NPCC News Archive

NPCC News is an e mail news and action alert service provided by the Native Plant Conservation Campaign. This page reprints selected items previously sent over NPCC news.

Bill to Protect Wildlife from Climate Change Impacts Introduced in Senate

Bill is Improved, but Plants Still Receive Inferior Protection

Recently, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the “Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act of 2007” (S. 2204). See Senator Whitehouse’s press release regarding the bill, below.

Part of the Senate bill is based on sections (Definition of “wildlife” and Subchapter B) of a House bill that was passed earlier this summer. The House bill is H.R.3221, the “Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007”. The House legislation establishes a new federal policy and directs federal agencies to develop strategies to protect wildlife from climate change impacts. Unfortunately this landmark wildlife legislation specifically and explicitly EXCLUDEs PLANTS from new programs or protections from climate impacts.

After the House bill was passed, the Ecological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the American Society for Horticultural Science joined the Native Plant Conservation Campaign in sending a letter asking Congressional leaders to broaden the House legislation to protect plants as well as animals. Since then, we have been working with Congress to raise awareness of this issue.

*** See the Native Plant Conservation Campaign Equal Protection page for the letter, the text of the House legislation and further information. Click the link under H.R. 3221 at the top of the page. ***

**Differences between House and Senate Bills

The Senate bill (S. 2204) is somewhat different from the House bill. Although one section (Title I) of the Senate bill is virtually identical to the House bill, including its exclusion of plants, the Senators added new language (Title III) that at least recognizes the problem of climate impacts to plants.

Specifically, Title III of the Senate bill would convene regional symposia to gather scientific information on risks and impacts of climate change to imperiled animals AND PLANTS. This Title also would convene a National Academy of Sciences panel to examine climate impacts to plants and animals and make recommendations for federal action.

Until the Senate language is posted to our website, you can find the text online at http://thomas.loc.gov/. Search for S. 2204.

So some progress is being made towards equal protection for plants from climate impacts:

ß Title I of the Senate legislation retains the problematic definitions and language excluding plants from equal recognition and protection under federal climate policies and strategies.

ß However, Title III recognizes that climate change affects plants as well as animals, and may eventually lead to federal action to protect all imperiled species from climate impacts.

ACTION:

The Native Plant Conservation Campaign is carefully reviewing both bills. When that review is complete, we will ask plant advocates to contact elected representatives requesting specific changes to provide equal protection for all species from climate change impacts.

In the meantime, if your organization has not already done so, please consider signing the NPCC’s Equal Protection for Plants Statement. You can review the statement, see a list of current signers, and find “one-click-signing” on the NPCC Equal Protections page. The statement is for organizations only.

Thank you!

Ï{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{Ð

Press Release of Senator Whitehouse

Whitehouse Sponsors Global Warming Bill Aimed at Wildlife Protection

Calls for National Strategy to Address Threat of Climate Change to America's Wildlife, Oceans, and Endangered Species

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Whitehouse Sponsors Global Warming Bill Aimed at Wildlife Protection

I. Calls for National Strategy to Address Threat of Climate Change to America's Wildlife, Oceans, and Endangered Species

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Washington, D.C. – Calling global warming the single greatest threat to the world’s natural environment, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today announced new legislation calling for a national strategy to address the threat of climate change to America’s wildlife.

A member of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW), Whitehouse said that global warming has already begun to have a severe and lasting impact on wildlife populations and marine ecosystems in Rhode Island and around the world. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the EPW Committee, will be an original cosponsor of the bill.

“As the waters of Narragansett Bay grow warmer, cold-water fish species with high commercial value, like winter flounder, have been replaced by warmer-water species, like scup, whose value to our fishermen is lower,” Whitehouse said. “Melting sea ice in Greenland is pushing polar bears closer to inhabited villages in search of food. As we work to mitigate the causes of global warming, we must also take urgent action to address its effects on wildlife, oceans, and other natural systems on which we all depend.”

The Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act will:

§ Set New National Strategies to Address Climate Change’s Impact on Wildlife and Oceans. The bill would direct the federal government to develop coordinated national strategies to identify, monitor, and protect or restore wildlife populations and habitats that are likely to be harmed by global warming; and to protect, maintain, and restore coastal and marine ecosystems to help them better withstand ocean acidification, sea level rise, and other stresses related to climate change.

§ Create Advisory Panels to Share Scientific Research and Advice. The bill would create Advisory Boards, with members appointed by the President of the National Academy of Sciences, and a new National Global Warming and Wildlife Science Center within the U.S. Geological Survey, to conduct research and provide scientific and technical advice on strategies to help wildlife, oceans, and coastal ecosystems adapt to global warming. A special panel would also be convened to look specifically at the impacts of climate change on endangered species.

§ Provide Resources to Help States Protect Wildlife and Marine Ecosystems. The bill would provide grants and other federal resources to help states, territories, and Indian tribes study wildlife, oceans, and habitats that may be affected by global warming, and plan and implement programs to mitigate the effects of climate change on these populations.

October 31, 2007: Native Vegetation Mitigates Droughts and Climate Change

A recent Australian study reported that decades of clearing of native vegetation leads to more severe droughts. The study’s authors also concluded that native vegetation helps reduce and moderate the impacts of climate change.

See story below.

Ï{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{Ð

Web address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/
071027180556.htm

Land Clearing Triggers Hotter Droughts, Australian Research Shows

New research shows that 150 years of land clearing has added significantly to the warming and drying of eastern Australia. (Credit: iStockphoto/Tomasz Resiak)

ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2007) — A University of Queensland scientist has led groundbreaking research which shows that clearing of native vegetation has made recent Australian droughts hotter.

In an Australian first, they applied the CSIRO Mark 3 climate model, satellite data and the DNRW supercomputer, and showed that 150 years of land clearing added significantly to the warming and drying of eastern Australia.

“Our work shows that the 2002-03 El Nino drought in eastern Australia was on average two degrees Centigrade hotter because of vegetation clearing,”said Dr Clive McAlpine of the University of Queensland.

“Based on this research, it would be fair to say that the current drought has been made worse by past clearing of native vegetation. Our findings highlight that it is too simplistic to attribute climate change purely to greenhouse gases," he continued. “Protection and restoration of Australia's native vegetation needs to be a critical consideration in mitigating climate change.”

Dr McAlpine of UQ's Centre for Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science and Mr Jozef Syktus, principal scientist in the Queensland Natural Resources and Water Department (DNRW), headed a study which will be published later this year in Geophysical Research Letters, the journal of the American Geophysical Union. Co-authors are Dr Hamish McGowan, Associate Professor Stuart Phinn and Dr Ravinesh Deo – all of UQ – Dr Peter Lawrence of the University of Colorado and Dr Ian Watterson of CSIRO.

The researchers found that mean summer rainfall decreased by between four percent and 12 percent in eastern Australia, and by four percent and eight percent in southwest Western Australia. These were the regions of most extensive historical clearing.

“Consistent with actual climate trends, eastern Australia was between 0.4 degrees Centigrade and two degrees Centigrade warmer, and southwest Western Australia was between 0.4 degrees and 0.8 degrees warmer.

“Native vegetation moderates climate fluctuations, and this has important, largely unrecognised consequences for agriculture and stressed land and water resources,” Dr McAlpine said.

Australian native vegetation holds more moisture that subsequently evaporates and recycles back as rainfall. It also reflects into space less shortwave solar radiation than broadacre crops and improved pastures, and this process keeps the surface temperature cooler and aids cloud formation.

The project, Modeling Impacts of Vegetation Cover Change on Regional Climate, was funded by Land and Water Australia Research and Development Corporation (Canberra) as part of their Innovation Research Program.

Adapted from materials provided by University Of Queensland.

September 25, 2007: Plant Science and Conservation Groups Ask Congress to Add Plants to Legislation Protecting Wildlife From Climate Change

Last week, the Ecological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the American Society for Horticultural Science joined the Native Plant Conservation Campaign in sending a letter asking Congressional leaders to address the pervasive problem of unequal protection for plants in U.S. conservation laws.

The specific legislation at issue is the “Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act”, a section of H.R. 3221, the “Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act”.

The bill, which passed the house earlier this summer, would establish a national strategy to assist wildlife to adapt to and survive the impacts of climate change.

**Unfortunately, the bill language specifically restricts funding and conservation actions to fauna (animals), thus excluding the plant kingdom from new programs or research to help them to endure climate change.**

The letter is a request to Congress to reconsider this provision, and to extend the National Strategy’s funding, conservation, and research efforts to plants as well as animals.

For more information, see our press release – which includes a link to the letter - below.

To read the bill the passed the House, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ the online legislation information source from the Library of Congress.

You can search by “Bill Number” for H.R. 3221.

The relevant section is “Subchapter B--National Policy and Strategy for Wildlife”

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:2:./temp/~c1105QVCJ3:e519892:

For the full bill text you can also go directly to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:2:./temp/~c110jpHmaw::

CBD press release posted at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/plants-climate-change-09-18-2007.html

For Immediate Release, September 18, 2007

Contact:

Emily B. Roberson, Center for Biological Diversity
Native Plant Conservation Campaign, (415) 970-0394

Plant Science and Conservation Groups Ask Congress to Add Plants to Legislation Protecting Wildlife From Climate Change

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today the Native Plant Conservation Campaign, Ecological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the American Society for Horticultural Science sent a letter asking Congressional leaders to add provisions to protect plants to new legislation designed to help wildlife survive threats from global climate change.

The Native Plant Conservation Campaign is a program of the Center for Biological Diversity. The campaign is a network of 38 native-plant societies, botanical gardens, and other plant science and conservation organizations representing more than 80,000 individual plant scientists and enthusiasts nationwide.

The request addresses the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act, a section of the Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation passed the House this summer and may soon be considered by the Senate. The Act contains groundbreaking provisions that would direct federal agencies to develop strategies to assist wildlife affected by global warming. But it does not allow the agencies to develop strategies for the thousands of plants also at risk from climate change.

“While we applaud this step forward in addressing the impacts of climate change on wildlife, the most effective conservation strategies must be designed at the ecosystem level — to include plants, wildlife, and their habitats,” said Dr. Norman Christensen, president of the Ecological Society of America. “Because of complex interactions among species, it is imperative to employ protection for plants as well as wildlife to ensure the health of ecosystems and their resilience to climate change.”

“Plants are the foundation of life on this planet, and critical to human welfare,” said Dr. Emily Roberson, director of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign. “Through photosynthesis, plants generate the oxygen we breathe and create the fuel for life. Their roots help clean the water we drink, and they supply foods, fibers, medicines and countless other products and commodities we depend on for survival, jobs, and economic security.”

"Horticulturalists value native plants, not only for their aesthetic value in the landscape, but for their present and potential contributions as medicinal plants and new crops. In addition, native plants worldwide are an important source of genetic diversity for breeders of both ornamental and crop plants," said Dr. Mary Peet, president of the American Society of Horticultural Science.

Scientists are already identifying numerous plants that may be lost to climate change. These include delicate mountain wildflowers like the deep-yellow snow buttercup and bright blue sky pilot as well as alpine forest types like spruce/fir in New England — all of which may disappear completely as mountaintops warm. Coastal plants are also at risk as sea levels rise. Some mangrove forests, for example, may be wiped out, causing serious problems in areas like Florida where mangroves have protected coasts from hurricanes and floods and created habitat essential to multi-billion dollar fisheries and other industries.

The omission of plants from the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act is part of a broader trend. Plants are often treated as “second-class conservation citizens” in the United States; funding and legal requirements for their conservation are substantially lower than for animal species. Nearly 60 percent of species listed under the Endangered Species Act are plants, but less than three percent of federal endangered species funding goes to plants.

One example is the federally funded Wildlife Action Plan program, which provides money for state species and habitat conservation projects. More than $400 million was disbursed by the program between 2001 and 2006, but not a dollar went to plants since federal law explicitly prohibits states from using Wildlife Action Plan funds for plant conservation (unless such conservation comes as a byproduct of "wildlife" conservation projects).

“No scientific evidence supports the contention that meaningful conservation of wildlife or habitats can be accomplished in the absence of vigorous plant conservation,” said Roberson. “If it is to achieve its goals, this landmark energy legislation, like all conservation laws and policies, must provide equal protection for the plant kingdom.

NPCC AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum * Arizona Native Plant Society * Arkansas Native Plant Society * Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) * California Native Plant Society * California Oak Foundation * Colorado Native Plant Society * Florida Native Plant Society * Grand Prairie Friends of Illinois * Herb Society of America * Idaho Native Plant Society * Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society * Iowa Native Plant Society * Kansas Native Plant Society * Kauai Native Plant Society * Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center * Maryland Native Plant Society * Minnesota Native Plant Society * Missouri Native Plant Society * Montana Native Plant Society * Native Plant Society of New Jersey * Native Plant Society of New Mexico * Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio * Native Plant Society of Oregon * Native Plant Society of Texas* Native Prairies Association of Texas * New England Wild Flower Society (NH, CT, RI, MA, ME, VT) * New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council * North Carolina Botanical Garden * North Carolina Wild Flower Preservation Society * Oklahoma Native Plant Society * South Carolina Native Plant Society * Ticonderoga Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, VA * Utah Native Plant Society * Virginia Native Plant Society * Washington Native Plant Society * West Virginia Native Plant Society * Wyoming Native Plant Society

more press releases. . .

From the Center for Plant Conservation:

The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) has updated its online Plant Science Experts Directory for 2007! An added feature is that you can now search by expertise, making it easy to find an expert in a particular field.

Also updated are the maps and related fields. This provides valuable information on federal agency maps, links to their programs, the endangered species act and the Index Herbariorum: A Global Directory of Public Herbaria and Associated Staff.

Find all this and more at
http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/CPCDirectory/CPC_DIR_Find.asp

CPC is preparing to produce the print version of the new directory. CPC's Conservation Directory is a great centralized tool for finding conservation experts throughout the country.

The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) is the only national organization dedicated solely to preventing the extinction of imperiled U.S. native plants. Founded in 1984, CPC works with a network of 36 leading botanical gardens and arboreta to provide the only national program of ex situ conservation of imperiled plant material. CPC also conducts restoration work, provides technical assistance, educates technical and citizen audiences, and serves as a regional and national advocate for plant conservation. Our institutions monitor collections, conduct horticultural and field research, produce material needed for restoration, and lead or help with restoration efforts.

www.centerforplantconservation.org

**Don’t be a Vector – Use Local Firewood**

Most of us already know that we should avoid moving soil, planting or transporting invasive species, or otherwise acting as vectors for the spread of invasive non-native organisms, weeds, and pests. Now a new preventative measure has been added to the list.

The following comes from the Union of Concerned Scientists web page. It offers another way many of us can help slow the spread of deadly forests pests such as sudden oak death, beetles, and other pathogens.

*Note: there are other reasons not to use firewood. It can be a very polluting energy source and contribute to climate change, but if you do use firewood, consider the information below.

This is also a reminder to all of us to be careful in all our activities to minimize the movement of invasive non-native organisms.

______________________________________________________

Like thousands of Americans, your fall plans might include a picnic or camping trip in one of the many beautiful state or national parks, national forests, or private campgrounds around the country; or you may be headed for your own cabin.

You probably already know that to protect the beauty of these special places you should remove your trash and put out your campfire before you head home. But did you know that you also should not transport firewood?

America’s forests are threatened by non-native forest pests—highly destructive insects and diseases that threaten our forests and the clean water, recreation, and other resources they provide. Since these forest pests survive inside wood where you can’t see them, they can be transported long distances by accident. You can help protect America’s forests with a simple action—Don’t transport firewood!

Spread the message, not the pest. Take the Firewood Pledge today and then tell your family and friends.

http://ucsaction.org/campaign/5_22_07_firewood_pledge/?qp_source=wacucs%5fhomearspotlig

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has released its 2007 Red List of threatened species worldwide. The Red List reflects the work of natural resource scientists and agencies worldwide and is viewed as the best available science on the subject.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, the reports findings include

ß There are now 12,043 plants on the IUCN Red List, with 8,447 listed as threatened. 70% of the worlds assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy.

But all groups are in trouble:

ß There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year.

ß The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.

ß One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the worlds assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy of extinction

The IUCN also breaks down its Red List by country and taxonomic group. For more information see press release below (which contains numerous links to IUCN reports and programs) or go to www.iucn.org .

Extinction crisis escalates: Red List shows apes, corals, vultures, dolphins all in danger

2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the worlds most authoritative assessment of the Earths plants and animals, acts as a wake up call on the global extinction crisis

Gland, Switzerland, 12 September, 2007, World Conservation Union (IUCN) Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken, according to the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.

One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the worlds assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy.

Julia Marton-Lef趲e, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said: This years IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most reliable evaluation of the worlds species. It classifies them according to their extinction risk and brings into sharp focus the ongoing decline of the worlds biodiversity and the impact that mankind is having upon life on Earth.

Jane Smart, Head of IUCNs Species Programme, said: We need to know the precise status of species in order to take the appropriate action. The IUCN Red List does this by measuring the overall status of biodiversity, the rate at which it is being lost and the causes of decline.

Our lives are inextricably linked with biodiversity and ultimately its protection is essential for our very survival. As the world begins to respond to the current crisis of biodiversity loss, the information from the IUCN Red List is needed to design and implement effective conservation strategies for the benefit of people and nature.

Some highlights from this years IUCN Red List

The decline of the great apes

A reassessment of our closest relatives, the great apes, has revealed a grim picture. The Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered, after the discovery that the main subspecies, the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), has been decimated by the commercial bushmeat trade and the Ebola virus. Their population has declined by more than 60% over the last 20-25 years, with about one third of the total population found in protected areas killed by the Ebola virus over the last 15 years.

The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) remains in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in the Endangered category. Both are threatened by habitat loss due to illegal and legal logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations. In Borneo, the area planted with oil palms increased from 2,000 km2 to 27,000 km2 between 1984 and 2003, leaving just 86,000 km2 of habitat available to the species throughout the island.

