush's expansion of the global gag rule. The Senate accepted an amendment by Senator Reid (D-NV) to block implementation of the global gag rule as part of the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill. On August 29, President Bush issued a memorandum before the Labor Day break that extended the global gag rule to all reproductive health care funds administered by the State Department, not just those administered through the US Agency for International Development. The decision by the President to extend the global gag rule followed his decision to withdraw funding to the Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium, which provides reproductive health and HIV prevention services for refugee women.
To read the full story, see: http://www.planetwire.org/details/4284 or contact Micheline Kennedy at 202-326-8710.
International Human Rights Settlement Expected to Improve Women's Access to Reproductive Health Care in Peru
August 27, 2003: In a landmark case, the government of Peru signed an agreement before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that should bring about sweeping changes in Peru's reproductive health policies, and improve women's access to family planning and reproductive healthcare. In the fallout from a pattern of coercive sterilizations - a few leading to death, between 1996 and 1998, Peru agreed to modify discriminatory legislation and policies including those that fail to ensure women's rights as autonomous decision-makers.
To read the entire article, go to http://www.planetwire.org/details/4283
Administration Stops Funding That Helps Women in Africa
August 27, 2003 (Representative Carolyn Maloney's (D-NY) Press Release: The Bush administration has stopped funding a program to support AIDS prevention for refugees in Africa - some of the most vulnerable people in the world - because of the involvement of a British international family planning organization, called Marie Stopes International.
The State Department claims that because Marie Stopes's partner in its family planning work in China, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), works with the Chinese government, it cannot fund Marie Stopes's efforts in Africa. According to press reports, the department admitted that this decision was made without investigating the charges.
To read the rest of Rep. Carolyn Maloney's press statement check her website at http://www.house.gov/maloney/press.html
Or to purchase the New York Times story, U.S. Cuts Off Financing for AIDS Program, Provoking Furor go to: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20F10F93B5D0C748EDDA10894DB404482
Bill Moyers Interviews Bill Gates His Philanthropy in International Health
August 5, 2003, Public Affairs Television, PBS:
In this fascinating conversation, Bill Gates describes why he sees global health as the number one priority for both the developing and developed worlds. He discusses the importance of educating the public about global health issues, garnering the political will to ensure that preventable diseases no longer continue unabated in the poorest countries, and focusing efforts on finding ways to stop the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS.
To read the entire transcript, see http://icpd.eastwestcenter.org/news_aug_03.asp#1
Population & Environment Program
National Wildlife Federation
1400 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20036
phone: (202) 797-6800
fax: (202) 797-5486
email: population@nwf.org
website: http://www.nwf.org/population/
ATTACK ON THE TONGASS – WE NEED YOUR HELP!
A vote on the Tongass is expected as early as this week.
Contact your Senators and urge them to VOTE TO REMOVE THE TONGASS ANTI-JUDICIAL REVIEW LANGUAGE FROM THE INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS BILL. An amendment to remove the bad Tongas rider could be offered and voted on as early as Thursday, September 18!
Let’s call the offices (202-224-3121) and keep the fax machines busy in the U.S. Senate! (A sample message is included below.) You can find your Senators contact information at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Or send a fax directly from the Alaska Rainforest Campaign website:
http://www.akrain.org/action/faxes/actionpage.asp
BACKGROUND:
The Tongass Anti-Judicial Review Rider (Section 333), inserted by Senator Ted Stevens deep in the pages of a the Interior Appropriations bill (S. 1391), cripples the public's due process and slams the courthouse door on citizens whose interests may be threatened by proposed logging projects in the Tongass National Forest—our nation’s largest public forest.
The rider makes it virtually impossible for citizens to challenge logging projects by limiting to 30 days the time available to file lawsuits on more than 73 Tongass logging projects including over a dozen sales where all or portions of the sale area are currently covered by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Despite overwhelming opposition, the Bush administration is expected to finalize an exemption of the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule allowing for these controversial sales to move forward with little ability for the public to meaningfully engage in the process.
The rider also interferes with the independence of the federal judiciary by limiting to 180 days the time the District Federal Court in Alaska has to review and render a final decision on lawsuits regarding logging projects on the Tongass National Forest. This is clear interference with the independence of the federal judiciary; the rider’s time limits could force the court to consider challenges to federal timber sales before hearing other cases on its docket.
