November, 28 2012, 11:40am EDT
Fish and Wildlife Service Has Failed to Enact Reforms Recommended by Scientific Review Panel 11 Years Ago
Lawsuit Filed to Speed Reintroduction of Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves to Wild in Arizona, New Mexico
SILVER CITY, N.M.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit today challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to respond to the group's 2004 petition calling for implementation of sweeping reforms in the management of the Mexican gray wolf population, which has grown by a scant three animals over the past eight years, leaving only 58 wolves in the wild today. Recommendations from a panel of scientists in 2001, which called for an immediate reduction in the number of Mexican gray wolves removed from the wild and an increase in the number released, have languished for 11 years even as the Service has repeatedly pledged to act on them.
"I'm appalled that more than 10 years have passed since a scientific panel convened by the Fish and Wildlife Service itself recommended dramatic changes in the Mexican wolf recovery program, yet the agency has failed to implement any of them," said Michael Robinson, the Center's Mexican wolf specialist. "The only wild Mexican wolf population on Earth is stagnant, and losing irreplaceable genetic diversity, because the Fish and Wildlife Service is ignoring the pleas of scientists and stalling on vital reforms."
The Center's 2004 petition requested implementation of three changes recommended by the 2001 science team, including allowing wolves to live outside the narrowly defined recovery zone; providing direct reintroduction of wolves into the extensive Gila, New Mexico portion of the recovery zone; and requiring livestock operators to remove livestock carcasses that attract wolves and make them more likely to depredate livestock. In 2006 the Center sued the agency to compel an answer to the petition. In response, the Fish and Wildlife Service pledged to consider the three changes in an upcoming rule-change process, and the case was deemed moot. The agency, however, has not proceeded with rulemaking.
"The Mexican wolf is a beautiful animal that's essential to restoring the natural balance," said Robinson. "Our government's negligence may yet doom the Mexican wolf to extinction, so we are taking action in court before it's too late."
In the absence of these reforms, the recovery program has faltered with only six breeding pairs and 58 wolves presently in the wild -- well short of the agency's projection of 18 breeding pairs and 102 wolves by the end of 2006, with an interim goal of at least 100 wolves. This is, in part, because Fish and Wildlife has continuously removed wolves from the wild that established homes outside the recovery zone or because wolves have been killed by poachers or government agents, including the killing of wolves that had scavenged on unremoved carcasses of cattle and horses that died of causes unrelated to wolves. Had releases into the extensive habitat in the Gila been permitted, managers would likely have released more wolves from captivity. Recent research shows that because of the low number of animals, the population's genetic diversity has been compromised through inbreeding, likely leading to small litter sizes and reduced pup-survival rates.
The Center is represented by attorneys from its staff and the Washington, D.C.-based, public-interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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US College Students Demonstrate in Solidarity With Palestinians, Columbia Protesters
"Columbia University made a huge mistake calling the cops on student protesters," said one educator. "It has transformed the activism of hundreds of students into a student movement of thousands."
Apr 19, 2024
Undeterred by Columbia University's sanctioning of a crackdown by the New York Police Department in which at least 108 people were arrested on Thursday for protesting Israel's war on Gaza, dozens of students continued to camp out on the campus' West Lawn Friday as solidarity protests cropped up at other schools across the country.
Students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC) set up tents at a rally, while the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee announced a walkout to express solidarity with "steadfast Columbia students" and emergency protests were announced at Boston University; Miami University in Oxford, Ohio; and Ohio State University.
"Columbia University made a huge mistake calling the cops on student protesters," said Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, a faculty member at Texas Tech University. "It has transformed the activism of hundreds of students into a student movement of thousands with millions around the world watching."
National Students for Justice in Palestine, whose Columbia University chapter was shut down late last year after members protested against the institution's investments in Israeli companies and partnership with Tel Aviv University, called on all of its chapters across college campuses to join in solidarity actions.
"The supposed power of these administrators pales in comparison to the combined strength of the students, staff, and faculty committed to realizing justice and upholding Palestinian liberation on campus," said the national group.
At the impromptu rally at UNC, students chanted, "No justice, no peace!"
The solidarity actions came a day after Columbia president Minouche Shafik authorized the police to dismantle an encampment set up by dozens of students. Shafik testified before a Republican-controlled U.S. House committee on Wednesday where the focus was antisemitism on the school's campus, and admitted she has not witnessed anti-Jewish protests at Columbia since Israel began its assault on Gaza last October.
After the students were arrested Thursday, one student Barnard College—which is part of Columbia—posted on social media an email she had received from vice president and dean Leslie Grinage about the suspension of several students.
The students were forced to leave their housing and have had their access to all campus facilities revoked during the suspension.
Several members of the press reported being denied entry to Columbia's campus on Thursday and Friday, prompting the university's journalism school to offer its assistance and reiterate its support for a free press.
Barnaby Raine, an historian earning his Ph.D. at Columbia, urged fellow educators at the Ivy League school to demonstrate solidarity with the student-led protests.
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Actor, activist, and former New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, who graduated from Barnard, condemned the administrators' response to the protests.
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This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
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A self-identified citizen journalist named Jack shared on social media a photo of a booklet the person reportedly left in the dirt.
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