First appearance of corals on the IUCN Red List

Corals have been assessed and added to the IUCN Red List for the very first time. Ten Galᰡgos species have entered the list, with two in the Critically Endangered category and one in the Vulnerable category. Wellingtons Solitary Coral (Rhizopsammia wellingtoni) has been listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). The main threats to these species are the effects of El Ni񯠡nd climate change.

In addition, 74 seaweeds have been added to the IUCN Red List from the Galᰡgos Islands. Ten species are listed as Critically Endangered, with six of those highlighted as Possibly Extinct. The cold water species are threatened by climate change and the rise in sea temperature that characterizes El Ni񯮠The seaweeds are also indirectly affected by overfishing, which removes predators from the food chain, resulting in an increase of sea urchins and other herbivores that overgraze these algae.

Yangtze River Dolphin listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)

After an intensive, but fruitless, search for the Yangtze River Dolphin, or Baiji, (Lipotes vexillifer) last November and December, it has been listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). The dolphin has not been placed in a higher category as further surveys are needed before it can be definitively classified as Extinct. A possible sighting reported in late August 2007 is currently being investigated by Chinese scientists. The main threats to the species include fishing, river traffic, pollution and degradation of habitat.

India and Nepals crocodile, the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is also facing threats from habitat degradation and has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Its population has recently declined by 58%, from 436 breeding adults in 1997 to just 182 in 2006. Dams, irrigation projects, sand mining and artificial embankments have all encroached on its habitat, reducing its domain to 2% of its former range.

Vulture crisis

This year the total number of birds on the IUCN Red List is 9,956 with 1,217 listed as threatened. Vultures in Africa and Asia have declined, with five species reclassified on the IUCN Red List. In Asia, the Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) moved from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered while the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) moved from Least Concern to Endangered. The rapid decline in the birds over the last eight years has been driven by the drug diclofenac, used to treat livestock.

In Africa, three species of vulture have been reclassified, including the White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis), which moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable, the White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) and Rppells Griffon (Gyps rueppellii), both moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The birds decline has been due to a lack of food, with a reduction in wild grazing mammals, habitat loss and collision with power lines. They have also been poisoned by carcasses deliberately laced with insecticide. The bait is intended to kill livestock predators, such as hyenas, jackals and big cats, but it also kills vultures.

North American reptiles added to IUCN Red List

After a major assessment of Mexican and North American reptiles, 723 were added to the IUCN Red List, taking the total to 738 reptiles listed for this region. Of these, 90 are threatened with extinction. Two Mexican freshwater turtles, the Cuatro Cienegas Slider (Trachemys taylori) and the Ornate Slider (Trachemys ornata), are listed as Endangered and Vulnerable respectively. Both face threats from habitat loss. Mexicos Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis) has also been added to the list as Critically Endangered, after being persecuted by illegal collectors.

Plants in peril

There are now 12,043 plants on the IUCN Red List, with 8,447 listed as threatened. The Woolly-stalked Begonia (Begonia eiromischa) is the only species to have been declared extinct this year. This Malaysian herb is only known from collections made in 1886 and 1898 on Penang Island. Extensive searches of nearby forests have failed to reveal any specimens in the last 100 years.

The Wild Apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris), from central Asia, has been assessed and added to the IUCN Red List for the first time, classified as Endangered. The species is a direct ancestor of plants that are widely cultivated in many countries around the world, but its population is dwindling as it loses habitat to tourist developments and is exploited for wood, food and genetic material.

Banggai Cardinalfish heavily exploited by aquarium trade

Overfishing continues to put pressure on many fish species, as does demand from the aquarium trade. The Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni), which is highly prized in the aquarium industry, is entering the IUCN Red List for the first time in the Endangered category. The fish, which is only found in the Banggai Archipelago, near Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been heavily exploited, with approximately 900,000 extracted every year. Conservationists are calling for the fish to be reared in captivity for the aquarium trade, so the wild populations can be left to recover.

These highlights from the 2007 IUCN Red List are merely a few examples of the rapid rate of biodiversity loss around the world. The disappearance of species has a direct impact on peoples lives. Declining numbers of freshwater fish, for example, deprive rural poor communities not only of their major source of food, but of their livelihoods as well.

Species loss is our loss

Conservation action is slowing down biodiversity loss in some cases, but there are still many species that need more attention from conservationists. This year, only one species has moved to a lower category of threat. The Mauritius Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques), which was one of the worlds rarest parrots 15 years ago, has moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The improvement is a result of successful conservation action, including close monitoring of nesting sites and supplementary feeding combined with a captive breeding and release programme.

Jean-Christophe Vi鬠Deputy Head of IUCNs Species Programme, said: "From previous experience, we know that conservation can work, but unfortunately this year we are documenting an improvement for only one species. This is really worrying in light of government commitments around the world, such as the 2010 target to slow down the rate of biodiversity loss. Clearly, this shows that much more needs to be done to support the work of thousands of enthusiastic people working everyday throughout the world to preserve the diversity of life on this planet."

Holly Dublin, Chair of IUCNs Species Survival Commission, said: Conservation networks dedicated to fighting the extinction crisis, such as the Species Survival Commission, are working effectively. But much more help and support is needed as environmentalists cannot do it alone. The challenge of the extinction crisis also requires attention and action from the general public, the private sector, governments and policy makers to ensure that global biodiversity remains intact for generations to come.

To help IUCN in its fight against the extinction crisis, donate now. http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/donation/donation_page.htm

Notes to editors

For information about more species on this years IUCN Red List please visit www.iucn.org/redlist and www.iucnredlist.org

A full 2007 IUCN Red List media package is available, including photo gallery, two-minute video B roll, species changes, fact sheets on key species, case studies and statistics

2 minute video B roll and photo gallery of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species prepared by Arkive www.arkive.org

For more information / interviews with leading IUCN spokespeople please contact:

Lynette Lew, IUCN Marketing and Communications Officer, Species Programme, Tel: +41 22 999 0153; Mob: +41 79 527 7221; Fax: +41 22 999 0015; Email: lynette.lew

iucn.org ; Web: www.iucn.org

Sarah Halls, IUCN Media Relations Officer, Tel: +41 22 999 0127; Mob: +41 79 24 72 926; Fax: +41 22 999 0020; Email: sarah.halls

iucn.org; Web: www.iucn.org

Craig Hilton-Taylor and Caroline Pollock, IUCN Red List Unit, Tel +44 1223 277 966;
Fax: +44 1223 277-845; Email: caroline.pollock

Additional information

· The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies species according to their extinction risk. It is a searchable online database containing the global status and supporting information on more than 41,000 species. Its primary goal is to identify and document the species most in need of conservation attention and provide an index of the state of biodiversity.

· The IUCN Red List threat categories are the following, in descending order of threat:

o Extinct or Extinct in the Wild;

o Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable: species threatened with global extinction;

o Near Threatened: species close to the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened without ongoing specific conservation measures;

o Least Concern: species evaluated with a low risk of extinction;

o Data Deficient: no evaluation because of insufficient data.

· Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct): This is not a new Red List category, but is a flag developed to identify those Critically Endangered species that are in all probability already Extinct but for which confirmation is required (for example, through more extensive surveys being carried out and failing to find any individuals).

· The total number of species on the planet is unknown; estimates vary between 10 - 100 million, with 15 million species being the most widely accepted figure. 1.7 - 1.8 million species are known today.

· People, either directly or indirectly, are the main reason for most species decline. Habitat destruction and degradation continues to be the main cause of species decline, along with the all too familiar threats of introduced invasive species, unsustainable harvesting, over-hunting, pollution and disease. Climate change is increasingly recognized as a serious threat, which can magnify these dangers.

· Major analyses of the IUCN Red List are produced every four years. These were produced in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The 2004 Global Species Assessment is available from: http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/red_list_2004/2004home.htm

· Key findings from major analyses to date include:

o The number of threatened species is increasing across almost all the major taxonomic groups.

o IUCN Red List Indices, a new tool for measuring trends in extinction risk are important for monitoring progress towards the 2010 target. They are available for birds and amphibians and show that their status has declined steadily since the 1980s. An IUCN Red List Index can be calculated for any group which has been assessed at least twice.

o Most threatened birds, mammals and amphibians are located on the tropical continents the regions that contain the tropical broadleaf forests which are believed to harbour the majority of the Earths terrestrial and freshwater species.

o Of the countries assessed, Australia, Brazil, China and Mexico hold particularly large numbers of threatened species.

o Estimates vary greatly, but current extinction rates are at least 100-1,000 times higher than natural background rates.

o The vast majority of extinctions since 1500 AD have occurred on oceanic islands, but over the last 20 years, continental extinctions have become as common as island extinctions.

· All IUCN Red List updates contribute to a worldwide biodiversity assessment. Work is underway to reassess the status of all mammals (approximately 6,000 species) and birds (approximately 10,000 species) and to assess for the first time all reptiles (approximately 8,000 species) and freshwater fish (approximately 13,000 species). The first global assessment of all amphibians (approximately 6,000 species) was completed in 2004.

· The IUCNRed List of Threatened Species is a joint effort between IUCN and its Species Survival Commission www.iucn.org/themes/ssc, working with its Red List partners BirdLife International www.birdlife.org, Conservation Internationals Center for Applied Biodiversity Science www.conservation.org, NatureServe www.natureserve.org, and the Zoological Society of London www.zsl.org.

About The World Conservation (IUCN)

Created in 1948, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) brings together 84 States, 108 government agencies, 800 plus NGOs, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 147 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. The Unions mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

The Union is the world's largest environmental knowledge network and has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national conservation and biodiversity strategies. The Union is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1,000 staff located in 62 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.
www.iucn.org

About the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Species Programme

The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of IUCNs six volunteer commissions with a global membership of 7,000 experts. SSC advises IUCN and its members on the wide range of technical and scientific aspects of species conservation and is dedicated to securing a future for biodiversity. SSC has significant input into the international agreements dealing with biodiversity conservation.
www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/

The IUCN Species Programme supports the activities of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and individualSpecialist Groups,as well as implementing global speciesconservation initiatives. It is an integral part of the IUCN Secretariat and is managed from IUCNs international headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. The Species Programmeincludes a number of technical unitscovering Species Trade and Use, the Red List Unit, Freshwater Biodiversity Assessments Unit, (all located in Cambridge, UK), and the Global Biodiversity Assessment Unit (located in Washington DC, USA).

September 5, 2007: Lawsuit seeks protection for 55 imperiled species and habitat improperly blocked by Administration

The Center for Biological Diversity, NPCC’s parent organization, has filed notice that it will sue the U.S Department of the Interior (DOI) to seek protection for 55 species and almost 9 million acres of habitat. The goal of the suit is to overturn DOI decisions not to list imperiled species or conserve endangered species habitat as required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

These 55 cases were selected because the decisions to withhold listing or habitat protection are thought to have been based on political considerations, rather than on the best available science as required by law.

The lawsuit is an attempt to repair damage stemming from the scientific integrity scandals that have plagued the Bush administration, including the resignation of Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie MacDonald. The DOI is already reviewing eight ESA decisions made by MacDonald. She resigned in May after the Department of Interior’s inspector general found she had pressured scientists.

This notice to sue recognizes that the problems of political interference with science and species protection are much more widespread than either MacDonald or the 8 species currently being investigated.

Pasted below are

1. a brief news item from the journal Nature regarding the notice to sue

2. The Center for Biological Diversity’s press release describing the action

NATURE

Biodiversity agency to sue over endangered species

News in brief

D. PERRINE/NATUREPL.COM

Tired of one-off lawsuits over species it feels should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, a US conservation group has gone all out. The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Arizona, has announced its intention to sue the US government in an enormous lawsuit covering 55 plant and animal species, including Florida manatees (pictured).

The move comes in response to claims that a now-ousted government official, Julie MacDonald of the Department of the Interior, acted as a lone wolf in meddling with agency scientific reports about which species should be listed or de-listed for protection. "The idea that she was this singular bad apple that has been excised is ridiculous," says Kieran Suckling, policy director for the conservation group.

The suit will go after an alleged systematic pattern of scientists being illegally overruled by political officials. "I cannot comment on pending legal matters, but I can tell you that the Department of the Interior takes very seriously its responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act," says Chris Paolino, a spokesman for the department.

Emma Marris - Correspondent - Nature - 1-573-256-0611 - www.nature.com

Ï{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{ÐÏ{Ð

For Immediate Release, August 28, 2007

Contact: Kieran Suckling, (520) 275-5960

Environmentalists Challenge Political Interference With 55 Endangered Species in 28 States,

Seek to Restore 8.7 Million Acres of Protected Habitat Across the Country

Tucson, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior for political interference with 55 endangered species in 28 states. The notice initiates the largest substantive legal action in the 34-year history of the Endangered Species Act.

At stake in the suit is the illegal removal of one animal from the endangered species list, the refusal to place three animals on the list, proposals to remove or downgrade protection for seven animals, and the stripping of protection from 8.7 million acres of critical habitat for a long list of species from Washington State to Minnesota and Texas (see below for species and states affected).

“This is the biggest legal challenge against political interference in the history of the Endangered Species Act,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “It puts the Bush administration on trial at every level for systematically squelching government scientists and installing a cadre of political hatchet men in positions of power.”

Many of the illegal decisions were engineered by former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie MacDonald, who resigned in disgrace following a scathing investigation by the inspector general of misconduct at the Department of the Interior. Other decisions were ordered by her boss, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Craig Manson, his special assistant Randal Bowman, and Ruth Solomon in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Some decisions ordered by lower level bureaucrats.

“The Bush administration has tried to keep a lid on its growing endangered species scandal by scapegoating Julie MacDonald,” said Suckling, “but the corruption goes much deeper than one disgraced bureaucrat. It reaches into the White House itself through the Office of Management and Budget. By attacking the problem systematically through this national lawsuit, we will expose just how thoroughly the distain for science and for wildlife pervades the Bush administration’s endangered species program.”

In many of the cases, government and university scientists carefully documented the editing of scientific documents, overruling of scientific experts, and falsification of economic analyses.

Among the 55 species in legal filing are the marbled murrelet (CA, OR, WA), Florida manatee (SC to TX), Arctic grayling (MT), West Virginia northern flying squirrel (WV), California least tern (CA), brown pelican (LA, TX, PR, VI), California red-legged frog (CA), arroyo toad (CA), Mexican garter snake (AZ), piping plover (NC to TX), snowy plover (CA, OR, WA) and Preble's jumping meadow mouse (CO, WY).

Number of species per state: California (24), Texas (16), New Mexico (9), Arizona (5), Louisiana (3), Colorado (2), Oregon (2), Washington (2), Kansas (2), Georgia (2), Florida (2), Alabama (2), Mississippi (2), Puerto Rico (2), American Virgin Islands (2), Montana (1), Iowa (1), Minnesota (1), Nebraska (1), South Dakota (1), Missouri (1), South Carolina (1), Nevada (1), Utah (1), Wyoming (1), West Virginia (1), Guam (1), Rota (1).

Species per state and issue:

Species	Range	Issue
Braken Bat Cave meshweaver	TX	critical habitat
Cokendolpher cave harvestman	TX	critical habitat
Comal Springs dryopid beetle	TX	critical habitat
Comal Springs riffle beetle	TX	critical habitat
Peck's Cave amphipod	TX	critical habitat
Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver	TX	critical habitat
Government Canyon Bat Cave spider	TX	critical habitat
Helotes mold beetle	TX	critical habitat
Madla Cave meshweaver	TX	critical habitat
Rhadine exilis ground beetle	TX	critical habitat
Rhadine infernalis ground beetle	TX	critical habitat
Robber Baron Cave meshweaver	TX	critical habitat
San Jacinto crownscale	CA	critical habitat
Lane Mountain milk-vetch	CA	critical habitat
Coachella Valley milk-vetch	CA	critical habitat
Spreading navarretia	CA	critical habitat
Willowy monardella	CA	critical habitat
Thread-leaved brodiaea	CA	critical habitat
Munz's onion	CA	critical habitat
Robust spineflower (two varieties)	CA	critical habitat
Monterey spineflower	CA	critical habitat
Santa Cruz tarplant	CA	critical habitat
Alameda whipsnake	CA	critical habitat
Arroyo southwestern toad	CA	critical habitat
Buena Vista Lake shrew	CA	critical habitat
California red-legged frog	CA	critical habitat
California tiger salamander (Central)	CA	critical habitat
California tiger salamander (Sonoma)	CA	critical habitat
Riverside fairy shrimp	CA	critical habitat
Santa Ana sucker (re-designation)	CA	critical habitat
Quino checkerspot butterfly	CA	critical habitat
Pecos assiminea snail	NM	critical habitat
Koster's tryonia snail	NM	critical habitat
Noel's amphipod	NM	critical habitat
Roswell springsnail	NM	critical habitat
Gila chub	AZ, NM	critical habitat
Loach minnow	AZ, NM	critical habitat
Spikedace	AZ, NM	critical habitat
Arkansas River shiner	NM, TX, OK, KS	critical habitat
Southwestern willow flycatcher (redesignation)	CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM	critical habitat
Western snowy plover (re-designation)	CA, OR, WA	critical habitat
Preble's meadow jumping mouse	CO, WY	critical habitat
Piping plover (winter range)	NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TX	critical habitat
Topeka shiner	IA, KS, MN, NE, SD, MO	critical habitat
Sacramento splittail	CA	Delisting
Mexican garter snake	AZ	Refusal to list
Tabernaemontana Rotensis	GU, RO	Refusal to list
Arctic fluvial grayling	MT	Refusal to list
West Virginia northern flying squirrel	WV	Delisting proposal
California least tern	CA	Downlisting proposal
Eastern pelican	LA, TX	Delisting proposal
Caribbean brown pelican	PR, AVI	Delisting proposal
Florida manatee	NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TX	Downlisting proposal
Antillean manatee	PR, AVI	Downlisting proposal
Marbled murrelet	CA, OR, WA	Delisting proposal

Please share this e mail with organizations, friends and colleagues that may be interested

August 27, 2007: Rare Plant Module added to Already Terrific Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers Site

Each day botanists in the U.S. Forest Service struggle valiantly to conserve native plants on our 160 million acres of publicly owned National Forests. They do this work in the face of chronic underfunding, understaffing and increasing anti-environment and anti-science Administration policies.