Here’s how you can help!
ACTION:
Ask Congress to make the Interior Appropriations Bill a clean bill without language that would cut the American public out of their right to speak out on behalf of America’s rainforest! Here's a sample message for your calls and a letter you can personalize in an email or fax.
SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGE:
Hello, I'm a constituent from your state and I've just learned about a backdoor attempt which threatens America’s Rainforest and seeks to silence the public's overwhelming support for the Tongass National Forest. I urge you to vote in favor of removing the Tongass Anti-Judicial language from the Interior Appropriations bill.
SAMPLE EMAIL OR FAX MESSAGE:
Dear Senator
I'm a constituent from your state and I've just learned about a backdoor attempt which threatens America’s Rainforest and seeks to silence the public's overwhelming support for the Tongass National Forest. I urge you to vote in favor of removing the Tongass Anti-Judicial language from the FY2004 Interior Appropriations bill (S. 1391).
The rider cripples the public's due process and slams the courthouse door on citizens whose interests may be threatened by proposed logging projects in the Tongass National Forest—our nation’s largest public forest. The rider makes it virtually impossible for citizens to challenge logging projects by limiting to 30 days the time available to file lawsuits on more than 73 Tongass logging projects including over a dozen sales where all or portions of the sale area are currently covered by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. It also interferes with the independence of the federal judiciary by limiting to 180 days the time the District Federal Court in Alaska has to review and render a final decision on lawsuits regarding logging projects on the Tongass National Forest.
The rider sets a terrible precedent for other riders and bills that would seek to limit judicial review for logging projects across the country. Even though relatively few lawsuits ever get filed, it is the ability of private citizens to do so in defense of their rights and interests that keeps the federal government and the timber industry accountable.
I urge you to support of America’s rainforest by voting to remove the Tongass anti-judicial review language from the Interior Appropriations bill.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
NAME and full address
***
For more information please contact Laurie Cooper, Alaska Coalition Forest Outreach Director (laurie@alaskacoalition.org) or call (202) 544-0475.
The California tiger salamander is a native amphibian
that lives only in the oak woodlands, grasslands, and
seasonal wetlands of California's great central valley,
coast ranges, and Santa Rosa plain. The species is
divided into three genetically and geographically separate
units, or population segments, each of which can be
seapately listed as threatened or endangered under
the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). The three
population segments occur in Sonoma County, Santa Barbara
County, and Central California. The Sonoma and Santa
Barbara population segments have both been emergency
listed as endangered under the ESA. The comment period
is now open on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposal to
reclassify the Sonoma and Santa Barbara population
segments as threatened, to list the Central California
population segment as threatened, and to create a loophole
in the ESA's protection for the species throughout
its range by applying a little known exemption in Section
4(d) of the ESA that would allow the species to be
harmed by activities such as discing of soil and poisoning
of rodent populations on which the California Tiger
Salamander depends for creation of suitable burrows.
The best scientific information available shows that
the California tiger salamander is in danger of extinction
and that it should be listed as endangered and afforded
the full protections of the ESA throughout its range.
You can help by writing to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and requesting that the Service list all three
population segments of the California tiger salamander
as endangered, that the agency not create any loopholes
in the law that protects endangered species, and that
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fully uphold the
Endangered Species Act as passed by Congress.
You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/cts/
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/cts/forward/
We encourage you to take action by September 20, 2003
California Tiger Salamander Needs ESA Protection, You
Can Help
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/cts/
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Field Supervisor
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I am writing to ask that you give full protection to
the California tiger salamander under the Endangered
Species Act. All three population segments should be
listed as endangered. It would be illogical to reclassify
the Sonoma and Santa Barbara population segments as
threatened when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
very recently found that both are so endangered that
they qualified for emergency listing under the ESA.
The Central California population segment should be
listed as endangered as well because its habitat is
under enormous pressure from urban and suburban development
and from the conversion of grazing lands and natural
habitats to intensive agriculture. Even where the California
tiger salamander occurs on protected public land, it
is still threatened by introduced non-native species
such as bullfrogs and mosquitofish as well as habitat
fragmentation, road mortality, and small population
size.
