conservation

Call for End to USDA's Wildlife Killing Agency

RENO, Nev. - Conservationists argue in a new report that U.S. taxpayers should stop subsidizing a $100 million program that kills more than 1 million wild animals annually, a program ranchers and farmers have defended for nearly a century as critical to protecting their livestock from predators.

Posted in agriculture, biodiversity, conservation

Protecting the Arctic Marine Ecosystem

Some of the most fragile and productive fishing grounds in America received a possible respite earlier this month in a precedent-setting development that could prove critical to the United States and the world.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, a decision-making body that helps manage fisheries in federal waters off the coast of Alaska, took a major first step to protect the Arctic from the onslaught of global climate change.

Posted in arctic ice, conservation

Put Conservation Before Efficiency

You can get a lot of political mileage addressing our energy challenges by demanding greater fuel efficiency, as President Obama is doing of automakers. But efficiency alone will only continue speeding us to a pileup.

If we want to free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, chuck the title of biggest per capita producer of greenhouse gases and prepare for the decline of fossil fuels, our goal must be conservation, not efficiency.

And as economist Herman Daly says, put conservation first, and efficiency follows.

Posted in conservation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2009
10:46 AM

CONTACT: The Wilderness Society
Michele Crist, The Wilderness Society, Ecologist, michele_crist@tws.org, 208-343-8153x
Tom DeLuca, The Wilderness Society, Senior Ecologist, tom_deluca@tws.org, 406-586-1600x110
John McCarthy, The Wilderness Society, Idaho Forest Campaign Director, john_mccarthy@tws.org, 208-343-8153x4

New Analysis Guides Northern Rockies Forest Restoration, and the Future of Forest Management

“There’s work to be done” says Wilderness Society ecologist, “and future forest management will be increasingly science based and site specific.”

WASHINGTON - February 11 - The Wilderness Society released a new ecological analysis today to guide future forest restoration and assessments in the Northern Rockies. Titled "Restoration of Low-Elevation Dry Forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains: A Holistic Approach" the report argues the southwestern model for forest restoration is not appropriate to be applied across the west.

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The Wilderness Society's mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.

Posted in biodiversity, conservation, Environment

The Human Cost of Bush's Arctic Policy

Wainwright, Alaska - "We'll have to give you an Eskimo name if you like our food!" Kenneth "Kenny" Tagarook teased as he sliced another piece of frozen raw caribou meat for me with his ulu - a hand-sized, flat piece of metal with a small handle opposite the sharp, curved edge.

Kenny and his wife Ann are Inupiat ("In-OU-pe-at" or "Eskimo"). They are hosting me and Kenny's cousin Rosemary Ahtuangaruak during our visit in Wainwright. The village of 520 mostly Inupiat people lies along Alaska's North Slope over 200 miles above the Arctic Circle.

Posted in conservation, Energy, Environment, Human Rights, offshore drilling, oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2009
5:23 PM

CONTACT: Defenders of Wildlife and New Mexico Wildlife Federation
James Navarro, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0247
Oscar Simpson, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, (505) 345-0117

Public Land Management Needs Greater Accountability for Wildlife

New report finds current public land management policy lacks sufficient protection for wildlife

WASHINGTON - February 10 - A new report released today by conservation groups and sportsmen's organizations provides a practical roadmap for restoring balance to public lands management to ensure healthy wildlife populations.

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Posted in biodiversity, conservation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2009
12:00 PM

CONTACT: National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
Lynn Davis, Nevada Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, 702-318-6524, cell: 702-281-7380

Great Basin National Park Spared from Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant

Statement by NPCA Nevada Program Manager Lynn Davis

WASHINGTON - February 10 - The National Parks Conservation Association applauds the recent decision to postpone the development of the Ely Energy Center, which threatened to degrade the air quality in Great Basin, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

Visitors go to our national parks expecting fresh, clean air, and breathtaking views, and this decision is critical to helping ensure that the air in our parks is healthy for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

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NPCA is a non-profit, private organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System.

National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Links:

Posted in coal, conservation, Energy, Environment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2009
9:38 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Luke Eshleman (202) 265-7337

NOAA Sea Grant Seeks to De-Fund Scientist for Advocacy

Protest on Oil Industry Bias in Sea Grant Seen to 'Cause Problems Nationally'

WASHINGTON - February 10 - A well-respected University of Alaska marine scientist will have his federal funding cut after a top National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration official complained about his "advocacy" on behalf of marine conservation, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). NOAA's pressure has led university officials to seek elimination of any further NOAA Sea Grant funding for the scientist's work.

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Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals. PEER's environmental work is solely directed by the needs of its members. As a consequence, we have the distinct honor of serving resource professionals who daily cast profiles in courage in cubicles across the country.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Links:

Posted in conservation, Environment, oceans

Giant Marine Park Plan for Chagos

An ambitious plan to preserve the pristine ocean habitat of the Chagos Islands by turning them into a huge marine reserve on the scale of the Great Barrier Reef or the Galapagos will be unveiled at the Royal Society next Monday.

Unpopulated for 40 years since the British government forcibly evicted inhabitants so the Americans could build a strategic military base on Diego Garcia, the Chagos Islands offer a stunning diversity of aquatic life.