One way they work for plants is through the USFS “Celebrating Wildflowers” website and associated wildflower and native plant events. The purpose of the site is to educate the public about the value, beauty and efforts to conserve native plants on Forest Service lands.

The latest component added to the site addresses plants listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. According to the Forest Service:

This is by far the most comprehensive source of information on the web for Federally Threatened and
Endangered plants. All 115+ federally listed species that occur on NSF lands are individually profiled. Species can be viewed by Region, Forest, State, or individually. Each profile includes habitat and close-up images, links to listing and Recovery documents, Conservation status, and Forest occurrence.

Further the module provides information on the Forest Service rare plant program (e.g. what are rare plants, what are the causes of rarity, success stories, etc.). The primary goal was to educate the public (externally and internally) about our extraordinary flora and the stewardship services the Forest Service provides for the some of the rarest elements on the landscape on behalf of the American public.

The homepage for “Celebrating Wildflowers” is
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/

The new material can be accessed through the following web addresses:

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/index.shtml
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/conservation/index.shtml
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/profiles/index.php

Happy surfing!

Hawaii suffers from some of the worst non-native pest species problems in the world. Hawaii’s landscape architects are helping to fight back. They have initiated a program to try to stop the spread of invasive non-native weeds.

They are working with gardeners and land managers to educate them on plant selection and management practices to reduce weed infestation. They have also developed a list of potentially invasive species that they recommend gardeners avoid. See article below for more information.

Hawaii joins a long list of states with programs to reduce weed spread, protect native plants, and promote native gardening. For example, the California Native Plant Society’s Horticulture Program offers numerous online resources at http://www.cnps.org/cnps/horticulture/. Further many CNPS chapters provide information on locally appropriate species and practices.

Another NPCC affiliate, the New England Wildflower Society, offers gardening courses and sells local native species. Information is online at http://www.newfs.org/nursery.htm

***ACTION REQUEST:
NPCC would like to learn about all such programs so that we can share them with members and the public. If you are aware of similar programs in your area, please send me an e mail with information, including any website addresses if possible.

________________________________________________________________

Hawaii Reporter
Freedom to Report Real News

Don't Plant a Pest
By Priscilla Billig, 8/15/2007 7:47:24 AM

In a bold move to further minimize the introduction and spread of invasive plants by growers, nurseries, landscapers, and botanical gardens and arboreta, Hawaii’s green industry is expanding its self-regulating process. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Hawai‘i Chapter is developing a recommended list of potentially invasive plants to avoid using within the industry.

The ASLA Executive Committee has determined three basic approaches to best address the invasive plant issue:
• Develop a more proactive approach
• Use more caution in choosing plants
• Continue to use plants that have more benefit than risk

According to Christopher Dacus, Landscape Architect with the state Department of Transportation, Highways Division Design Branch, the committee reviewed only the plants on the Weed Risk Assessments (WRA) list that are predicted to be invasive, focusing on the benefits, since the WRA has determined the risk.

WRA, developed to predict which plants would become invasive if they were introduced to Hawai‘i, is an ongoing process by the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program with a grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The WRA may be viewed online at http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/daehler/wra/. An initial review of each plant was conducted by ASLA with six possible determinations:
*Do Not Plant
*Continue to Plant
*Plant but refrain from using near sensitive environs
*Obtain industry input and consensus
*Do not plant if equal alternative is propagated
*Request additional information

“This can be seen as the next step, building on what Christy Martin and the Codes of Conduct have been doing, looking at about 20 plants,” Dacus said. “But, this is looking at more than 150 plants, all the ones identified as potentially invasive by the WRA. We looked at the whole list as a survey. It’s a way of building on the Codes of Conduct and getting more of the industry involved.” The Codes of Conduct Project is a self-regulating process adopted by members of the green industry to help protect the environment from new invasive plant species.

The Codes of Conduct goals (in brief): Have plants screened for their potential to be invasive in Hawai‘i before they are introduced. Agree on a short list of plants to phase out and discontinue. Educate the public about the issue and promote non-invasive ornamentals or native plants. The full Codes of Conduct are available on the Landscape Industry of Hawai‘i website http://www.lichawaii.com/invasive_species.htm.

The Maui Association of Landscape Professionals (MALP) has already signed on to the Codes of Conduct and the O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association and the Kaua‘i Landscape Industry Council have also pledged to abide by the Codes of Conduct. For more information about the Codes of Conduct contact Christy Martin, Public Information Officer for the statewide Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS) and the Invasive Species Committees (ISCs) of Hawai‘i, statewide and island-based partnerships working to protect Hawai‘i from invasive species, at (808) 722-0995. View CGAPS and the ISCs online at www.hear.org/cgaps.
'''The ASLA-Hawai‘i Chapter’s recommended list of potentially invasive plants to avoid using in the green industry can be found online at http://www.lichawaii.com/Downloads/Invasive/HASLA_survey.pdf. Comments may be sent directly to Chris Dacus via email at Christopher.A.Dacus@hawaii.gov This article was published in the most recent edition of Na Leo O Ka Aina, bi-annual newsletter of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. See more at http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/newsletter/index.htm'''

© 2007 Hawaii Reporter, Inc.

Two updates on the state of – and struggle for - science.
· First is a USA Today story reporting that the scandals involving science censorship and misuse of science are increasingly coming into the open.
· Second is a press release from the National Council on Science and the Environment on House and Senate efforts to substantially increase funding for the National Science Foundation and Bush Administrations threat to veto such proposals
_____________________________________________

USA TODAY

August 6, 2007 Monday
FINAL EDITION
Science vs. politics gets down and dirty:
Scientists are bitter about what they call Bush administration interference

BYLINE: Dan Vergano

Malicious, vindictive and mean-spirited. These are words that might surface in divorce court.

But they have been lobbed in the course of a different estrangement: the standoff between the Bush administration and the nation's scientific community.

The relationship, which has been troubled since the dawn of the Bush presidency, hit a new low last month when Richard Carmona, surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, lashed out at his former colleagues in testimony before a House committee.

Joined by former surgeons general C. Everett Koop and David Satcher, Carmona said public health reports are withheld unless they're filled with praise for the administration. "It was Surgeon General Koop who pointed out and still says today ... 'Richard, we all have fought these battles, as have our predecessors going back over a century, but we have never seen it as partisan, ... as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have it worse than any of us had.'"

Though Koop, who served under President Reagan, and Satcher, who was appointed by President Clinton, also spoke of political interference, it was Carmona's testimony that took lawmakers and scientists by surprise. He was, after all, the man who gave the president a hug before TV cameras when he was named surgeon general.

Carmona's statements crystallized the schism between the president and many of the nation's scientists, touching off conversations within and outside the administration on how bad things have gotten, who is to blame and what this means for the future.

From President Bush's televised address on Aug. 9, 2001, when he announced his intention to restrict federal spending on research on embryonic stem cells, conflicts with scientists have been a hallmark of his administration. The debates have included sex education, space exploration, contraception and global warming.

"The science community now recognizes that this administration completely puts its political cart before the scientific horse," says Science magazine editor in chief Donald Kennedy, a former Food and Drug Administration chief. "We've seen it with one issue after another."

But White House science adviser John Marburger says one reason science has emerged as such a hot issue is that the research-is-right banner is an easy one to wave.

"Science has become very powerful as a symbol, and everyone who has a case to make, or argument to win, tries to recruit science on their side," Marburger says. "Issues that might not have been labeled as 'science-related' controversies in the past are now called science-related."

Science policy professor Daniel Sarewitz of Arizona State University in Tempe says: "I think the opportunity to use science as a political tool against Bush has been irresistible -- but it is very dangerous for science, and for politics. You can expect to see similar accusations of the political use of science in the next regime."
Spending is up

On the whole, the Bush administration has supported funding science just like past administrations, Sarewitz says, allocating $139 billion in federal research and development money in fiscal 2006. This is up from $106.3 billion in fiscal 2001, according to the non-partisan American Association for the Advancement of Science.

And because polls show that scientists tend to be Democrats, Sarewitz says, their complaints should be viewed cautiously.

It was a former member of the Republican administration, however, who complained in July that "the nation's doctor" has been marginalized. Carmona said political appointees in the Department of Health and Human Services prevented him from speaking out on scientific evidence tied to embryonic stem cell research, contraception and sex education.

His statements echoed other allegations of political interference with science this year:
· A Fish & Wildlife Service inspector general's report last month revealed how a political appointee altered scientific reports on endangered species in ways that limited protected habitats, and released internal reports to real estate industry lawyers in violation of federal regulations. Agency director H. Dale Hall called the actions "a blemish" on its scientific integrity.
· NASA climate scientist James Hansen testified in March before a House committee about how a 24-year-old press liaison, a political appointee, barred him from speaking publicly about global warming. "Review and editing of scientific testimony by the White House Office of Management and Budget seems to now be an accepted practice," he added.
· Weather researcher Thomas Knutson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the Senate in February how appointees forbade him from commenting on links between hurricanes and global warming.
"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is often ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Carmona testified.

Says science historian Steven Shapin of Harvard: "There never was a time when science was perfect and politics was 100 miles away." But the Carmona testimony suggests "something markedly intrusive and shameless about what the administration is up to."
Administration interests

In interviews, three administration science officials, Ray Orbach of the Energy Department's Office of Science, William Jeffrey of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Elias Zerhouni of the National Institutes of Health, denied that administration officials have distorted scientific advice.

Research proposals for federal money are evaluated by scientists themselves, and this peer review "is probably the strongest bulwark against politics interfering with science," Zerhouni says.

Says Marburger: "I have not seen any orchestration or central direction about what you can't talk about." The president expects scientists to share their expertise and to "be a little bit proactive in getting the truth out" if they encounter resistance, he says.

That's not quite the whole picture, critics say.

"The only reason the truth is getting out now is that a new Congress is holding Bush's feet to the fire," says Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science. Mooney says the administration's leaders have long discouraged scientists.

Says Daniel Greenberg, a Washington journalist who has written extensively on science policy: "The Bush administration has interests -- ideological, theological and compliant to some industries -- that are its preoccupations. Scientists have an inflated sense of themselves if they think the administration has anything against them in particular as it pursues its goals in ways that disregard their views."

Scientists and politicians have disagreed throughout history, of course, going back at least to the post-World War II debate over the future of atomic weapons. In one famous episode, Manhattan Project chief Robert Oppenheimer, who opposed the development of more powerful bombs, lost his security clearance after dramatic congressional hearings in 1954.

In his recent testimony, for example, Satcher detailed his own losing battle to garner President Clinton's support for needle-exchange programs, which were supported by studies as a way to cut HIV infections.

Koop testified that though he faced opposition in addressing AIDS, he was fortunate in having the support of President Reagan. "Over the years since I left office, I've observed a worrisome trend of less-than-ideal treatment of the surgeon general, including undermining his authority at times when his role and function seem abundantly clear," he said.

He testified that if he had been impeded in the same way as his successors, some of his most important work -- including reports on smoking and health -- "would never have happened."

Says Princeton's David Goldston, former chief of staff for the House Science Committee under now-retired Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.: "As politics have gotten more and more polarized, everyone has to claim their views are objective, pure and factual, which means they are pulled into the scientific side. Most of these issues are largely values questions, but no one wants to discuss those, so we end up with baroque debates about science."
The storm over stem cells

The most contentious subject may be Bush's position on embryonic stem cell research. These are master cells that scientists hope can one day be used to make rejection-free transplant tissues. Opponents of the research decry the destruction of embryos that occurs when the cells are harvested in the laboratory.

Bush decided early on that federal money would be given only for research on existing stem cell colonies, or lines. Scientists argued that the number of cell lines therefore available for funding (originally supposed to number more than 60 but actually less than two dozen) were insufficient for research.

"If we are to find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways," Bush said last year as he vetoed legislation that would have expanded such research.

Says Greenberg: "I'm sure George Bush doesn't give a hang about stem cells, but he does what he has to do to please his supporters."

In response, the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental and science advocacy group, has begun a voter campaign to "protect the integrity of science." Scientists and Engineers for Change, which included dozens of Nobel laureates, campaigned against Bush in 2004.

"Don't think the problem is going to go away," Goldston says. "With politics more polarized than ever and a lot of these issues just continuing forward, efforts to frame science in debate are now inherent to our system."

Science's Kennedy and others believe the bruising battles between scientists and politicians can be left behind without permanently damaging their relationship. "We have a lot of real problems, and there is too much to be gained by working together," Kennedy says.

But others are more cautious.

"The danger comes when (science) gets to be seen as simply politics by other means," Shapin says. "Why trust it then?"

---
Where the lines are drawn

Science has been a field of battle from the earliest days of the Bush presidency. These are a few of the flashpoints in the struggle between many of the nation's scientists and the White House:
· Stem cell research: In August 2001, the president announced that federal money would be granted for research only on human embryonic stem cell lines already in existence. Bush has twice vetoed attempts by Congress to overturn his policy and expand federal spending on such research.
· Global warming: In 2005, leaked documents revealed that the chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, a former oil industry lawyer, had altered climate reports to soften scientific findings showing that fossil-fuel use and deforestation triggered global warming.
· Birth control: The Food and Drug Administration was accused of ignoring its science advisers and being influenced by political ideology in 2004 when it blocked over-the-counter sales of Plan B emergency contraceptive pills. The FDA changed its mind last year and allowed Plan B to be sold at drugstores.
· Endangered species: A decision on the Canada lynx's habitat is among eight made under the Endangered Species Act that are being reconsidered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Questions have been raised about the integrity and legality of the decisions, which were overseen by a political appointee.

_____________________________________________

House Passes $600 Million Increase in National Science Foundation Budget

July 27, 2007 --The U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by nearly $600 million or 10 percent to $6.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. The bill would put NSF on track to double its budget in less than 10 years.

Funding for NSF is included in the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act that passed the House by a vote of 281 to 142 on July 26. Two days before the vote, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy saying that the President would veto the bill if it is presented to him. The Administration “strongly opposes” the bill because it “includes an irresponsible and excessive level of spending and includes other objectionable provisions.”

Regarding the National Science Foundation, the Statement of Administration Policy says, “the Administration supports neither the additional $72 million above the [President’s budget] request allocated to NSF education programs that lack proven effectiveness, nor [Appropriations Committee] report language that seeks to allocate funds away from the NSF research programs that most directly contribute to America’s economic competitiveness.”

Although the House passed the appropriations bill by a large majority, the margin of victory was several votes short of the number needed to override the threatened veto. If the bill is vetoed, funding for NSF and other science agencies could be reduced in a subsequent bill.

The National Science Foundation got off to a good start in the FY 2008 appropriations process. President Bush proposed increasing the NSF budget by $513 million or 8.7 percent to $6.4 billion as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would increase the NSF budget by $637 million or 10.8 percent to $6.55 billion in FY 2008. The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill within the next two months and then a conference committee will be appointed to reach a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

The House and Senate appropriations bills and the President’s budget request would provide similar funding levels for NSF except for Education and Human Resources (EHR) programs, which have strong bipartisan support in Congress. The President’s budget request would increase funding for EHR by 7.5 percent in FY 2008. The House appropriations bill would increase EHR funding by approximately 18 percent and the Senate bill would increase EHR funding by approximately 22 percent.

NSF has fared well at each stage in the appropriations process so far. The President proposed a substantial increase in funding for NSF in FY 2008. The House appropriations bill would increase funding for NSF above the level proposed by the President. The Senate appropriations bill would increase funding above the level passed by the House. The final funding level for NSF remains uncertain, especially if Congress is unable to override the threatened veto of the House appropriations bill.

Craig Schiffries, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy and Senior Scientist
National Council for Science and the Environment
1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: 202-530-5810
E-mail: policy@NCSEonline.org
_____________________________________________

The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a non-profit organization working to improve the scientific basis for environmental decisionmaking. NCSE is supported by nearly 500 academic, scientific, environmental, government and business organizations.

Britain has completed a multi-year project to identify and designate its “Important Plant Areas” (IPAs). The project was carried out by our partners at Plantlife International, Britain’s native plant conservation organization.

{ For more information on Plantlife International, see their homepage http://www.plantlife.org.uk/
{ For information on the IPA program, see the article below and the UK IPA database:
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-saving-species-plant-areas.html
{ For information on IPA programs in countries outside Britain, see http://www.plantlifeipa.org/reports.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plant project reveals most important UK sites

By Paul Eccleston
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 24/07/2007

Important Plant Areas in the UK
Britain's 150 most important plant areas have been revealed for the first time as part of a project to safeguard the nation's plant heritage.

The aim is to support conservation and focus attention on the internationally-important sites.

The list has been drawn up by the wild plant conservation charity, Plantlife International, with the support of Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage along with specialist botanical groups and experts.

Important Plant Areas (IPAs) are internationally important areas for wild plants, selected because they have either a significant population of one or more threatened species, an exceptionally rich variety of plants or an outstanding example of a habitat of international conservation importance.

Plantlife's Chief Executive Victoria Chester said "We'd like to see plant conservation higher up the agenda of local and regional government in the areas where we have identified internationally important areas for wild plants.
Publishing and promoting this list of plant diversity hotspots around the UK will help focus decision-making on conservation at a larger, ecosystem scale instead of solely focusing on sites rich in one or two species."

The New Forest and the Lizard in England, the Gower Peninsula and Snowdon in Wales, Ben Lawers and the Cairngorms in Scotland and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland all feature on the list.