I strongly oppose the proposed 4(d) Rule to allow the
take of salamanders via livestock grazing, disking
of ranchlands, repairs and maintenance of stockponds,
and weed eradication. These activities pose too great
a threat to the continued survival of the California
tiger salamander to be allowed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service should not create a loophole in the protections
of the ESA. I fully support the full implementation
and enforcement of the ESA as passed by Congress. It
is far better to protect species as early as possible,
so it will be easier to save them from extinction.
The California tiger salamander has continued to decline
while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has delayed
taking any action. I hope that you will promptly list
the Central California population segment as endangered
and maintain the endangered status of the Sonoma and
Santal Barbara populations.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------
If you received this message from a friend, you can
sign up for Center for Biological Diversity - Biodiversity
Activist at:
http://actionnetwork.org/BIODIVERSITY/join.html?r=M1qAxC71UuDHE
With Senators itching to get out of town before Hurricane Isabel hits the east coast in the next couple of days, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has announced that there will be NO VOTES on the Interior Bill until Monday, September 22 at the earliest.
The good news is that we now have a few more days to ramp up the calls, letters, and faxes in support of the amendment!
So if you haven’t already, please take moment to contact your Senators and urge them to vote to support Senator Barbara Boxer’s amendment to remove the Tongass Judicial Review rider from the interior appropriations bill. (For more information on the amendment, please visit the Alaska Rainforest Campaign website - www.akrain.org).
Calls can be made to the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. Or you can find your Senators contact information at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
You can also send a fax directly from the Alaska Rainforest Campaign website: http://www.akrain.org/action/faxes/actionpage.asp
Thanks again for everyone’s hard work on this important issue!
SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGE:
Hello, I'm a constituent from your state and I've just learned about a backdoor attempt which threatens America’s Rainforest and seeks to silence the public's overwhelming support for the Tongass National Forest. I urge you to vote YES on the BOXER AMENDMENT to strike the Tongass Judicial Review rider from the Interior Appropriations bill.
***
For more information please contact Laurie Cooper, Alaska Coalition Forest Outreach Director (laurie@alaskacoalition.org) or call (202) 544-0475.
On August 1, 2003, the U.S. Senate passed an energy bill that includes a renewable electricity standard requiring utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from clean renewable sources by 2020. Unfortunately, the version passed by the House lacks any such provision. As Congress works to resolve this and other differences between the House and Senate bills, we need to send the message that any final energy legislation must include a strong renewable electricity standard.
TAKE ACTION:
To automatically send the letter below to your senator, hit "Reply" and then "Send", in your email program.
To customize your letter, learn more about the issue, or if this message was forwarded to you visit,
http://www.ucsaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=44389&l=5425
*******
Dear Senator,
I am writing to urge you to sign the Collins (R-ME)-Bingaman (D-NM) letter calling for a strong renewable electricity standard (RES) in any energy legislation emerging from Congress.
A strong RES would diversify our energy supply and increase our energy security, while protecting consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices. A study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that an RES of 10 percent by 2020, like one passed by the U.S. Senate this year, would reduce the heavy demand for natural gas and slightly reduce both natural gas and electricity prices.
Increasing our reliance on renewable energy would also boost the economy. According to the DOE, wind energy alone could provide $1.2 billion in new income for farmers and rural landowners and create 80,000 new jobs by 2020. In addition, the RES would reduce the air pollution and emissions of global warming gases that threaten our health and the well being of our planet.
Please help us move toward a cleaner energy future by signing the Collins-Bingaman RES letter. I look forward to hearing from you about your position on this important issue.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address will be inserted here]
*****************************************
*Your WILDALERT for September 19, 2003
*****************************************
Today's WildAlert covers two items, both involving
Alaskan wildlife refuges. One is a call for help, the
other an update.
1. UPDATE: The fate of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge is once again in the balance as the Congress
closes in on a final version of the sweeping energy
bill. Learn more:
http://ga1.org/ct/Dda4MzE177qV/
or read on.
2. ACTION: We need your help to prevent construction
of a road into the wild, remote Izembek National Wildlife
Refuge.
Take action here: http://ga1.org/campaign/izbek_tws
or read on.
******************************************
1. ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: Another Challenge;
Hopeful Signs
As you probably know, a House-Senate conference committee
is now working toward the final version of a broad
energy bill.