Other less well-known areas vitally important for a rich variety of plant species include the Torbay Limestones in Devon, the Ouse Washes in East Anglia, the Cambrian Mountain Woodland in mid Wales, the Garron Plateau in Northern Ireland, and Glenborrodale and the Isle of Cumbrae in Scotland.

The identification of IPAs is underway in 16 countries across Europe, alongside programmes in Africa, Asia, Canada, New Zealand, the Arabian peninsula and the Himalaya. The project is intended to provide the framework for a sustainable, long-term approach to conserving wild plants.

"Publishing this list demonstrates the botanical richness which has managed to survive across the UK despite threats from urban development, industry and intensive or inappropriate agriculture," said Miss Chester.

"Conserving these IPAs is vital, and having a network of larger scale sites will help plants to survive in the face of climate change and other pressures on our natural world."

Eventually it is hoped that each IPA will have a strategy for conservation and management, the means to monitor and assess threats to the future health of the plants and their habitat, and information it needs for conserving species and habitats.
The project is part of the UK's Plant Diversity Challenge, a response to the Convention on Biological Diversity Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

The world's governments, including the UK, are committed to the implementation of the Global Strategy by 2010. Part of the strategy is that protection of 50 per cent of the world's most important areas for plant diversity should be assured by 2010, with the first step being the identification of Important Plant Areas.

***Amid Congressional Hearings, Science Scandals, and Persistent Underfunding,
Fears Spread for the Future of the Endangered Species Act, the Species it Protects,
and the Specialists who Implement it***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Los Angeles Times

From the Los Angeles Times
Critics say species list is endangered
Though the bald eagle has rebounded, others are dying off. Critics blame an agency that's underfunded and in turmoil.
By Margot Roosevelt
Times Staff Writer

July 5, 2007

The bald eagle may be soaring back from near-extinction, but hundreds of other imperiled species are foundering, as the federal agency charged with protecting them has sunk into legal, bureaucratic and political turmoil.

In the last six years, the Bush administration has added fewer species to the endangered list than any other since the law was enacted in 1973.

The slowdown has resulted in a waiting list of 279 candidates that are near extinction, according to government scientists, from California's Yosemite toad to Puerto Rico's elfin-woods warbler.

Beyond the reluctance to list new species, a bottleneck is weakening efforts to save those already listed. Some 200 of the 1,326 officially endangered species are close to expiring, according to environmental groups, in part because funds have been cut for their recovery.

"It's wonderful the bald eagle is recovering — one of the most charismatic and best funded species ever," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who now works for Defenders of Wildlife, an advocacy group. "But what's happening with the other species? This administration has starved the endangered species' budget. It has dismantled and demoralized its staff."

Bryan Arroyo, acting assistant director of endangered species for the Fish and Wildlife Service, acknowledges a 30% vacancy rate in the program's staff, and the fact that the agency's top position has been left unfilled for more than a year.

"We have a national deficit, and we are in the midst of a war," he said. "We have to live within the president's budget."

The Bush administration has added 58 species to the endangered list, 54 of those in response to litigation.

By comparison, 231 mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, insects and plants were protected by the president's father, George H.W. Bush, during his four years in office.

Since 2000, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service budgets for the sorts of interventions that saved the bald eagle — reintroducing breeding pairs, guarding nests and acquiring land — have been slashed by 15% in real dollars. Bush's fiscal 2008 budget calls for an additional 28% in cuts.

Meanwhile, the endangered-species staff is rife with infighting, according to a report last month by the Interior Department's inspector general. And recovery programs, listing decisions and efforts to remove wildlife from existing protections have been heavily influenced by Bush appointees with close ties to industries that have contested the law.

Julie A. MacDonald, a deputy assistant secretary of the Interior who oversaw the endangered-species program, resigned last month after the inspector general found that she had ordered scientists to change their findings, and shared internal documents with lobbyists for agricultural and energy interests.

MacDonald, who owns a Sacramento-area ranch with her husband, took a particular interest in California, forcing cutbacks in proposed habitat protection for several listed species, including the Klamath River's bull trout and the Southwestern willow flycatcher, a bird that ranges from New Mexico to Southern California.

Last week, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.) announced he would hold hearings on reports by the Washington Post that, in 2002, Vice President Dick Cheney interjected himself into a dispute over Klamath River water flows.

According to the Post, after Cheney objected to the amount of water withheld to preserve fish, it was diverted to irrigation and an estimated 70,000 salmon died, including a small percentage of coho, a species listed as threatened in the region.

"Vice President Cheney turned the science upside down for political reasons," said Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez). "They had to close the fishing season. Taxpayers shelled out $60 million for businesses and boats."

Arroyo declined to discuss allegations of political intervention, but he defended efforts to ease restrictions overall. Endangered species protection "started as a heavy-handed regulatory program," he said. "If you tally the cost of implementing every recovery program now in place, it would cost billions of dollars — and the program will never have that much funding."

The agency has reached out to states, private landowners and conservation groups, Arroyo said. "It is more effective to have 20 or 30 entities pursuing conservation of a species than one federal agency alone."

Three-quarters of endangered species are on private property, and property rights advocates say that overly strict rules give landowners an incentive to "shoot, shovel and shut up" — as the saying goes in the fast-growing West — rather than submit to restrictions on ranching, farming or subdividing.

Arroyo said the best way to prevent that was to work cooperatively, encouraging landowners to voluntarily conserve wildlife through grants and technical assistance.

For instance, Arroyo recalled that when he was a regional official in Texas, he helped teach ranchers to cut back junipers on their land to preserve habitat of the black-capped vireo, an endangered bird.

"We didn't say, 'No cattle ranching,' " he explained.

As for listing fewer species, the focus is on intervening before numbers dwindle, Arroyo said.

"It's not that we don't want to list species. But if I don't have to put it on the list, then I don't have to recover it."

One thing all sides tend to agree on is that the act has become a captive of litigation. Of the 58 species protected under Bush, 54 were listed as a result of lawsuits by environmental groups.

Meanwhile, most litigation seeking to restrict the size of "critical habitat" — land on which imperiled wildlife depends — is brought by timber companies, farm bureaus, housing developers and energy companies.

The Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, an industry-funded group, has brought suit to force a review of whether to delist 194 California species on the grounds that they may have recovered.

To date, the Bush administration has taken 15 species off the endangered list — more than any other administration.

Some were widely applauded, such as the bald eagle, whose removal was announced last week. Others, environmental groups contend, were politically driven, such as California's Sacramento splittail, a Cental Valley fish that competes for water with farmers.

"Court orders are the only thing that makes the agency take any action," said Kieran Suckling of the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group.

As for the public-private partnerships that Arroyo praises, much of that funding is being diverted to "facilitate massive energy development by conglomerates in Wyoming's Green River basin," Suckling charges.

Arroyo sees it differently — the costs of restricting land use to save wildlife must also be considered.

"We have to implement the act within the social and economic context in which we live," he said.

*** NATIVE PLANTS TO THE RESCUE! ***
Native plant community restoration helps native wildlife
(as expected)

As we know, native plant conservation and restoration is not just about plants. Plants are the foundations of ecosystems so conservation/restoration of native plants is prerequisite to recovery for native ecosystems.

In a southern California example, removal of invasive non-native iceplant and restoration of coastal native plant communities appears to be leading the way for restoration of the ecosystem as a whole, including improvement in the status of associated wildlife species.

See full story below on the improvement in the status of a federally endangered butterfly following community based native plant restoration projects near Santa Monica.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Butterfly rebounding from extinction threat
By Deborah Schoch
Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
August 1, 2007
LOS ANGELES

Amid surfers and skaters, a tiny butterfly has scored a telling victory in its fight against extinction.

The rare El Segundo blue has returned to two popular beaches southwest of Los Angeles where it has not been seen in decades.

This is no mere academic sighting of a rare species.

Scientists say they are surprised at the resurgence. Dozens of the rare butterflies are thriving, not in some rarefied fenced-off reserve but in public view at county beaches in Redondo Beach and Torrance.

"You could open the car door, and they could hit you in the face," said conservation expert Travis Longcore recently, gesturing at creatures no bigger than a thumbnail flitting a few feet away from parked SUVs.

The El Segundo blue is found nowhere in the world but the southeastern shores of Santa Monica Bay.

Scientists staved off its extinction for years at three sites off-limits to the public. They estimate the current population remains low -- only in the tens of thousands.

Now, the butterflies seem to be declaring independence.

They forged ahead on their own to reach new native vegetation at the two beaches. There they are mating and feasting on the buckwheat nectar they crave.

That proved wrong the biologists who called the species too sedentary to fly long distances.

This success story was led by a grass-roots team of residents and two non-profits, the Urban Wildlands Group and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps' lab program.

They used a simple scientific formula: Put in the buckwheat.

Starting in 2004, they stripped thick green carpets of non-native ice plant from small areas on beach bluffs in Redondo Beach and Torrance. Month after month, they restored the scrub plants that flourished here centuries ago, including buckwheat.

Years ago, builders laced sand dunes with ice plant to guard against blowing sand and erosion. The South African import crowded out native plants.

- - -

Flying on the edge

STATUS: The El Segundo blue butterfly has been protected since 1976 under the Endangered Species Act. LOOKS: Usually less than 1 inch across. While its wings' upper side is a distinctive blue, its underside is gray with spots, as shown above. LIFE: Emerges in summer when flowers of seacliff buckwheat open. Adults live a few days to mate and lay eggs. The larvae feed on flower heads for about a month. Source: Butterfly Conservation Initiative
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

****Union of Concerned Scientists Scientific Ingetrity Contest Winners Announced****

As the scandals surrounding censorship and misuse of science under the Bush administration continue to grow, many organizations and individuals are taking action to fight for science.

Several years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists instituted a cartoon contest as part of an effort to bring the science scandals to the attention of the public and elected officials. Unfortunately, the scandals have not abated and so the contest has become an annual event. This years winner was announced today (see below).

To view the 12 finalist cartoons that were selected from the thousands submitted go to http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/science_idol/science-idol-finalist-bios.html

For more information on scientific integrity problems see the Union’s scientific integrity website: http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/

To learn about the Center for Biological Diversity’s work on science and the Endangered Species Act see http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/PROGRAMS/esa/index.html

**ACTION:

Contact your House and Senate members to ask them to work to stop administration attacks on scientific integrity and reverse decisions that have been made using poor or censored science.

You can find the names and contact information for your representatives online.

For the House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/

For the U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/

Press release on the ongoing science censorship scandals from our parent organization the Center for Biological Diversity.

Also pasted below is a press release and letter from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) asking for more action to correct the damage done by the administration’s misuse of science.

For Immediate Release, July 20, 2007

Contact: Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Reconsider Small Portion of Decisions
Tainted by Julie MacDonald:
Agency Seeks to Deflect Growing Criticism of Political Interference in
Scientific Decisions Involving Endangered Species

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it will reconsider eight decisions involving endangered species that were overseen by disgraced former Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald. Conservationists said they were glad these species would receive consideration for additional protection, but warned that the list of decisions to be reconsidered is outrageously incomplete and appears to be a token effort designed for damage control and coverup, rather than an attempt to address the problem.

“Fish and Wildlife’s reconsideration of eight decisions tainted by former assistant secretary Julie MacDonald is a day late and a dollar short,” said Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Despite no scientific training, MacDonald interfered in dozens of scientific decisions concerning endangered species. But only a full and transparent accounting of all the decisions tainted by MacDonald’s malignant influence can undo the damage she has done.”

In particular, the list fails to include decisions not to list the Mexican garter snake, potentially delist the marbled murrelet, and sharply reduce critical habitat for the bull trout, even though regional directors of the Fish and Wildlife Service specifically requested that these decisions be reconsidered because of MacDonald’s influence. The list also fails to include reconsideration of critical habitat for the Sacramento splittail, even though a story in the Contra Costa Times revealed that MacDonald may have illegally limited designation of habitat to avoid placing environmental restrictions on an 80-acre farm she owns in Dixon, California. MacDonald is known to have been involved in reversing numerous other decisions by agency scientists in order to reduced protections for species, including decisions about the Gunnison sage grouse, Montana fluvial arctic grayling, Southwestern bald eagle and many others. These decisions should also be reconsidered.

Julie MacDonald resigned on April 30, 2007, following an investigation by the Department of Interior’s Inspector General that found she had used her position to aggressively squelch protection of endangered species, rewrite scientific reports, browbeat agency scientists, and collude with industry lawyers to generate lawsuits against the Fish and Wildlife Service. Since her resignation there has been a growing chorus from Congress, editorial boards and the public for the agency to reconsider decisions tainted by MacDonald’s political influence. Today’s announcement falls far short of what is needed to redress MacDonald’s role in weakening protection of the nation’s endangered species.

Decisions to be reconsidered:

White-tailed prairie dog, 90-day petition finding (November 9, 2004)
Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, 12 month petition finding/proposed delisting (January 28, 2005)
12 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies, proposed critical habitat (August 15, 2006)
Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, final critical habitat (June 23, 2003)
Arroyo toad, final critical habitat (April 13, 2005)
Southwestern willow flycatcher, final critical habitat (October 19, 2005)
California red-legged frog, final critical habitat (April 13, 2006)
Canada lynx, final critical habitat (November 9, 2006)

CBD press release posted at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/macdonald-07-20-2007.html. .

Jul-20-2007
Wyden Calls for More Review of Possible ESA Tampering
Salem-News.com

(WASHINGTON, D.C. ) - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today called on Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to fully disclose all details leading to a decision to reexamine only eight Endangered Species Act (ESA) decisions “that appear to have been improperly influenced by former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald.”

In a letter to Kempthorne, Wyden wrote, “The Department alleges that its internal review concluded that MacDonald oversaw scores of ESA decisions, but in most of these cases she did not improperly influence the outcome. Respectfully, given the history of this scandal and others at the Department, I do not believe it is credible to accept the Department’s conclusion without evidence, such as access to the working papers of the internal review (documents and correspondence) and the Fish and Wildlife Service scientists and regional directors who participated in the original decisions and in the internal review.”

“The Interior Department’s assurances that their internal reviews are adequate just aren’t enough,” said Wyden. “It’s Congress’ job to perform oversight in these types of cases; and after all of the recent revelations of ethics problems at the Interior Department, Congress needs evidence that these are the only cases Ms. MacDonald interfered with.”

Wyden yesterday asked Kempthorne to clarify the Interior Department’s ethical strategy following the resignation of Mark Limbaugh, who served as chairman of the Department’s newly constituted Conduct Accountability Board, which was charged with reviewing the ethics issues raised in the Inspector General’s report on Julie MacDonald. Sixteen days after Kempthorne wrote to Wyden of Limbaugh’s assignment, he resigned to take a job at the Ferguson Group, a D.C. lobbying firm representing local and state water agencies with interests before the Department.

(For more on this: wyden.senate.gov/media)

The complete text of Wyden’s letter to Kempthorne follows:

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
U.S. Interior Department
1849 C St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

July 20, 2007

Dear Secretary Kempthorne: I appreciate the Interior Department’s announcement today regarding its intent to reopen Endangered Species Act (ESA) decisions that appear to have been improperly influenced by former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald. It is gratifying to finally see the Department address this scandal in public following months of relative silence.

However, I must question the Department’s decision to reopen only eight ESA decisions. My staff has identified 16 ESA decisions in which MacDonald played a critical role, as identified by the Interior Department’s Inspector General and environmental groups who have tracked MacDonald’s actions. Those include listing decisions for the Greater Sage Grouse, the Gunnison Sage Grouse, the Gunnison’s Prairie Dog, Tabernaemontana rotensis (a rare island tree), the White-Tailed Prairie Dog, Peirson’s Milkvetch (a flowering plant), the Fluvial Arctic Grayling, the Mexican Garter Snake and the Southwestern Bald Eagle; critical habitat decisions for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, the Sacramento Splittail, the Vernal Pool Species (which includes four shrimp species and 11 plant species), the Bull Trout and the Arroyo Toad; the recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl; and the biological opinion for the Delta Smelt.

According to the Department’s press release, even the Fish and Wildlife Service regional directors recommended a longer list of 11 ESA decisions for reconsideration. Three were eliminated by administrators in Washington.

The Department alleges that its internal review concluded that MacDonald oversaw scores of ESA decisions, but in most of these cases she did not improperly influence the outcome. Respectfully, given the history of this scandal and others at the Department, I do not believe it is credible to accept the Department’s conclusion without evidence, such as access to the working papers of the internal review (documents and correspondence) and the Fish and Wildlife Service scientists and regional directors who participated in the original decisions and in the internal review.

To restore public confidence in the Department’s ESA decisions, this internal review must be transparent and beyond reproach. Additionally, the Department must explain why it allowed MacDonald – a former political aide in California state government with no formal scientific education – to run roughshod over her agency’s scientists for years. Until we understand how this scandal was allowed to happen, we cannot be certain that it will not happen again.

Sincerely,

Sen. Ron Wyden

United States Senator

***Pollinator Crisis Provides More Evidence that Native Plant Communities Essential to the Health of Our Economies and Societies***

The press has recently given a good deal of attention to the decline of non-native bees and the impacts to crops that have traditionally been pollinated by human-cultivated bee colonies.

Our partners at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation have released a useful fact sheet (attached) on the collapse of non-native bee colonies and its implications for agriculture - and for native pollinator and habitat conservation.

As non-native bee populations decline, the economic importance of native bees and our other diverse native pollinators has increased.

The supply of food, fibers, medicines and other economically important crops depends on reliable pollination. Native pollinators in turn depend on healthy native plant habitats. So attention to the conservation and restoration of native plant communities has expanded as non-native bee colonies have collapsed.

Read more about it in the fact sheet below.

Alert: Congress is considering legislation to address this problem. More information is available at http://www.xerces.org/ .

Pollinators in Peril

Widespread declines in honey bee colonies from Colony Collapse Disorder

Native bees can provide a safety net to farmers

Farm bill programs can provide incentives for pollinator conservation

The recent widespread loss of honey bee colonies from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has
received a lot of media coverage. Major media outlets across the US have covered this story
including the NY Times, the CBS Nightly News, and the Christian Science Monitor. At this time
the cause of CCD remains a mystery. It may be one or more factors, such as parasitic mites, disease,
pesticides or diet. No matter what the cause of these declines, many scientists feel that native
pollinators – specifically, native bees – can be an insurance policy when honey bees are scarce.

The European honey bee is the most important single crop pollinator in the United States. However,
with the decline in the number of managed honey bee colonies from diseases, parasitic mites, and
Africanized bees - as well as from Colony Collapse Disorder - it is important to increase the use of
native bees in our agricultural system.

Hundreds of species of native bees are available for crop pollination. Research from across the
country demonstrates that a wide range of native bees help with crop pollination, in some cases
providing all of the pollination required. These free, unmanaged bees provide a valuable service,
estimated recently by scientists from the Xerces Society and Cornell University to be worth $3
billion annually in the U.S.

Pollinators and the 2007 Farm Bill
Conserving America’s pollinators will require economic incentives for private landowners. On
October 18, 2006, the National Academy of Sciences released the report Status of Pollinators in
North America, which called attention to the decline of pollinators. Prepared by a National
Research Council (NRC) committee, the report made several recommendations including urging the
federal government to fund pollinator conservation through Farm Bill conservation and research
programs.

The 2002 Farm Bill includes several financial aid programs to help fund conservation on private
agricultural lands. Language on native pollinator conservation in the 2007 Farm Bill (due to be
voted on this summer) would create incentives for farmers to protect, restore and enhance pollinator
habitat on and around farms. Through the Farm Bill, the federal government has an opportunity to
encourage state-level Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency
(FSA) offices to promote scientifically tested and approved pollinator- friendly practices for farmers
participating in Farm Bill conservation programs.

Fully integrating native pollinators into Farm Bill programs can have a wide impact. For example,
the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) allocated over $1 billion in financial and
technical assistance to farmers in 2006, and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) retired over
36 million acres of farmland, 4.5 million of which was specifically for wildlife habitat that could be
tailored to provide the greatest benefit for pollinators.

Pollinator Research in the 2007 Farm Bill
To improve the long-term sustainability of crop pollination, the 2007 Farm Bill should fund field
surveys to identify potential new crop pollinators and their habitat and management needs. These
studies would expand the ongoing research of the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS), U.S.
Geological Survey, and other agencies responsible for crop pollination research or natural resource
protection. The USDA ARS also should be provided with increased funding in order to be able to
expand their current research programs into native bee taxonomy and ecology.

Importance of Protecting Native Pollinators
Pollinators are essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is important for the
reproduction of nearly 75 percent of the world ’s flowering plants. This includes more than twothirds
of the world’s crop species, and one in three mouthfuls of the food that we eat. The United
States alone grows more than one hundred crops that either require or benefit from pollinators.
Beyond agriculture, native pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems. Fruits
and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25 percent of
birds, and of mammals ranging from deer mice to grizzly bears.

Why are native bees so helpful? Collectively, native bees are more versatile than honey bees. Some
species, such as mason bees, are active when conditions are too cold or wet for honey bees. Many
species also are simply more efficient at moving pollen between flowers. Bumble bees and several
other native species can buzz pollinate flowers - vibrating the flower to release pollen from deep
inside the pollen-bearing anthers - which honey bees cannot do. Crops such as tomatoes,
cranberries, and blueberries produce larger, more abundant fruit when buzz pollinated.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international non-profit organization that
protects the diversity of life through the conservation of invertebrates. The Society advocates for
invertebrates and their habitats by working with scientists, land managers, educators, and citizens
on conservation and education projects. Its core programs focus on endangered species, native
pollinators, and watershed health.

For more information on pollinator conservation go to:
http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/index.htm

For additional information on the Farm Bill and its conservation programs or research into
the effectiveness of native bees for crop pollination please contact Scott Hoffman Black: 503-
449-3792 sblack@xerces.org or Mace Vaughan: 503-753-6000 mace@xerces.org

Bush administration scientific integrity scandals are expanding rapidly. The House is planning more hearings to address manipulation of science in Endangered Species Act decisionmaking.

For more information on endangered species science inquirys see 2 press releases below.

The first is from the Center for Biological Diversity – the Native Plant Conservation Campaign’s parent organization. The second is from the office of Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a longtime environmental champion who, with Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), is spearheading this aspect of the escalating investigation into scientific censorship scandals. Scandals under review include endangered species, climate change, and public health.

For more information on scientific integrity and the Bush administration, see the Union of Concerned Scientists scientific integrity web site: http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 22, 2007

Kieran Suckling (520) 275-5960

MacDonald Scandal Grows
Memos indicate MacDonald instituted secret policy banning Fish and Wildlife Service from using scientific studies; may have wrongfully deleted emails from industry lobbyists

Yesterday Congressmen George Miller (D-CA) and Nick Rahall (D-WA) announced an inquiry into conflict of interest charges leveled at Julie MacDonald, the Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The political appointee resigned earlier the month following a scathing Inspector General report charging her with leaking sensitive documents to industry lobbyists, browbeating U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists, and illegally overturning scientific recommendations in order to squelch protections for endangered species.

Today the Center for Biological Diversity today released memos obtained through the Freedom of Information Act further implicating MacDonald in improper and potentially criminal actions.

On January 27, 2005, prominent industry lobbyist and anti-endangered species litigator Steven Quarles emailed MacDonald, requesting a meeting, in his own words, to "secure easy 'yeses' to outrageous requests." Later in the day Quarles emailed MacDonald's secretary, asking her to pass a message on to MacDonald to "just go in and erase all those back emails but I must admit I suspect some of them are mine…and, of course, THEY are critically important." If MacDonald deleted the emails as instructed, she may have violated federal laws prohibiting the deletion of government emails. Karl Rove is currently being investigated for similar charges.

“There appears to no end to the arrogance and corruption of Bush’s political appointees,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

In a second memo dated May 5, 2005, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists reveal that the Assistant Secretary of Interior's Office (from which MacDonald oversaw the Fish and Wildlife Service) issued a secret policy forcing the Fish and Wildlife Service to ignore scientific information supporting petitions to add species to the endangered species list. The policy required the Fish and Wildlife Service to only divulge information which could be used to refute listing petitions, while ignoring supporting information.

The policy, which was never made public, blatantly violates the Endangered Species Act requirement to use all the best available scientific information which making listing decisions. It was used by the Fish and Wildlife Service to deny a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity to retain the Desert Nesting Bald Eagle on the endangered species list when the rest of the species is removed on June 29, 2007. The agency’s denial states that it has no information supporting the Center for Biological Diversity's petition when, in fact, its own scientists, its own seven member scientific peer review panel, and the former head of the Arizona bald eagle recovery program all recommended to agency to keep the desert eagle on the endangered species list. The only opponents to retaining protection where top level agency bureaucrats.

“Julie MacDonald is gone from office, but her legacy of lawlessness lives on within the Department of Interior,” said Suckling. “Her abusive policies and illegal decisions are still in place. The Department of Interior will not regain credibility until her policies and decisions are withdrawn.”

Press Release
Congressman George Miller (D-California, 7th District)
Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on Resources

Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict of Interest at Interior Department
Senior lawmakers press Bush Administration on manipulation of science in a California endangered species decision

Monday, May 21, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today into reports that a Bush Administration political appointee may have improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened species in order to protect her own financial interests.

According to an investigative report published Sunday by the Contra Costa Times, Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, was actively involved in removing the Sacramento Splittail fish from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of an 80-acre farm in Dixon, CA that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish.

MacDonald’s financial disclosure statement shows that she earns as much as $1 million per year from her ownership of the 80-acre active farm. Federal law bars federal employees from participating in decisions on matters in which they have a personal financial interest.

The Sacramento Splittail, a small fish found only in California’s Central Valley, depends on floodplain habitat and has been described by the Fish and Wildlife Service as facing “potential threats from habitat loss.”

Today, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Interior Secretary Kempthorne requesting a full accounting of MacDonald’s role in the Sacramento Splittail decision, an explanation of her apparent conflict of interest, and a thorough review of the science underlying the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the threatened species list.

“It looks like another Bush Administration official was protecting her own bottom line instead of protecting the public interest,” said Miller, a senior member and former chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and a long-time proponent of the Endangered Species Act and Bay-Delta fish and wildlife issues. “We are going to fully investigate this matter and determine whether public policy was improperly altered because of personal conflicts of interest.

“This news raises serious questions about the integrity of the Interior Department and its policy decisions,” Miller added. “The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books. Who thought it was acceptable for a Deputy Assistant Secretary to change a major policy decision to exempt her own million-dollar enterprise from the Endangered Species Act even though federal law prohibits such conflicts?”

Rahall, who has served on the Natural Resources Committee since 1976 and became its chairman in January, called on the Department to fully explain what happened.

“Time and again, this Administration has demonstrated a complete disregard for scientists and their work,” Rahall said. “Political appointees at the Interior Department have been allowed to overrule biologists and to work more closely with special interests than with their own staff. The Interior Department must explain its deputy assistant secretary's actions in this very troubling case, which is apparently the latest in a long line of efforts to undercut species recovery.”

The letter from Miller and Rahall comes just two weeks after a May 9 Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett was questioned about recent controversies in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Her prepared testimony did not mention a report by the Department’s Inspector General on an investigation into MacDonald, nor did her testimony indicate awareness of the serious consequences of MacDonald’s actions. In the course of the hearing, Scarlett affirmed that “where there is scientific manipulation, we want to correct that,” but no specifics were provided.

MacDonald resigned from the Interior Department just one week before Scarlett testified.

The Endangered Species Act established a policy of protecting and recovering species in decline and their habitats. Fish, wildlife, and plants listed as “endangered” are in danger of extinction and the federal government is required to take action to recover them. Species are listed as “threatened” if it is determined that they may soon become endangered. Other threatened species in the Bay-Delta region include the green sturgeon and the delta smelt.

The full text of the letter to The Hon. Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, is here.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 15, 2007

Contact:
Kieran Suckling, Policy Director, (520) 275-5960
Will Hodges, Communications Associate (520) 623-5252 Ext. 315

The Road to Recovery
100 Success Stories for Endangered Species Day 2007

For a second year, the U.S. Senate declared an Endangered Species Day on May 18, 2007, to “encourage the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.”

To help celebrate and educate, the Center for Biological Diversity has created a website (www.esasuccess.org) detailing the conservation efforts that caused the populations of 100 endangered species in every U.S. state and territory to soar.

“From key deer and green sea turtles in Florida, to grizzly bears and wolves in Montana, sea otters and blue butterflies in California, and short-nose sturgeon and roseate terns in New York, the Endangered Species Act has not only saved hundreds of species from extinction,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, “but also put them on the road to recovery. The Endangered Species Act is one of America’s most successful conservation laws.”

The web site features a handy interactive map that allows viewers to click on their region and see a picture, population trend graph and short description of multiple species from that region. Detailed species accounts are also available for those wanting more information.

The Endangered Species Day resolution passed the Senate with unanimous consent on May 1, 2007. It was introduced by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and co-sponsored by Senators Collins (R-ME), Feingold (D-WI), Levin (D-MI), Snowe (R-ME), Kerry (D-MA), Biden (D-DE), Cantwell (D-WA), Lieberman (I-CT), Wyden (D-OR), Clinton (D-NY), Crapo (R-ID), Sanders (I-VT), Akaka (D-HI), Boxer (D-CA), and Brown (D-OH).

The Center for Biological Diversity is a non-profit conservation organization with over 50,000 members dedicated to the protection of imperiled species and their habitats.

****Senate unanimously declares May 18, 2007 “Endangered Species Day”!!****

See press release below from our partners at the Endangered Species Coalition.

On May 1, the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) declaring May 18, 2007 “Endangered Species Day”. Walks, presentations, and numerous other events are planned nationwide for the weekend of May 18-20. Zoos, aquariums, scientific and wildlife appreciation groups will all be providing opportunities for the public to observe this day and learn about and celebrate the value and imperilment of our natural heritage.

Botanic gardens, Native Plant Societies, and arboretums are simultaneously celebrating “Plant Conservation Day” May 18. These groups will also be offering wildflower walks, slide shows, art exhibits, displays that weekend focusing on endangered plant species and communities.

For more information and for a list of planned events go to the Native Plant Conservation Campaign home page – www.plantsocieties.org – click the link to “Endangered Species/Plant Conservation weekend”. If you would like to post an event to the list, please contact me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Immediate Release Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Contact: Liz Godfrey, Endangered Species Coalition, (505) 438-4245

United States Senate Unanimously Declares “Endangered Species Day"
On May 18th

Americans Recognize the Importance of Protecting Our Nation’s Wildlife, Fish and Plants on the Brink of Extinction

Washington, D.C.— Yesterday, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring May 18th “Endangered Species Day” in the U.S. Zoos, aquariums, parks, wildlife refuges, schools, museums, libraries, conservation organizations, and community groups across the country are planning events to protect our nation’s wildlife, fish, and plants on the brink of extinction.

“Endangered Species Day will provide opportunities for young people, students, and the general public to learn more about the more than 1,800 species in the U.S. and abroad, which are designated as ‘at risk’ for extinction,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) who led the effort to pass the resolution. Additional cosponsors were Senators Susan Collins (R-ME,) Russ Feingold (D-WI,) Carl Levin (D-MI,) Olympia Snowe (R-ME,) John Kerry (D-MA,) Joseph Biden (D-DE,) Maria Cantwell (D-WA,) Joseph Lieberman (I-CT,) Ron Wyden (D-OR,) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY,) and Mike Crapo (R-ID,) Daniel Akaka (D-HI,) Barbara Boxer (D-CA,) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

By designating May 18, 2007 as “Endangered Species Day,” the U.S. Senate “encourages the people of the United States to become educated about and aware of threats to species success stories in species recovery and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.” “Endangered Species Day” offers our people young and old an occasion to discover more about endangered species through such activities as attending workshops, library lectures, field trips, and having species actually come into classrooms.

In 2006, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the designation of the first annual Endangered Species Day. The purpose of the nationwide observance is to educate the public about the importance of protecting threatened and endangered species and highlight the everyday actions that individuals and groups can take. Last year, thousands of people throughout the country participated in various activities. This year events will be held at places such as the San Francisco Zoo, Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, Oregon Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Arkansas Aerospace Educational Center, Denver Botanical Gardens, Maine State Aquarium, the International Wildlife Film Festival in Montana, and the National Geographic Society’s Bioblitz in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. A full list of events can be found at www.stopextinction.org/ESDay_events.

“We’re expecting an even greater response for Endangered Species Day 2007,” said Liz Godfrey, Policy and Communications Director for the Endangered Species Coalition. “This provides an opportunity to celebrate the success stories of the Endangered Species Act.”

For additional information, visit www.stopextinction.org/endangeredspeciesday.

An organizational endorsement letter from over seventy groups can be found at: www.stopextinction.org/ES_Day_letter.
# # #
As the guardian of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the wildlife it protects, the Endangered Species Coalition (ESC) is composed of 380 environmental, conservation, religious, scientific, humane, sporting and business groups around the country. Our tools are public education, scientific information and citizen participation in decisions affecting the fate of at-risk species. Through extensive grassroots work, education, discussions with lawmakers, and the dissemination of information, we work to ensure that the Act itself, as well as all endangered animals and plants, can be passed on safely into the future.

The New England Wildflower Society, a Native Plant Conservation Campaign affiliate organization, has adopted a new policy on climate change. The policy discusses likely changes in plant community composition in New England and outlines measures that the NEWFS is taking and proposing to meet the challenge.

See press release below.

See a PDF of the full policy online at http://www.newfs.org/conserve/docs/NEWFS-Climate-Policy-4-17-07.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News, Science, Nature, Earth Day, Conservation, Climate Change, Plants, Business

EARTH DAY MESSAGE: Conservation Leaders Ask --Will Maple Syrup, Christmas Trees, Fall Foliage Season, and Other New England Icons Fall Victim to Climate Change?

Framingham, Massachusetts - Maple/beech/birch and spruce-fir forest types are very likely to be completely displaced by more southern forest types by the end of the 21st century in New England. The disappearance of these regional icons, and the tourism, products, and ecological communities that depend on them, are considered in New England Wild Flower Society's new POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE, the group announced today. The Society, America's oldest plant conservation institution, and the leader in New England plant conservation s, prepared the comprehensive initial review, incorporating research of multiple groups, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). To download a free copy of the policy, visit www.newenglandWILD <http://www.newenglandwild/> /conserve.

"Climate change is a complex and serious plant conservation issue with a profound impact on plants and ecosystems," said Gwen Stauffer, New England Wild Flower Society's Executive Director. "This initial policy sets a course of action for our own organization and a large network of collaborators, as it begins to frame our response."

"The native flora concept will change as native plants from the south move northward into new regions," said Bill Brumback, Conservation Director of New England Wild Flower Society. "This initial policy represents a "sea change" in how we will look at plant conservation in the future. Up until now, plant conservation strategy began by first protecting land and then managing it. Climate change requires us to review our concepts of what actually constitutes a natural community in our region, and adapt conservation efforts to the best scientific rationales, as these comprehensive changes take place."

The Policy includes plans for collaboration with multiple scientific groups to develop strategies to respond to the complex challenges of climate changes and effects on plant health and natural ecosystems in New England. Important ecological shifts include the possible elimination of most regional bog ecosystems, the likely extirpation of multiple northern forest types, and the increase of invasive plant activity. New invaders to our area, formerly not species of concern because of their lack of hardiness in our climate, such as kudzu, are likely to take greater hold because of their competitive advantage. The Society is committed to an "early detection-early response" action through its conservation programs and collaborative actions, such as the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) and the Plant Conservation Volunteer Program (PCV). The PCV program has garnered international recognition and next week represents New England at the Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Wuhan, China. The Society's delegate, Ailene Kane, will be sharing the PCV model and plant conservation training with conservation leaders from other countries around the world.