One of the most important, and most controversial,
provisions being considered for inclusion would open
the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
to oil drilling.
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), Senate Energy Committee
chairman, has said that Arctic drilling will be the
last item on the agenda. That suggests that he'll be
carefully calculating the impact a drilling provision
could have on his ability to pass the overall bill.
Americans remain strongly opposed to drilling, according
to a new Zogby poll released Monday. Mirroring that
sentiment, a total of 43 U.S. Senators have written
to Senate conferees asking that Arctic drilling be
kept out of the energy conference report. Sen. Richard
Durbin (D-IL) released a letter with 38 signatures
Wednesday. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) earlier released
a letter to conferees from five Republican senators.
To open the Arctic, drilling boosters need 60 votes
to defeat a threatened filibuster. Thus, these letters
seem to indicate that the Senate is still lined up
to stop any effort to include Arctic drilling in the
final energy bill. Still, Sen. Domenici hasn't ruled
out inclusion of an Arctic drilling provision. But
he did indicate yesterday that he wouldn't sacrifice
the whole bill to a filibuster over the Arctic, despite
White House pressure.
The Wilderness Society and our allies continue to fight
Arctic Refuge drilling at every turn. We'll keep you
posted as this story develops. It's because of you
and other WildAlert subscribers that we dare to be
hopeful. We can't thank you enough for your help!
LEARN MORE!
Energy bill conference info: http://ga1.org/ct/Dda4MzE177qV/
Zogby poll: http://ga1.org/ct/D7a4MzE177qC/
Sen. Snowe's press release: http://ga1.org/ct/D1a4MzE177qZ/
*******************************************
2. Unnecessary Road Threatens the Izembek National
Wildlife Refuge
Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge at the end
of the Alaska Peninsula is internationally recognized
for its tremendous wildlife diversity, wilderness values
and critical wetlands. Hundreds of thousands of migratory
waterfowl use the area every year; brown bear and caribou
thrive in the refuge. The Army Corps of Engineers and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are proposing to
bulldoze a road into the Izembek National Wildlife
Refuge, which will threaten the area's abundant, diverse
wildlife. They've chosen this most destructive approach
even though the transportation needs of a local community
can be amply served via two much less damaging, much
less costly alternatives.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
Please take a moment today to tell the agencies that
you oppose plans to build a road into the Izembek Refuge
and urge them to select cheaper, safer, less damaging
alternatives. Time is VERY short: the deadline for
comments is Tuesday, September 23. You can take immediate
action by clicking here:
http://ga1.org/campaign/izbek_tws
****************************************
BACKGROUND: A Refuge or a Roadway?
The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, which contains
Izembek Lagoon and surrounding watershed areas, is
an extraordinary wetlands complex. It includes some
of the most striking wildlife diversity and wilderness
values of the Northern Hemisphere. Rich eelgrass beds
draw hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl traveling
the Pacific flyway every year. The entire Pacific brant
population and the world's population of emperor geese
depend on the wetland habitat of the refuge at different
times of the year. Brown bears roam the refuge in very
high densities and the southern Alaska Peninsula caribou
herd depends on refuge habitat for its survival. Threatened
Steller's eider and tundra swan, salmon, wolf, wolverine,
harbor seals and sea otters all seek out the refuge
for its unique habitats.
With values like these, it's no surprise that in 1980,
when the Congress passed the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), it designated 95 percent
of the refuge's 304,000 acres as wilderness. Izembek
Refuge and Lagoon also was the first wetland site in
the United States recognized for its global significance
after the U.S. became a member of the Convention on
Wetlands of International Importance in 1986.
THE REGION'S PEOPLE
The community of King Cove lies just south and east
of Izembek Refuge and the waters of Cold Bay, about
18 air miles southeast of the community of Cold Bay.
King Cove's population of 800 is larger than Cold Bay's,
where fewer than 90 people live. Yet the larger town
has only a gravel airstrip, while Cold Bay has the
third longest civilian airport in Alaska. Thus, residents
of King Cove must travel to Cold Bay by air and boat
to use the larger airport. High winds and inclement
weather can make this trip a difficult one and many
King Cove residents have long advocated for a road
to Cold Bay.