The Society began stepping up related initiatives over the past few years. In 2006 it joined the Seeds of Success program as the Northeast leader in a U.S.- led effort that is part of the Millennium Seed Bank project initiated by Royal Botanic Garden in Kew, U. K. The project's goal is to collect and bank seed for 10 percent of the flora in the northeastern U.S., thereby creating an insurance policy against ecological loss or damage to the bioregions of the Northeast. New England Wild Flower Society recently completed a design for a Native Plant Center at its Nasami Farm Native Plant Nursery location in Whately, Massachusetts. In addition to its role in supplying native plants for gardens and restoration, the proposed Center will be used for seed bank work, as an educational resource, and, eventually, to supply native plant material for "green corridors," as a response to the fragmentation of our green spaces. The Center is designed to meet the LEED Gold standard for sustainable design and construction. Says Director Stauffer, "For all of us, lightening our footprint on the land is an important part of our response to climate change." The building is expected to be one of the first 200 in the United States to receive this designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Society's new publication, Invaders...We're Fighting Back, a resource for updates and plant identification, is available by calling 508-877-7630, ext. 3601, or online at www.newenglandWILD.org <http://www.newenglandwild.org/> . Discuss the Climate Change Policy at New England Wild Flower Society's April 22 FREE Earth Day Celebration, 12-4 p.m., at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA.

News below from the NPCC’s parent organization regarding the latest development in the scientific integrity and science censorship scandals that continue to build within the Bush Administration.

The U.S. House of Representative Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings on political interference with endangered species science and management on May 9. For more information and to view the hearing online go to http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=71

Hearings have already been held on censorship of climate science by the House

Committee on Government Oversight and Reform. For more information see http://oversight.house.gov/hearings.asp

For more information on the attacks on scientific integrity see the Union of Concerned Scientists website: http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/

For Immediate Release, May 1, 2007

Contacts:

Noah Greenwald, (503) 484-7495
Bill Snape, (202) 536-9351

Embattled Interior Official Resigns In Wake of Inspector General Report
Congress to Hold Hearings on Julie MacDonald’s Antics Next Week

WASHINGTON, D.C.— According to the Endangered Species and Wetlands Report, a high-level Bush administration appointee has resigned in the aftermath of a devastating Inspector General investigation, just days before a House congressional oversight committee will hold a public hearing on her violations of the Endangered Species Act, censorship of science, and brutalizing of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff.

Julie MacDonald tendered her resignation on April 30, 2007. She was the Department of Interior’s Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a position that oversees the entire U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program. As revealed in numerous media exposés and a recent Department of Interior Inspector General investigation, MacDonald used her position to aggressively squelch protection of endangered species. She rewrote scientific reports, browbeat U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees, and colluded with industry lawyers to generate lawsuits against the Fish and Wildlife Service.

MacDonald’s specialty was blocking agency efforts to place imperiled species on the endangered species list, stripping tens of millions of acres from agency proposals to designated “critical habitat” areas and working with industry groups to remove species from the endangered list and thus from federal protection.

“Julie MacDonald’s reign of terror over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is finally over,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Endangered species and scientists everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief. But MacDonald was the administration’s attack dog, not its general. The contempt for science and law that she came to symbolize goes much deeper than a single Department of Interior employee.”

MacDonald’s recently hired counterpart, Todd Willens, is equally dedicated to undermining endangered species conservation. Willens spearheaded Richard Pombo’s (R-CA) anti-endangered species agenda as lead staffer of the House Resources Committee, then was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks on October 19, 2006. He has since been directly involved in developing sweeping anti-endangered species regulations and efforts to remove the Florida manatee and West Virginia northern flying squirrel from the endangered species list.

MacDonald’s firing comes days before a May 9th congressional oversight hearing into the Bush administration’s rampant violations of the Endangered Species Act and censorship of endangered species science. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently threatened to hold up confirmation of another Interior official until the Department addressed MacDonald’s ethical violations.

The Bush administration has listed fewer species under the Endangered Species Act than any other administration since the law was enacted in 1973, to date only listing 57 species compared to 512 under the Clinton administration and 234 under the first Bush administration. The Bush government has listed so few species in part because it has been denying species protection at record rates — in many cases with the direct involvement of MacDonald.

Of all the endangered species listing decisions made under the Bush administration, 52 percent denied protection as compared to only 13 percent during the last six years of the Clinton Administration. Meanwhile, 279 species languish on the candidate list without protection.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 35,000 members dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wilderness.

###

**More than 277 Species Wait for Listing under Federal Endangered Species Act**

As we prepare to celebrate Endangered Species Day and Plant Conservation Day the weekend of May 18/19, Scientific American Magazine reminds us that hundreds of imperiled species have not even begun to receive the protection they legally deserve and biologically require.

{ See article excerpt and slideshow link below.

{ Links to the lists of federal Candidate and Proposed species under the federal Endangered Species Act are provided at the end of this e mail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scientific American: In Focus April 23, 2007

Slide Show: Hundreds of Troubled Species Await Official Protection

Making the endangered species list isn't easy when the queue is 280 species long view the slide show

By Coco Ballantyne

View the slide show of threatened species that have yet to make it onto the endangered species list.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and its parent agency, the Department of the Interior, have lately come under fire for their management the Endangered Species Act. Last week a document was leaked that reveals plans to revise the law without prior congressional approval.

While agency officials claim that the proposed changes would improve the act's consistency and clarity, environmental groups contend that they would loosen restrictions on timber and other industries, undermine wildlife protections, and reduce the total number of federally protected species. Within days of the leak, federal investigators sent a report to Congress revealing that a high-ranking Interior Department official has been altering reports written by scientists, effectively weakening safeguards for vulnerable species.

None of it sounds like good news for the plants and animals sheltered by the Endangered Species Act. But what about all the species imperiled but not yet protected? Currently, there are 280 species whose populations appear to be in trouble but remain in limbo, awaiting the government's verdict: to list, or not to list. "It's a huge, long, [bureaucratic] process" that takes years, explains Valerie Fellows, spokesperson for the Fish & Wildlife Service. Currently, two species are proposed for listing, meaning that they are under active consideration; another 278 remain on the candidate list, which is the waiting list for proposal. What are some of these proposed and candidate species?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see the current list of 277 candidate species go to http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do?listingType=C

Despite this backlog, only 3 species are currently proposed for listing. See the proposed list at http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do?listingType=P

You can Help scientists monitor climate change and climate impacts to plants:
*sign up for Project BUDBURST*

This spring, scientists are initiating a project to monitor climate change by collecting observations of the timing of flowering and leafing of trees and wildflowers by “citizen scientists” around the U.S.

This is the first year of a multi-year effort to chronicle plant responses to climate. The data will be used to estimate the rate and ecological impacts of climate change.

To learn more about Project Budburst, to sign up as a participant, to see materials for kids in your home or in the classroom, and for other activities and information go to

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst/

March 28, 2007: Bush Administration sidesteps Congress, ignores public opinion - again – in attack on Endangered Species Act.

Recently leaked proposed regulations would undermine the Endangered Species Act and devastate imperiled plants and wildlife.

As these regulations move through review, NPCC will keep you updated on ways you can get involved in the effort to save the Endangered Species Act.

For more information on the proposals see the following press release from our parent organization the Center for Biological Diversity and a news report from Reuters below.

For a side-by-side analysis of the current and draft Endangered Species Act regulations go to:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/PROGRAMS/esa/pdfs/REgs-Comparison.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Center for Biological Diversity Press Release

For Immediate Release, March 27, 2007

Contacts: Kieran Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity, (520) 275-5960
Daniel Patterson, Public Employees for Environment Responsibility (520) 906-2159

Bush Administration Unleashes Staggering Attack on Endangered Species Act
Draft Regulations Would Eviscerate Species Act From Top to Bottom

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Following the collapse of Richard Pombo’s efforts to undermine the Endangered Species Act in 2006, the Bush administration pledged to eviscerate it through administrative rulemaking instead. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Center for Biological Diversity today released a copy of the administration’s draft regulations.

“The draft regulations slash the Endangered Species Act from head to toe,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They undermine every aspect of law. Recovery, listing, preventing extinction, critical habitat, federal oversight, habitat conservation plans – all of it is gutted. It is the worst attack on the Endangered Species Act in the past 35 years.”

The draft regulations would:

- Remove recovery as a protection standard
- Allow projects to proceed that have been determined to threaten species with extinction
- Allow destruction of all restored habitat within critical habitat areas
- Prevent critical habitat areas protecting species against disturbance, pesticides, exotic species, and disease
- Severely limit the listing of new endangered species
- Allow states to veto endangered species introductions
- Allow states to take over virtually all aspects of the Endangered Species Act

"Kicking a national responsibility like endangered species protection to the states will harm conservation. State employees can face even more political pressure and have less or no whistleblower protection than federal staff, especially in the West," said Daniel R. Patterson, Ecologist and Southwest Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility in Tucson. "Federal wildlife biologists would likely be fired and programs gutted, making it nearly impossible to restore national oversight when states fail to protect endangered species. States are important conservation partners, but should not be in charge of the federal Endangered Species Act."

“If these regulations had been in place 30 years ago, the bald eagle, grizzly bear, and gray wolf would never have been listed as endangered species and the peregrine falcon, black-footed ferret, and California condor would never have been reintroduced to new states,” said Suckling. “The Endangered Species Act has put the vast majority of imperiled species on an upward recovery trend. These regulations would reverse the trend, making recovery impossible for hundreds of endangered species."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reuters March 27, 2007
Wildlife at risk under U.S. plan: environmentalists

By Deborah Zabarenk0
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bears, birds and other creatures could be put at greater risk under proposed Bush administration changes to the Endangered Species Act, according to a U.S. government document released on Tuesday by environmentalists.
The proposed rewrite to the landmark law that protects American wildlife would weaken the act so much that about 80 percent of the 1,300 species now on the endangered list would lose protection, said Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity.
"Efforts to restore the California condor into new states would be stopped under these regulations," Suckling said in a telephone interview from Tucson, Arizona. "Efforts to reintroduce grizzly bears to new areas would be stopped ... This suite of regulations rewrites the Endangered Species Act from top to bottom."
Hugh Vickery, a spokesman for the Interior Department, which helps administer the act, said the document was "very obsolete" and "does not represent the latest thinking" of the administration on this issue. He said any formal proposal would be published in the Federal Register and debated publicly.
But Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said notations in the document -- available online at http://www.peer.org/docs/doi/07_27_3_permits.pdf -- indicate changes made as recently as mid-February.
"If this is no longer the thing that they are working on, it's clear that they were working on it very, very recently," Hasselman said by telephone from Seattle.
The document was made available by the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. An article based on the document was issued late on Monday by the online magazine Salon.com.

GETTING AROUND CONGRESS?

Daniel Patterson of the public employees' group said the proposed regulations would give the states more discretion in enforcing the law on endangered species, which he said was a change previously and unsuccessfully sought by some in Congress.
"One of the main reasons the Endangered Species Act was created as a national law is because states were not protecting and recovering endangered species," Patterson said. "States are more influenced by political pressure, and many states do not even have even basic protections for whistle-blowers, people that would be trying to ensure that the law was followed."
The environmental groups said the proposed new regulations would: allow damaging projects to go ahead even after they have been shown to threaten species with extinction; limit the listing of new endangered species; allow states to take over critical functions such as listing species, overseeing federal agencies and issuing habitat conservation plans.
Suckling and others called the proposed changes an attempt to get around Congress, which would be unlikely to approve them.
The Interior Department's Vickery denied this. "The government can't unilaterally rewrite the Endangered Species Act," Vickery said by telephone. "That's Congress' job."
He said the draft document represented early thinking among government staff members and was no longer current. He said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne had held "listening sessions" on this and other topics since taking his job in May 2006.
Vickery confirmed that the Bush administration favored working with the states on such matters as the Endangered Species Act, which he said "carves out ... a large role for the states that in some ways has been neglected or ignored."

An historic petition was filed today by the Center for Biological Diversity – the NPCC’s parent organization – to protect biological diversity from global climate change.

The petition seeks to strengthen efforts to fight global climate change by highlighting the impacts of climate change on imperiled species. The petition is based on the fact that the failure of the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions illegally effects species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

For more information, see below.

SEVEN CABINET SECRETARIES PETITIONED TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING

AND SPEED THE RECOVERY OF ENDANGERED SPECIES:

First Effort Ever to Seek Binding National Rules on Global Warming

Contacts:

William Snape Dr. Stuart Pimm

Center for Biological Diversity Duke University

202-536-9351 646-489-5481

For more information: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/bdes/gw-es/index.html

February 1 (Washington, D.C.) – Conservation organizations from all regions of the country today formally petitioned seven Bush Administration Cabinet Secretaries to establish binding rules on global warming and the growing potential of significant wildlife extinctions this century. No federal agency presently possesses any regulations on the growing threat of global warming despite the fact that the Departments of Energy and Transportation alone oversee industries responsible for 73% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.

“Human destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats is causing species extinctions hundreds of times faster than normal. Climate change on its own will raise the rate to even higher levels. Worse still, the interaction of these two processes will be devastating,” explained Dr. Stuart Pimm, Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University and the University of Pretoria (South Africa). “A species’ only hope is to move to cooler regions, something it cannot do when no suitable habitat remains along its intended path.”

Today’s petition also seeks rules that would speed the recovery of endangered species by fundamentally changing the federal government’s focus on preventing extinction to achieving full recovery. It would require that all federal agencies whose actions impact endangered species to participate in the implementation of existing recovery plans established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Presently, federal agencies routinely ignore and violate these science-based recovery plans.

“Upwards of one-quarter of all the world’s species could disappear forever this century if global warming trends continue,” said Bill Snape, Senior Counsel of the Center for Biological Diversity. “We are, in fact, already seeing the devastating impacts on endangered species due to greenhouse pollutants. The Puerto Rican parrot, Alabama beach mouse and Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly have been pushed to the edge of extinction by recent Caribbean hurricanes. Pacific hurricanes contributed to the extinction of the Kauai ‘o’o. ‘O’u. and other Hawaiian birds. Drought has reduced the Masked bobwhite and Sonoran pronghorn to critically low numbers. Unnatural forest fires have ravaged the habitat for the Mount Graham red squirrel and Canada lynx. The polar bear was recently proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act due to melting sea ice, and many species of penguin may follow suit.”

Joining the current petition along with the Center for Biological Diversity include California Trout, Center for Native Ecosystems (Colorado), Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Conservation Northwest (Washington), Friends of the Clearwater (Idaho), RESTORE: The North Woods (Maine), Save the Manatee Club (Florida), Sea Turtle Restoration Project/Turtle Island Restoration Network and Arkansas Fly Fishers. Just recently, petitioner Center for Biological Diversity filed papers in U.S. federal court to compel compliance by the Bush Administration on mandatory climate change reporting requirements, including those relating to biological diversity and human health.

Today’s petition requests the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Commerce, Defense, and Transportation to promulgate a sweeping set of regulations, including:

- requiring all federal agencies to include an assessment of global warming and its impacts on imperiled species when undertaking any major federal action, including all reviews under Sections 4, 7, 9, and 10 of the Endangered Species Act.

- requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct a study within three years identifying all threatened and endangered species likely to be impacted by global warming and whether their federal recovery plans need to be updated to better address the threat.

- requiring all federal agencies to ensure their actions do not undermine the recovery of threatened and endangered species, to actively implement recovery plans already approved by the federal government, and to update recovery plans with the best available scientific information (including that related to global warming and habitat loss).

- requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to include benefits as well as costs in their economic analyses of critical habitat for endangered species.

- providing incentives to states, counties, cities, corporations, and private land owners to restore habitats and protect endangered species.

“We believe there are constructive solutions that can and must be initiated now so as to not destroy the legacy we leave to our children and their children. This petition would allow the Administration to get constructively ahead of the global warming and extinction curve,” concluded the Center’s Snape.

The Center for Biological Diversity and its 32,000 members are dedicated to the protection of all imperiled species and their ecosystems. Through its work on polar bears, penguins, corals, alternative fuels, hybrid cars and climate research, the Center has been a leader in addressing the impacts of global warming on wildlife, plants and humans. Today’s petition and additional background information can be found at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/bdes/gw-es/index.html

Good News!

The U.S. House of Representatives has constituted a new committee specifically to address the quality of federal science. The Committee was formed in response to the pervasive questions of scientific censorship and repression of scientific integrity that have plagued the Bush Administration in recent years.

See information on the Committee below.

For more information on the scientific integrity issue see Rep. Henry Waxman’s excellent website:

http://oversight.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/index.htm

And the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Scientific Integrity project:

http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

7. ORGANIZATION: Miller to lead House science oversight panel

**Lauren Morello, E&E Daily reporter**

Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) was selected this morning to head a new oversight panel within the House Science and Technology Committee that could delve deeply into matters of scientific censorship.

The committee created the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee this morning during its organizational meeting. The panel will handle "investigative and oversight activities on matters covering the entirejurisdiction" of the full committee, according to information released yesterday by Science and Technology Committee Democrats.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) will serve as ranking member on the subcommittee.

Miller, who joined the Science Committee in the 108th Congress, made waves last session with legislation that would have added whistleblower protections to the NOAA organic act bill eventually approved by the House. Miller's proposal would have exempted the agency from the Data Quality Act and established new guidelines for scientific advisory committees.

Republicans shot down the amendment on a party-line vote, arguing it would slow the bill down. But Miller argued the amendment would serve as "more than an exhortation to the executive branch not to do it," referring to scientific censorship (E&E Daily, June 15, 2006).

Baird to head research subcommittee

Members of the Science and Technology Committee also chose Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) to head the Research and Science Education Subcommittee. Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) will serve as ranking member, making the research panel the only subcommittee headed by two members with doctorates. Ehlers holds a doctoral degree in physics, while Baird holds one in clinical psychology.