The Congress has been attentive to the need. In 1998
Congress and the American public had the opportunity
to review a proposal to build a road between the two
communities. As then contemplated, the road would have
intruded into designated wilderness in the Izembek
Refuge. After much debate and much public opposition
to the plan, the Congress rejected the road through
wilderness. Instead, it created the King Cove Health
and Safety Act, which provided the Aleutians East Borough
(AEB) with $20 million dollars to construct a year
round transportation system between the two communities,
using both boat and road routes, but without entering
designated wilderness in the refuge.
A NEW PROPOSAL, ALSO FLAWED
Now, a scant five years later, the borough again proposes
to bulldoze a 17-mile road from King Cove west and
north into the Izembek Refuge. The road would cross
lands in the refuge that were especially designated
to protect subsistence values and economic opportunities
for local people, but in a manner compatible with the
very specific purposes of the refuge.
The road now proposed would end at a hovercraft terminal,
a substantial industrial development including fuel
storage tanks and other features, within the refuge
and right at the wilderness boundary.
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(ANILCA) established the refuge to, "conserve fish
and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural
diversity," and, "to ensure...water quality and necessary
quantity within the refuge," among other things. A
road and port facility in the refuge, and an industrial
complex at the very boundary of protected wilderness,
is flatly incompatible with those purposes. Bulldozing
a road into the refuge will fragment habitat, create
an industrial development adjacent to wilderness and
increase the risk of polluted run-off into Cold Bay
waters.
It will also ease, and thereby likely increase, motorized
access into refuge wilderness.
Remarkably, the two agencies today have determined
that the 17-mile road through the refuge will have
no serious environmental impacts, a finding that flies
in the face of the Fish and Wildlife Service's own
analysis just a few years ago. Its 1997 briefing report
found the highest brown bear habitat use to be in the
current proposed road corridor. "The proposed road
would alter bears' normal behavior in this remote and
pristine area primarily by affecting seasonal habitat
use. Bears would likely abandon some traditional summer
and fall foraging areas and denning sites, especially
during road construction and possibly permanently,"
said the report. "With increased human access into
this remote area, brown bear hunting would undoubtedly
increase."
The report noted that a section of the currently proposed
road and the area slated for the hovercraft port facility
are part of the highest-use habitat for caribou migration
and wintering. A road could alter the animals' use
of the area and would increase human disturbance of
caribou.
Also worrisome is the fact that proponents of the old
road route view the new road as merely the first step
towards finally gouging the road through designated
wilderness to Cold Bay. That violates the intent of
Congress when it passed ANILCA and it violates the
clear direction of the King Cove Health and Human Safety
Act.
A BAD IDEA, WORSE BECAUSE IT IS UNNECESSARY
Most significantly there is no need to sacrifice the
refuge or its wilderness to guarantee a reliable transportation
system for the King Cove residents.
The Army Corp of Engineers, in conjunction with the
US Fish and Wildlife Service, has prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which analyzes
six alternatives. The Corps' preferred option (Alternative
1) is the borough's choice: the costly 17-mile road
into the refuge. But there are two other very sensible
alternatives in the DEIS that would create a reliable
transportation system for King Cove's people. Both
avoid any intrusion into the refuge. Both meet the
requirements of the King Cove Health and Safety Act.
And both offer alternative solutions far cheaper to
build and maintain.
Both these alternatives call for construction of 5.6
miles of road from King Cove west to Lenard Harbor
outside the refuge. There, either a hovercraft (Alternative
3) or a ferry (Alternative 4) would carry King Cove
residents across Cold Bay to the town of Cold Bay itself
with its much larger airport. Thus, Alternatives 3
and 4 meet the needs of the community and simultaneously
protect refuge wildlife and wilderness values.
TAKE ACTION!
The deadline for public comments on this potentially
destructive project is Tuesday, September 23. Please
take action today. You can send your comments to the
Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service
immediately by clicking on: http://ga1.org/campaign/izbek_tws
The sample letter below contains the most important
points to make to the agencies. Please feel free to
draw from it if you'd like to draft your own comments.