Baird last year was a key figure in a fight over a Oregon State University study that questioned the scientific underpinning of a salvage logging bill he cosponsored with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.). After the study from graduate student Daniel Donato and others was published in Science, the Bureau of Land Management temporarily cut off funding for the research project, leading to cries of censorship from Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) and other congressional Democrats.

Although Baird and Walden opposed the decision to cut funds to Donato, Baird remained vocal in his criticism of the graduate student, grilling Donato at a field hearing and later submitting a rebuttal to Science (Greenwire, April 18). The journal published Baird's comments in August.

Baird is the former chairman of the psychology department at Pacific Lutheran University. He has authored two books and "a number of journal articles," according to his official biography.

Other leaders of Science and Technology subcommittees include:

· Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas), head of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) is ranking member.

· Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), head of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) is ranking member.

· Rep. Wu, head of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) is ranking member.

January 23, 2007: The 2nd annual ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY is on May 11, 2007!

The goals of Endangered Species Day are to celebrate the rich diversity and natural heritage which support our societies and economies and provide this nation and our planet with great beauty and joy.

Endangered Species Day was created to educate people about the importance of protecting our rare, threatened, and endangered species. ES Day provides an opportunity for schools, libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, arboreta, agencies, businesses, community groups and conservation organizations to educate the public about endangered species and highlight the everyday actions that individuals and groups can take to help protect our nation’s wildlife, fish and plants.

With over 1,800 species worldwide now listed as threatened and endangered, and thousands more threatened with extinction unless they are protected, every such public education effort is greatly needed.

To find out more about Endangered Species Day, and how you and your organization can get involved, check out the following web site:
http://www.stopextinction.org/site/c.epIQKXOBJsG/b.1539473/k.4A37/Endangered_Species_Day.htm

May 11, 2007 is the 2nd annual ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY!

The goals of Endangered Species Day are to celebrate the rich diversity and natural heritage which support our societies and economies and provide this nation and our planet with great beauty and joy.

Endangered Species Day was created to educate people about the importance of protecting our rare, threatened, and endangered species. ES Day provides an opportunity for schools, libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, arboreta, agencies, businesses, community groups and conservation organizations to educate the public about endangered species and highlight the everyday actions that individuals and groups can take to help protect our nation’s wildlife, fish and plants.

With over 1,800 species worldwide now listed as threatened and endangered, and thousands more threatened with extinction unless they are protected, every such public education effort is greatly needed.

To find out more about Endangered Species Day, and how you and your organization can get involved, check out the following web site:

http://www.stopextinction.org/site/c.epIQKXOBJsG/b.1539473/k.4A37/Endangered_Species_Day.htm

Congratulations to our friends at the Utah Native Plant Society (a NPCC Affiliate Organization - http://www.unps.org/index.html ) and to the Desert Milkvetch!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Desert milkvetch -- Flower species wins fed habitat
Protected status is rare for Utah; Washington County's rapid growth prompted the action
By Joe Baird
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 01/03/2007 01:08:12 AM MST

Two nearly extinct wildflowers found only in Washington County and just over the state line in Arizona now have a protected home.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has formally designated nearly 6,300 acres as critical habitat for the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwitz milkvetch.

    It marks only the second and third time the federal agency has created critical habitat for an endangered plant species in Utah. Under the designation, geographic areas containing features essential for the survival are managed for the protection of the species.

    "What has occurred in this instance is quite exceptional for Utah," Tony Frates, conservation co-chair of the Utah Native Plant Society, said Tuesday. "It's a long and complicated ruling, but the local field office did a real thorough job. And the [critical habitat] designation will be very helpful in keeping these two species from becoming extinct."

    Prompting the listing and new habitat designation has been Washington County's explosive growth and development. Specifically, the two plant species are in the path of a planned freeway interchange and roadway in St. George's south corridor that will link the city with its future airport and a planned community.
That development now will occur around three main areas, and five smaller parcels that will be managed to protect the Holmgren milkvetch.

The largest unit is located on the Utah-Arizona border and comprises 5,546 acres. Included is a 1,146-acre tract in an area east of Interstate 15 called White Dome that is managed by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

    Fish and Wildlife Service officials were not available for comment Tuesday. Federal offices were closed for the national day of mourning following the death of former President Ford. But School and Institutional Trust Lands Director Kevin Carter said Tuesday that his agency is cooperating with the critical habitat listing.

    The Endangered Species Act listing does not provide protection off federal land for plant species. "We have voluntarily protected some of the habitat and are working with the Nature Conservancy and the Utah Department of Transportation on further mitigation," said Carter, noting that the state lands also include another threatened plant, the Bearclaw poppy.

    The Trust Lands agency is in the process, he added, of selling 100 to 200 acres to the Nature Conservancy for habitat protection. Carter says it also is rerouting a planned road and putting up fencing around poppy habitat. Critical habitat for the Shivwitz milkvetch has been divided into four areas, the largest of which is a 1,201-acre parcel in Zion National Park.

Not included as critical habitat for the plant are 240 acres of tribal lands near Ivins managed by the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. But the Fish and Wildlife Service and and the tribe have created a management plan that will provide greater protection for the species than through the critical habitat designation, the agency said.

jbaird@sltrib.com

(11-27) 04:00 PST Phelan Island, Glenn County -- It may have been doing its part for science, but that didn't make the bushtit any happier.

It squawked in protest on a recent overcast day as ecologist Michael Rogner gently blew on its breast plumage, examined its skull and measured its wing feathers, judging its age and health.

"The bushtits can get pretty indignant," Rogner said as he carefully fixed bands to the small bird's legs and released it. "Most of the other species we catch take it in stride."

Rogner and fellow researchers with the group PRBO Conservation Science, which works to protect birds and their ecosystems, expect to examine more than 1,000 songbirds this winter along the Sacramento River corridor -- a remarkably high total. Songbirds have been in decline throughout the hemisphere, but the Sacramento River region is an exception. Scientists credit the restoration of thousands of acres of habitat and call the songbird comeback one of the nation's greatest conservation successes.

Rogner and field biologist Chris Tonra strung several fine-meshed nets last week through tangles of vegetation on this heavily wooded tract next to the Sacramento River. It was a productive venture, and they busily processed their catch: bushtits, Lincoln's sparrows, golden-crowned sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, house wrens and ruby-crowned kinglets.

Over the past decade, 11 of 20 surveyed species have increased in number along the river, said Tom Gardali, a senior conservation scientist with PRBO. Populations of eight species have remained stable, and only one -- the lazuli bunting -- has shown a decline.

Some of the most beautiful and charismatic species have made the most dramatic rebounds. Black-headed grosbeaks are up almost 16 percent, spotted towhees have jumped more than 26 percent and American goldfinches have climbed almost 12 percent.

There is a clear cause-and-effect going on, Gardali said. Over the past 15 years, an informal confederation of government agencies and private environmental groups has restored about 4,000 acres of former farmland to the riverside thickets and woodlands -- "riparian forests," as biologists call them -- that songbirds dote on.

"What surprised us was the rapid response of bird populations to the increased habitat," Gardali said. "And it was for the whole complex of species -- resident birds and migrants, cavity nesters, ground nesters. We really didn't expect it."

Riparian forests once covered 800,000 acres of land along the Sacramento River. Only about 2 percent remained by 1990.

"There were points between Colusa and Red Bluff where the forest was 5 miles across," said Joe Silveira, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It was like the Amazon, an incredibly rich place teeming with wildlife."

But farmers and ranchers considered the forest a hindrance, and it fell rapidly to their saws and axes, replaced with almond orchards, alfalfa pastures and rice fields. And as the woods disappeared, so did the array of wildlife that depended on them.

Now, the growing numbers of the Sacramento River's songbirds prove that habitat restoration is the key to recovering beleaguered wildlife populations, said Greg Golet, an ecologist with the Nature Conservancy.

"And we're also getting a lot better at doing it," Golet said. "When we started these projects, we were planting about six (plant) species, all trees. Then we realized we needed to plant ... the shrubs and herbaceous plants that grow under the trees and provide additional food and shelter for birds. We needed to create more complexity in the habitat. Now we plant about 20 species."

As Rogner and Tonra examined the birds caught in their nets recently, Golet, Silveira and Gardali toured a nearby restoration site -- a forest of cottonwoods and willows.

The group paused on a small bluff overlooking a slough framed by vegetation. Two wood ducks lifted from the water, and a pair of turkey vultures perched on a dead tree near an old osprey nest. A black phoebe swooped back and forth from a branch sticking out of the water, snagging insects. From the undergrowth, a spotted towhee called softly.

"This was all bare dirt 15 years ago," Golet said. "There were just a lot of sticks in the ground, and we were irrigating them with sprinklers. It's stunning to see it as it is now."

"It's everything from endangered insects like the elderberry longhorn beetle to mammals," he said. "You never heard of mountain lion sightings along the river 10 years ago. Now they're reported regularly. We've put up notifications at all our refuge access points advising people on things they should and shouldn't do in case they encounter a lion."

The restorations don't run on autopilot. Some of the restored tracts may need to be manipulated through controlled burning and timber thinning to maintain habitat variety, Gardali said.

"The Sacramento Valley as a whole is a highly managed environment, so we may have to actively manage these properties to get the results we want," he said.

"It floods these areas periodically, and when it does it digs channels, knocks trees down and dramatically rearranges things," he said.

Habitat expansion is likely to continue in the Central Valley. About 20,000 acres have been purchased along the Sacramento River by government agencies and conservancy groups, including the 10,000 acres of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1989.

The refuge plans more acquisitions, Silveira said. When it was formed, he said, the refuge had a mandate to buy 18,000 acres along the river, "so we have about 8,000 acres to go."

Efforts aren't limited to the Sacramento River region. Earlier this year, environmentalists and the federal government agreed on a legal settlement to restore the San Joaquin River, the Sacramento's southern sister. As the agreement is implemented in coming years, conservationists say, forests could reclaim miles of the San Joaquin's now-denuded banks.

The birds may be anticipating such a development. Over the past couple of years, Gardali said, a pair of rare Bell's vireos have nested in a small restoration site near the San Joaquin.

"They came from the south, probably from some restored habitat projects near San Diego," he said. "I think we're ultimately going to see Bell's vireos come up to the Sacramento River, reclaiming much of their historic range."

What it all adds up to, Gardali said, is one of the nation's greatest conservation success stories. The only comparable programs, he said, are the vast restoration projects now under way on the Mississippi River and the Florida Everglades.

"I think it shows that if we make an effort, nature will respond," he said. "We can turn things around."

Songbirds’ return Extensive wildlife habitat restoration along the Sacramento River is yielding bountiful results. Though many songbird species are declining across North America, they are thriving along the river, where some species have posted gains of 20 percent or more. Biologists say the data indicate habitat improvement — primarily through re-vegetating agricultural tracts that either have been purchased outright or are managed through conservation easements — can revive many rare or threatened species in a relatively short time. Some of the species that have revived: -- Bullock's oriole: Large songbirds with plumage ranging from bright yellow to brilliant orange, depending on age. They favor deciduous woodlands. Along the Sacramento River, their populations have increased by more than 10 percent. -- Ash-throated flycatcher: Slim, graceful birds with pale yellow bellies and chestnut tails and pinion feathers, these flycatchers nest in tree cavities. Populations have jumped 9 percent along the river. -- Black-headed grosbeaks: Dramatically marked birds with thick bills, grosbeaks favor hardwood forests. Along the river, they are up by almost 16 percent. -- Spotted towhee: Shy and beautiful songbirds of the underbrush, these birds have declined throughout much of their range. But along the Sacramento River, they have increased by more than 26 percent. -- Yellow-billed cuckoo: The emblematic bird of the deep woods, yellow-billed cuckoos were nearly wiped out by the loss of the state's riparian forests. Biologists think they have benefited from restoration projects along the Sacramento River, but new surveys are needed for confirmation. -- Lazuli bunting: One of North America's loveliest songbirds, and the only surveyed species to show major declines — 11 percent — along the river. Ornithologists think factors other than habitat are in play, most notably parasitism of nests by brown-headed cowbirds, an introduced species that lays eggs in the nests of unsuspecting and unrelated species. Sources: ESRI; TeleAtlas; USGS, Animal Field Guide John Blanchard / The Chronicle

Forwarded news item from our colleagues at the Plant Conservation Alliance: Global warming said killing some species

WASHINGTON - Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.

Our parent organization, the Center for Biological Diversity is a leader in the struggle to address the problem of climate change’s impacts to biological diversity such as the Polar Bear, Corals, and other species.

Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.

These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly.

At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears are in deep trouble.

"We are finally seeing species going extinct," said University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan, author of the study. "Now we've got the evidence. It's here. It's real. This is not just biologists' intuition. It's what's happening."

Her review of 866 scientific studies is summed up in the journal Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

Parmesan reports seeing trends of animal populations moving northward if they can, of species adapting slightly because of climate change, of plants blooming earlier, and of an increase in pests and parasites.

Parmesan and others have been predicting such changes for years, but even she was surprised to find evidence that it's already happening; she figured it would be another decade away.

Just five years ago biologists, though not complacent, figured the harmful biological effects of global warming were much farther down the road, said Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook.

"I feel as though we are staring crisis in the face," Futuyma said. "It's not just down the road somewhere. It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time that they are 50 or 60."

While over the past several years studies have shown problems with certain species, animal populations or geographic areas, Parmesan's is the first comprehensive analysis showing the big picture of global-warming induced changes, said Chris Thomas, a professor of conservation biology at the University of York in England.

While it's impossible to prove conclusively that the changes are the result of global warming, the evidence is so strong and other supportable explanations are lacking, Thomas said, so it is "statistically virtually impossible that these are just chance observations."

The most noticeable changes in plants and animals have to do with earlier springs, Parmesan said. The best example can be seen in earlier cherry blossoms and grape harvests and in 65 British bird species that in general are laying their first eggs nearly nine days earlier than 35 years ago.

Parmesan said she worries most about the cold-adapted species, such as emperor penguins that have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the western Antarctic Peninsula, or polar bears, which are dropping in numbers and weight in the Arctic.

The cold-dependent species on mountaintops have nowhere to go, which is why two-thirds of a certain grouping of frog species have already gone extinct, Parmesan said.

Populations of animals that adapt better to warmth or can move and live farther north are adapting better than other populations in the same species, Parmesan said.

"We are seeing a lot of evolution now," Parmesan said. However, no new gene mutations have shown themselves, not surprising because that could take millions of years, she said.

Folks:

Nifty article on moss reproduction. Enjoy!

The Birds, the Bees, and the Mites
By Mary Beckman
ScienceNOW Daily News
1 September 2006

In the classic sex-ed story of the birds and the bees, insects flit from daisy to daisy, fertilizing girl blossoms with pollen rubbed off from boy buds. This activity has long been thought to have originated with plants that flower. But new research in today's issue of Science indicates that mites and other soil-dwelling arthropods, called springtails, ferry sperm from male to female mosses.
Ferns and mosses use swimming sperm to procreate, and thus biologists had assumed they didn't need a pollinator's services. Yet these sperm can only swim a couple of centimeters before tuckering out, and botanists have long wondered how female plants can produce their version of seeds--sporophytes--with the closest guy 10 to 20 centimeters away.
So botanist Nils Cronberg of Lund University in Sweden and colleagues embarked on a kind of moss Sex Ed 101 in the lab. They put male and female clusters of silver moss (Bryum argenteum Hedwig) on dishes coated with plaster of Paris to trap any sperm trying to making a run for it. The clusters were either allowed to touch or were placed 2 or 4 centimeters apart. Without mites or springtails, the females only made sporophytes when in contact with the males. When the animals had their run of the dishes for 20 hours, however, female plants produced offspring both 2 cm and 4 cm away.
To determine whether the mites and springtails were just poking around or whether they visited the plants for a reason, the researchers compared how many bugs camped out on fertile plants versus sterile plants. At least fives times as many animals hunkered on the fertile plants than the barren ones. The researchers don't yet know whether the creatures get a reward for their work, much as bees get nectar.
It's "a beautiful little experiment," says paleobotanist Peter Wilf of Pennsylvania State University in State College, who notes that the strategy gives mosses a way to propagate in dry places. Also, considering that mites, springtails, and mosses predate flowering plants by about 300 million years, the results extend terrestrial plant-animal interactions "quite a bit" back in time, says bryologist Jon Shaw of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Forwarded opportunity from the Plant Conservation Alliance:

The National Native Plants Event Calendar,* brought to you by The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a PCA Cooperator (and Native Plant Conservation Campaign Affiliate, is a cool, interactive calendar of events that allows folks to see what's going on around the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada. You should check it out!

I encourage you to add your native plant events to this calendar! See below.

-Patricia De Angelis
Chair, MPWG

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The National Native Plant Event Calendar:

There are two ways to Submit an Event to the National Events Calendar:

Option 1. Go to the Native Plant Events Calendar at: <http://www.wildflower.org/?nd=native_cal> and click on submit an event (at the top of the page).

OR

Option 2. Go directly to the Submit Event page at: <http://www.wildflower.org/?nd=2007>.

Please allow two weeks for your event to be posted.

*The National Event Calendar, is a key feature of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Native Plant Information Network and is part of their continuing commitment to promote plant-related organizations and events to a North American audience. For more info, see: (http://www.wildflower2.org <http://www.wildflower2.org/> ).

Damon E. Waitt, Ph.D.
Senior Botanist
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Ave. Austin, Texas 78739-1702
--------------------------------------------
email: dwaitt@wildflower.org
web: http://www.wildflower.org
phone: 512.292.4200
fax: 512.292.4627

Press release from our parent organization the Center for Biological Diversity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Immediate Release: September 12, 2006

Contact: Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, 503-484-7495

Feds Identify 279 Species Needing
Endangered Species Act Protection

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued an updated “candidate notice of review” that recognizes 279 species as candidates for protection as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The review lists eight new “candidate species” and also raises the priority status for nine others due to increased threats and/or further population declines. Species are not afforded any protection while on the candidate list.