********************************************
CONTACT INFORMATION
Lloyd H. Fanter, CEPOA-CO-R
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District
Regulatory Branch
P.O. Box 6898
Elmendorf AFB
99506-6898
Fax: 907-753-5567
Email: lloyd.h.fanter@poa02.usace.army.mil
Also, please send a copy of your comments to:
Mr. Mark Schroeder
USFWS, Anchorage Field Office
605 W. 4th Avenue, Room G-62
Anchorage, AK 99501-2231
Fax: 907-271-2786
Email: mark_schroeder@fws.gov
*********************************************************
THANK YOU!
Thank you for helping us protect the Izembek National
Wildlife Refuge, one of America's most remarkable wild
places! More information follows in this message, along
with a sample letter you can draw from if you'd like
to write your own comments. We hope you will. Your
own thoughts in your own words are always the most
powerful. We thank you, too, for being part of WildAlert,
our online community of wilderness activists!
******************************************************
WORDS TO INSPIRE
"Till now man has been up against nature; from now
on he will be up against his own nature." --Dennis
Gabor
***************************************
You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/izbek_tws/inbx8bah5nmt
We encourage you to take action by September 24, 2003
Protect Alaska's Izembek Refuge
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://ga1.org/campaign/izbek_tws/inbx8bah5nmt
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program.
You MUST Reply with "Action" in the subject.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Lloyd Fanter, CEPOA-CO-R
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) alternatives
for the King Cove Access Project.
While I support the improvement of the transportation
system from King Cove to Cold Bay, I strongly oppose
Alternative 1, your preferred alternative. Two other
perfectly viable options, Alternatives 3 and 4, fulfill
the purpose and need of the project and the requirements
of the King Cove Health and Human Safety Act. I support
them.
Five years ago, the Service issued a briefing report
that detailed the impacts the refuge and its wildlife
would suffer if a road were bulldozed into it. It is
astonishing that today, you are able to dismiss that
report and to find that your preferred alternative
will have no significant impacts. Certainly it will.
Bulldozing a road into important brown bear and caribou
habitat, and building an industrial hovercraft terminal
facility adjacent to the refuge wilderness boundary
is incompatible with the management direction for the
refuge, as outlined in the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Wilderness
Act. This road has the potential to negatively impact
fish, brown bears and the southern Alaska Peninsula
caribou herd in the refuge, among a host of other wildlife.
Further, the hovercraft terminal and crossings in the
northern portion of the waters of Cold Bay, close to
Kinzarof Lagoon, may well impact Stellar's eiders,
nesting swans, and Stellar's sea lions, among other
wildlife. And additional access to these remote portions
of the refuge will undoubtedly spur motorized use in
the refuge and increase hunting of brown bear, caribou
and other wildlife. Increased access poses the greatest
risk to this wilderness refuge.
That damage is unnecessary. Alternatives 3 and 4 would
protect the refuge but still provide the community
of King Cove with a safer and more reliable transportation
system. I strongly urge the Corps to adopt either Alternative
3 or 4 and to reject Alternative 1 as fundamentally
incompatible with refuge purposes and management.
The proposed 17-mile road and hovercraft terminal adjacent
to refuge wilderness will cost millions more to build
and maintain than the approaches set out in Alternatives
3 and 4. High winds in the Cold Bay area will create
hazardous road conditions in the winter, including
drifting snow and possible avalanches, often making
the road impassable and difficult to keep open. Ironically,
these conditions may well diminish the safety of King
Cove residents who would use the road.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
cc:
Mr. Mark Schroeder
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Greenpeace Activist News, Vol. 3, No. 9
23 September 2003
In this issue, vacationing to save whales, stopping illegal timber imports, opposing a frightening new generation of nuclear weapons, a new nuclear reactor is ordered in Finland, oil tankers and Gibraltar, the WTO outcome, and reminders on older but still current actions to support Welsh wind power and oppose oil shale development near the Great Barrier reef.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
USE YOUR VACATION TO SAVE WHALES
You and your network of friends have the power to help us stop whaling in Iceland.
Two weeks ago we started a pledge drive to show Iceland that nature tourism is a viable alternative to a return to whaling. We want people to pledge to seriously consider taking a vacation in Iceland if the Government of Iceland stops whaling.
More than 5000 of you have already pledged, but we need a lot more for the Icelandic Government to take this seriously.
Please click here and invite at least 6 friends to take this pledge today:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?i=960&sk=std&la=en
If you haven't taken the Pledge yet, you still can here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/col/get?i=959&sk=std3&la=en
Our flagship Rainbow Warrior has just finished a successful tour of Iceland, dialoguing with the people of Iceland, and supporting existing local opposition from communities reliant on the tourism generated by whale watching. The press, the public, politicians and vital sectors of the economy seem to regard
-- Thanks
to the recent blackout, House and Senate conferees are under
renewed pressure to resolve their differences on the
environmentally-damaging energy bill that passed both
chambers. As always, oil interests have seized on this
opportunity to push drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. Defenders believes both bills will ultimately be
damaging to the environment, but will continue to track to
conference committee negotiations to at least ensure that the
Bush-backed drilling language doesn't make it into the final
version of the legislation. For more information on this
issue, please visit us on the web at 
provisions: the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection
Act (MMPA). House lawmakers included language in their bill
that would exempt the military from critical provisions of the
ESA and MMPA covering tens of thousands of acres of military
lands and waters and broad areas of military activities. The
Senate rejected DOD's proposal for a blanket exemption from
the Endangered Species Act, instead adopting a bipartisan
amendment allowing case-by-case ESA exemptions if the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service determines that they are warranted.
Check back with Defenders for updates on our efforts to ensure
the preferred Senate language remains in the final
bill.
A California
federal judge ruled last week that a powerful new Navy sonar
system could not be deployed because the Navy did not follow
federal laws to determine the system's impact on whales and
other marine life. Tests of the new system, which acoustic
experts liken to standing near the space shuttle at liftoff,
have been associated with the deaths of dolphins, whales, and
other marine mammals. But while the judge halted deployment of
the sonar, she stopped short of imposing a full peacetime ban
on the system sought by environmental groups. At the judges
instruction, the Navy and environmental groups must now
negotiate a plan for use of the sonar, taking into account the
need to protect marine life.
The
9th U.S. Circuit Court ruled last week that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
acted improperly in listing the Pygmy Owl in Southern Arizona as an endangered
species. The ruling came in response to a suit by the Southern Arizona Home
Builders Association, which is seeking to develop land currently protected as
owl habitat. The ruling, while hailed as a victory by the Homebuilders, was
essentially a judgment on the technical merit of the listing and does not
question the Pygmy Owls' endangered status or remove the owl from the federal
endangered species list. However, it remains to be seen how hard the Bush
Administration's Fish and Wildlife Service will work to correct the error
and protect the owls' habitat.
lease
nine million acres in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, just off the
coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for oil
drilling. The Beaufort Sea is a rich and fragile ecosystem,
and home to a multitude of species. It provides unique habitat
for twenty-five fish species, and Bowhead whales (protected
under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal
Protection Act) migrate to and through the area during the
spring and summer on their way to important summer feeding
grounds. Beyond the havoc oil and gas exploration can wreak on
such an area, environmental groups are concerned that the
ability to clean up oil spills or other damage in the broken
and solid ice conditions that are characteristic of the
Beaufort Sea would be extremely limited, making such
exploration all the more dangerous to the local
ecosystem.
As negotiations continue on the 2004 Energy bill, the White House has renewed its call for oil drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. In an effort to protect the refuge's rare ecosystem,
numerous senators have signed on to a letter drafted by Sens. Richard Durbin
(D-Illinois) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California) saying they will not vote for
an Energy bill that includes drilling in the Refuge. Several Republican senators
have signed on to a similar letter drafted by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).
Defenders recently acquired a draft of the White House's plans to revise the National Forest Management Act (NFMA).
Disregarding the more than 100,000 public comments, 325 scientists, and more
than 100 members of Congress who asked that the forest management rules be
strengthened, the Bush Administration appears poised to cut the public out of
public land management, and return logging as the dominant use of the national
forests.
A four-month-old condor chick hatched in the wild last May was airlifted to the
Los Angeles Zoo for treatment. On September 9, during an examination by a team
of biologists, a zookeeper and a veterinarian, the chick was found to be
suffering from a blockage of the digestive track and signs of respiratory
distress. The team had entered the nest cave in the Los Padres National Forest
to administer the West Nile Virus Vaccine, affix tags and transmitters to its
wings, and give the chick a physical examination.