“The Endangered Species Act is one of America’s most successful environmental laws,” said Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The vast majority of endangered species are recovering and very few have gone extinct. The candidate list, by contrast, has proven to be an extinction trap. At least 24 species have gone extinct while waiting for protection. These 279 species need to be put on the endangered species list as fast as possible. Their lives depend on it.”

The Center for Biological Diversity and other groups have filed a lawsuit charging that the Bush administration is using the candidate list as a stall tactic to prevent species from being placed on the endangered list.

“The Bush administration has protected the fewest species of any administration in the history of the Endangered Species Act, protecting only 56 species in more than 5 years, compared to 512 under the Clinton administration and 234 under Bush senior’s administration,” said Greenwald.

Candidate species have been waiting for protection for an average of 15 years. Such delays have real consequences, as at least 24 species have gone extinct while being designated as a candidate for protection.

“Because extinction is forever, delays in protection of the nation’s most imperiled species are unacceptable,” said Greenwald. “The Endangered Species Act can save these 279 species, but only if they are granted protection.”

New species on the candidate list include the Red Knot, a shorebird that migrates along the Atlantic Coast; New England Cottontail Rabbit; Headwater Chub, a fish found in Arizona and New Mexico; two Florida butterflies; two Alabama snail species; and the Aboriginal Pricklyapple, a cactus found in Florida. The review also raised the priority status of, among others: the Streaked Horned-Lark, which is a prairie bird of the Puget Sound and Oregon’s Willamette Valley areas, and a number of southeastern species, including the Black Pine Snake, two fish and a mussel.

“Without further action by the Bush administration, the list of species in need of protection will only continue to grow, and species on the list will continue to decline,” concluded Greenwald.

Congressional Report Confirms the Endangered Species Act is Working – see press release from Rep. Nick Rahall, Minority Leader, House Committee on Resources.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Allyson Ivins
September 8, 2006 (202) 226-1736

Rahall: Report Confirms the Endangered Species Act Is Working

          WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new independent federal report confirms the success of the landmark Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has an almost 100 percent effectiveness rate of preventing the demise of plants and animals that are so vital to human society.

           According to the General Accountability Office (GAO) report, requested by U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, along with several Members of the House and Senate, the conservation tools provided by the ESA have been successful.

           “This report reiterates what we have already known for some time – the Endangered Species Act works. Only nine of the approximately 1,300 domestic species listed have gone extinct. Clearly, species have been, and continue to be, recovering under the Act,” said Rep. Rahall.

           The report also reaffirms the long-held belief that a secure habitat is critical to the continued viability of species. Of the 31 species reviewed by the GAO, more than half have recovered or are scheduled to be taken off the endangered and threatened species list as a result of recovery plans that have been in place.

           Additional tools provided by ESA – such as implementation of habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, habitat acquisition, and habitat restoration – have assisted in speeding up the recovery process and conserving critical habitats.

“These findings are further evidence that the law is working. But sufficient funding and a real long-term commitment to saving species are needed to truly improve upon the ESA’s impressive record of success. We need to provide America’s endangered wildlife with more protection, not less, if we want to support their continued recovery,” said Rep. Rahall.

August 17, 2006: The other side of medicinal plants: Trees are stripped for medicinal bark

This is an emerging plant conservation problem as global markets for medicinal plant products expand. This article was forwarded by the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Medicinal Plants Working Group: MPWG@lists.plantconservation.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trees are stripped for medicinal bark

By SAMIRA JAFARI, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 9, 2:44 PM ET

The 20-foot tree stands half naked, much of the bark stripped from its trunk. It has only months to live.

"It doesn't know it's dead," says U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor, pointing to the healthy leaves overhead.

This slippery elm has fallen victim to thieves who tore off its bark for profit in the lucrative and burgeoning herbal-remedy market.

The gummy lining of the bark has long been used in North America, and especially Appalachia, as a soothing agent for coughs, gastrointestinal ailments and skin irritations. But now, slippery elm and other herbal products that were once used seasonally by locals are in demand by millions.

"I think that trend is going to put pressure on limited resources such as the slippery elm," said Dr. Michael Hirt, founding director for the Center for Integrative Medicine in Tarzana, Calif.

Added John Garrison, a National Park Service spokesman for the Blue Ridge Parkway: "There's a huge market in botanicals going into herbal medicines. Virtually everything on public lands has a market."

Dietary supplements, which include herbal remedies, are a $23 billion industry in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials recently teamed up with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to mark American ginseng roots with a permanent dye and tag them with electronic tracking devices to fight illegal picking. American ginseng is said by some to fight fatigue and stress-related ailments.

In the case of the slippery elm, officials at the U.S. Forest Service are relying on locals to alert them to illegal stripping.

Slippery elms are native to North America and can be found from Canada to Texas. Authorities say the prime season for stealing is mid-June and early July, when the bark is sticky and easy to peel.

A half-dozen suspects have been arrested this summer on suspicion of poaching in the Daniel Boone Forest.

"You've got some old mountain boys who know the trees, know the terrain," said Officer Barry Bishop with the U.S. Forest Service.

Since the wood has no commercial value, the stripped trees are left to die. About a dozen trees face that fate for each 50-pound sack of bark, which can fetch $150 if the stuff is dry.

"If you find enough trees, it's not going to take long to get a few pounds," Taylor said. "It's a quick buck."

While the Forest Service issues permits for the harvesting some plants, such as ginseng, it does not allow any type of bark removal.

"It's not a lifesaving herb that's worth destroying forests over," Hirt said.

The demand for the bark has landed the tree on a protection list kept by the Ohio-based National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, a nonprofit organization that researches safe ways to grow and replenish medicinal plants, such as ginseng, blood root and black cohosh.

Armando Gonzalez-Stuart, a researcher at the University of Texas El Paso/Austin Cooperative Pharmacy Program, said the herbal industry should cultivate slippery elms on private property and harvest the bark in a way that preserves the trees.

Most of the ginseng in the United States is cultivated for herbal products at private farms in Wisconsin, Gonzalez-Stuart said. Similarly, gingko biloba — which is promoted as a memory enhancer and a treatment for circulatory disorders — is being grown by companies in Wyoming.

I recently hosted a webchat for U.S. State Department staff worldwide on native plants and native plant conservation. This was a terrific opportunity for us to reach out to new audiences regarding the importance and imperilment of native plants.

For anyone interested, here is the summary of that webchat with links to the transcript. Apparently a lot more people read these things than participate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

03 August 2006

Protecting Native Plants Helps Save Ecosystems, Wildlife
Advocate Emily Roberson holds webchat on native plant conservation
By Kate Ericsson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Conserving plants – especially native species – is essential to restoring ecosystems and protecting wildlife, says Emily Roberson, founder of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign (NPCC).
“Plants are the foundations of ecosystems,” Roberson said during an August 2 State Department-hosted webchat. “In areas where plants, particularly natives, have been lost to overharvesting or deforestation, putting the plants back is the first step to restoring the entire ecosystem.”

“In turn, the restored ecosystem may be able better to support humans,” she said. And yet, despite the importance of plant life, Roberson observed that “most conservation advocacy has historically focused on wildlife -- particularly charismatic wildlife: whales, wolves, elephants, bears, eagles, etc.”

The NPCC, which Roberson directs, is a project of the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society. NPCC’s national network of plant conservation organizations focuses primarily on conserving and restoring native plants.

The definition of a native plant species often used in the United States “is something like ‘species that were present prior to European contact,’” she said. “Another definition that people are discussing focuses on the idea of natives being species that would have evolved in a sites "in the absence of human intervention."
When asked how to draw the line between native and non-native species, Roberson said that it can be difficult. “That is the $64 zillion question – much debated,” she said. It can be hard to determine whether a certain species would have been present without human intervention because humans have been affecting ecosystems for thousands of years. In addition, “with climate change and other factors, the ranges of ‘natives’ are changing,” Roberson said. “Plants are moving north and uphill all over the world.”

“Often it makes more sense to look at the question the other way around and determine what species are definitely non-native to an area, and what species are most likely to be invasive and/or disrupt local ecosystem processes,” she said. “Whenever possible, the best method for fighting invasive plants, diseases, pests, etc. is to maintain the integrity of the native ecosystem,” Roberson said. That means conserving or trying to restore native species, and minimizing transport of non-natives into the area.

When a participant brought up the issue of modern hybrid and genetically modified species, Roberson responded that restoring or maintaining ecosystem function should be the main goal of conservationists. “Sometimes it may be desirable to use selection or even hybridization to maintain or restore native species so that they can play their roles as food sources, habitat, soil stabilizers, water purifiers and so on,” she said.
Globalization is making it harder to “stop the spread of seeds around the world,” Roberson said, but “all we can do is try our best.” She said the problem cannot be completely eliminated but “we definitely have a chance of slowing the rate [of spreading plant species] and protecting some of our un-infested areas.”

Roberson added that some progress is being made. “Kenya's Greenbelt movement is a perfect example of the expansion in understanding of this issue. Nobel prize winner Wangari Maathai has been planting trees to re-stabilize Kenyan (and other African) ecosystems, leading to improved water supplies, habitat for food animals, production of medicinal species, and other changes necessary to human life,” she said.
She encouraged people to get involved with and support organizations such as native plant societies “to help us all speak out and actively restore and protect native plants and ecosystems.”

NPCC Scientific Advisor Dr. Ann Dennis and colleagues are performing interesting research on climate change and high altitude vegetation.

Here is an article on the project from the San Francisco Chronicle

MONO COUNTY
Performing high-altitude research on global warming
- Carl Hall, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Stately corpses of bristlecone pine trees, some dead for 2,000 years but still refusing to lie down, stood watch last week as botanist Ann Dennis and a crew of naturalists stepped off plots on the shoulders of 14,246-foot White Mountain Peak near the Nevada border.

Working more than 10,000 feet above the sunbaked floor of the Owens Valley, the scientists were transforming one of California's highest mountaintops into a living laboratory of climate change. Dennis and her colleagues are part of a global network of mountain-climbing researchers, all using precisely the same methods to observe the impact of global warming at high altitudes on five continents simultaneously.

"This is an international effort to deal with an international problem," Dennis said. High mountain environments may be uniquely suited to the globe-spanning, cookie-cutter approach. They support many of the same types of species, forced to eke out a meager existence in the most punishing conditions imaginable.

And because of those difficult conditions, above-tree-line and sub-alpine environments are for the most part free of obvious human impacts that can mask evidence of global warming's impact on the ground.

"It's pretty unusual to find the same kind of place all around the world, but you can find alpine environments in the tropics, and on every continent," said Connie Millar, a climate change scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. Researchers kept one eye out for lightning strikes and thunderstorms as they scurried among the gnarly bristlecone roots, often dropping to their hands and knees to record every plant growing within a carefully marked grid.

The plant census will be recorded in a central archive and repeated every five years, always using the same methods. Eventually, the data may show how plants at similar altitudes all over the world are responding to the same global signal of rising temperatures and higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The project is known as "GLORIA," for the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments. Based in Vienna, operating mostly with volunteer staff and donated funds, organizers have set up about 40 research sites so far, including two in the White Mountains, one in the Sierra Nevada and one in Glacier National Park. A site at Lake Tahoe is planned.

This location was chosen partly because of UC's White Mountain Research Station, which includes dormitories, laboratories and one of North America's highest-elevation weather stations on the White Mountain summit.

The station, designated as the first North American master station in a network that also includes stations in South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, is sponsoring climate-related research that goes well beyond the plant census.

The first intensive field sampling in this expanded effort was carried out last week, when about 25 scientists and field assistants fanned out from the UC facility's Crooked Creek Station, at 10,200 feet amid ancient bristlecone forests. Such ecosystems may be among the earliest bellwethers of climate change. Rare high-altitude plants, well adapted to a colder climate, may not take long to succumb as rising temperatures pull other species higher and rearrange species interactions at the summit.

"Everything's on a real climatic knife edge already, so small changes can make big differences in what you see," said Stuart Weiss, a freelance consulting ecologist from Menlo Park. The famous bristlecones have endured countless challenges over the millennia, yet always seem to muster one more burst of life when spring warms the rocky dolomitic soil. Growing seasons may expand and shrink, but the trees carry on, their growth rings faithfully recording the bad years alongside the good.

No one knows how much different the latest episode of climate change may turn out to be, nor how well the magnificent pine trees -- some of which can reach ages of 4,500 years or more -- might fare. But one difference is clear already: For a while, at least, the bristlecones won't be the only ones recording what happens.

Jeff Holmquist and Jutta Schmidt, a husband and wife team affiliated with the UC laboratories, set out in a meadow with insect nets and a custom-made "throw trap," a contraption the size of a large pizza box made of netting tied to a frame of pipe wrapped in lengths of garden hose. Holmquist tossed down the trap, and while Schmidt held the netting in place, fired up a portable leaf blower to suck up all the insects inside the netting.

It will take the pair at least a week to count and identify all they caught, to serve as a baseline to compare against future samples from the same locations. The impact of climate change on insect density may be one of the more critical aspects of high-mountain ecology, given the importance of insects in the food chain. It's also a tricky business to study.

"It's going to take some major changes, over a very long time, for us to detect a real difference," Holmquist said. For one thing, the bugs hate being caught. They tend to dive down into the base of the plants when the leaf blower comes around. Schmidt used clippers to trim the grass, but it still looked like quite a few insects managed to escape this year's census.

Another crew, led by John Smiley, site manager of the White Mountain Research Station, spent a day chasing after butterflies, part of an annual nose-count being tied in with the GLORIA field studies. He was helped by Derham Giuliani, 75, a retired naturalist from nearby Big Pine; Paul McFarland of the environmental group Friends of the Inyo; and Sean Schoville, a UC Berkeley graduate student.

By the end of a single day, the four men had sampled six locations from 12,700 feet to 10,200 feet, counting 460 butterflies of 18 species. "The simplest thing you can say about butterflies is they follow their host plants," Smiley said. "There's gonna be changes, but we don't really know how mobile they are."

As the insect crews worked, Dennis and her main crew of GLORIA naturalists established a fresh set of study plots, lower down from the summit among the bristlecone. They chose the sites to include more species in lower elevations than the standard GLORIA study sites.

Those other plants might be the first ones to reach the mountaintops once the climate warms enough.
Nobody knows yet how the alpine plants might manage the new competition. One idea, however, is that as low-elevation plants move up the slopes, the bristlecone and other high-altitude species will be crowded to extinction, "moving up to heaven," as the Austrian leader of the GLORIA project, Georg Grabherr, likes to put it.

Field studies are finding evidence of unexpected changes, however, such as plants moving downward into ravines where water may be more plentiful, or skipping over some sites because of soil preferences. Still other plants with slow methods of seed dispersal may have trouble keeping pace with the rapid rise in temperatures, even if better conditions are just a few hundred yards up a mountain side.

And some of the most commonly seen plants on mountaintops also are found at lower elevations, suggesting that some alpine species may do fine in a warmer world "It's going to be more complicated than just a simple matter of everything moving to higher elevations," said Adelia Barber, a UC Santa Cruz graduate student who studies the bristlecone and assisted in the GLORIA project.

Some changes may be very hard for some distinctive species that favor California's thin mountain air.
Weiss and a geologist collaborator, Chris Van de Ven of Albion College in Michigan, have created computer models showing that the bristlecones face big trouble if average temperatures keep going up as expected.
If temperatures rise by 6 degrees Fahrenheit, which many experts say is likely this century, about two-thirds of the bristlecones' ideal habitat in the White Mountains effectively will be gone.
Established trees may linger on, the same as they have managed to do for thousands of years. But seedlings from their cones may have a very difficult time carrying on the family tradition of longevity.

**The Forest Service and other federal agencies announce 2006 Celebrating Wildflowers Season**

Celebrating Wildflowers is a season-long series of events for people of all ages who love our native plants. Activities include wildflower walks, talks, festivals, slide programs, coloring contests, planting events, and seminars that emphasize the values and conservation of native plants.

On Monday, July 17, 2006, the new Forest Service Botany: Celebrating Wildflowers web site will be viewable by the public. This new web site is the gateway to an enormous amount of botanical information provided by our partners. The Forest Service web portal is

Every Region, Forest, Grassland and Prairie contributed to the content of this new site. Detailers from across the nation came into the Range staff and assisted in the development of emphasis area content such as Pollinators, Beauty of it All, Native Gardening, Just for Kids, and Teacher Resources to name a few. The majority of our partners are reciprocating with links to our new web site, which will dramatically increase the traffic to our site and will also emphasize our close working relationship with our public and private partners.
A number of other modules such as rare plants, native plant materials, ethnobotany, lichens, ferns and other botany subject areas are currently under development and will posted to the web site as they become finalized. The Forest Service is extremely proud of the work the botanists, plant ecologists and other resource specialists and our many partners contributed to the current content of this site.

Please share this with your friends and colleagues and CELEBRATE (and CONSERVE) OUR WILDFLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting the Real Dirt on Smuggled Plants and Seeds
By Ron Sullivan
Berkeley Daily Planet
July 14, 2006

So you don’t wear sweatshop clothes or eat veal or plant invasive exotics. Now that the bulb and seed catalogues are starting to come in the email, there’s one more ethical matter to consider. The trade in smuggled plants is at least as dangerous to conservation as the trade in smuggled parrots. Even some legal trade is imperiling species.

May 9, 2006: Web Site - Endangered Species Day: 100 success stories

May 8, 2006: Great Article on Natural Areas & Native Plants in San Francisco

April 27, 2006: GA woman working for endangered plant

April 10, 2006: Senate Designates May 11, 2006 "Endangered Species Day"

7. ORGANIZATION: Miller to lead House science oversight panel

**Lauren Morello, E&E Daily reporter**

Baird to head research subcommittee