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Groups > Roadless Area Activist Network > Discussions > Topic: More Good News!
Topic: More Good News!

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Archie L.	More Good News! May 23, 2007 3:38 PM Got any more good news to share? [ send green star]
Archie L.	Here's some: May 23, 2007 3:46 PM MAJOR RAINFOREST VICTORY ********************************************* RAINFOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY Ugandan Protected Rainforests Saved from Clearing for Plantation ******************************************* Rainforest Portal and Forests.org projects of Ecological Internet, Inc. http://www.rainforestportal.org/ -- Rainforest Portal http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Portal http://forests.org/blog/ -- Forest Conservation Blog http://forests.org/news/ -- Forest Conservation Newsfeed May 22, 2007 OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet Whoo, whoo a major rainforest victory! Uganda's cabinet has suspended a proposal to give away part of the Mabira rainforest near its capital and on the shore of Lake Victoria. The significance of the protection remaining on this important Ugandan rainforest from sugar cane production (possibly for biofuel) lies not in the extent of the area -- some 7,000 hectares were to be removed from the area -- but more in the cooperation between local and international civil society to bring about the victory. Local activists organized boycotts of the sugar company that was to expand into the area. And Ecological Internet internationalized the issue, with 8,627 Earth Action Network participants generating 1,833,279 protest emails to the parliament that has now blocked the project. Now onward to the Congo where industrial rainforest logging's very existence will be challenged. Expect a press release soon. Meanwhile, break out the beverage of your choice, and celebrate by making a donation to keep EI's network in existence, the world's life giving ecosystems best friend at: http://www.ecoearth.info/donate/ . Congratulations to all those that participated in the three alerts we ran on the campaign! g.b. FUND-RAISER UPDATE: $19,130 raised, 57 donors, 32% to goal. This Ugandan rainforest victory is the sort of thing EI does all the time, internationalizing local conservation concerns to help local peoples achieve real ecosystem protection. We need to raise $20,000 in next 5 weeks. Help us out. To comment: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2007/05/ugandan_protected_rainforests.asp ***************************** Dr. Glenn Barry's Rainforest Portal does a heap of a lot of good work, and they get results. Why? Because of hard work and the support of ordinary people like you and me. They are just a teeny weeny organization, and they do it out of love..... [ send green star]
NANCE O.	June 30, 2007 1:24 PM *Victory! Bering Sea Protected from Trawls* http://takeaction.oceana.org/Templates/email/images/Email_Header.jpg" width="650" border="0" /> It's official - and unanimous. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to protect from bottom trawling some 180,000 square miles of previously unexploited ocean floor in the Bering Sea, particularly in the North. >>See full size map of protected areas The Bering Sea is home to 26 species of marine mammals, including blue, humpback, gray, bowhead and critically endangered northern right whales that travel through the area each year. Additionally, 450 species of fish and millions of seabirds flock to the region from all seven continents. Bottom trawling is the most destructive form of commercial fishing today, where heavy nets plow the ocean floor, obliterating everything in their path. This has devastating impacts on important seafloor habitats and compromises the resilience of an ecosystem. The Council chose Alternative 2, advocated by Oceana, other organizations and local communities to essentially "freeze the footprint" on bottom trawling, allowing trawlers to continue operations in areas where trawling currently occurs and establishing a boundary to prevent further damage to seafloor habitats. The Council's decision now goes to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is responsible for putting into operation the actual regulation for in-the-water protection based on the advice they receive from the Council. This decision was the result of years of campaigning by Oceana and others. WaveMakers like you made your voices heard throughout the campaign, with thousands of public comments to the council on this issue. This decision is a great victory for the whales, walrus, seabirds and other animals in the Bering Sea. Thanks so much for being a part of it. For the oceans, Andrew Sharpless CEO Oceana MARINE LIFE PROTECTEDWe helped "freeze the footprint" of destruction in the Bering Sea - home to whales, walrus, seabirds and more. See the Area ANOTHER VICTORY! *Endangered Sea Turtles Receive Vital Protection from Drift Gillnets* The National Marine Fishery Service (NMF recently rejected permits for drift-gillnetting in the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area, an 180,000 square mile area that extends from Monterey, California to Northern Oregon. Since the Conservation Area was established in 2001 to protect migrating Pacific leatherback sea turtles in autumn months, zero commercial-related leatherback deaths have been reported. After recent evaluation of public opinion and scientific data, NMFS decided it was imperative for the protected area to remain closed to this dangerous and harmful fishing practice. oceana.org \| sign up \| unsubscribe \| [ send green star]
anonymous	Two big wins for the environment August 09, 2007 8:55 AM 8-9-2007 email from the Natural Resources Defense Council First, a federal court has temporarily blocked the Shell oil company from drilling exploratory wells this summer off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Just last month I alerted you that we were rushing to court to stop the drilling before it could start -- and prevent any chance of an oil spill blanketing the shore of the Arctic Refuge and turning it into a long-term toxic waste site. By putting Shell's operation on hold until the full case can be heard, the court has granted an eleventh-hour reprieve to polar bears and other wildlife, and shown its concern about the impacts of drilling. We're gearing up for a full hearing next week in federal court. Now the second -- and equally dramatic -- victory: with the U.S. Navy about to train with dangerous, mid-frequency sonar during nearly a dozen upcoming exercises off the southern California coast, a federal judge has stepped in -- at NRDC's request -- and blocked the use of the sonar! We are demanding that the Navy put common-sense measures in place to protect whales and other marine mammals from a lethal technology that has caused whale strandings and deaths around the world. The court's injunction is "preliminary," which means that this fight is far from over. Nevertheless, it is a stunning setback for the Navy, and it supports our contention that whales should not have to die for military practice. These twin victories are very important steps forward in our campaign to thwart the Bush administration's ongoing assault on America's wildlife and wild places. What a great day for the environment! Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council This post was modified from its original form on 09 Aug, 8:57 [report anonymous abuse]
Larry M.	kudos August 31, 2007 10:12 PM http://craig.senate.gov/releases/pr092006a.cfm [ send green star]
Blackcat P.	August 31, 2007 10:44 PM Regarding bio~fuel: A great portion of the corn grown goes to feeding livestock, and in use to make corn syrup. So, if the argument is that corn used to make fuel causes people to starve, one should be equally concerned that corn is used to feed livestock~ which isn't as efficient as a food source and uses more water, though is protein~ and the making of corn syrup, which isn't of much potential for health. Further, part of the cost to grow corn is from petroleum~based nutrients, fertilizers, and pesticides. For the argument that it must be shipped because the pipes contaminate the ethanol, the obvious answer is line the pipes. Also, must be factored that a higher price does help corn growers. However, it is likely that corn will be segued to another crop, quite possibly not so edible. To say that supporting growing corn is supported the oil companies, is failing to take these items into account, is failing to see that not replacing oil, simply leaves oil. The argument that there are electric cars fails to take into account where the electricity comes from. While it is true that power generating and collecting can be home~based, in reality that is not yet widespread. Damming rivers, burning coal, and other present methods are not superior. Nuclear energy has the obvious dangers, is quite a target fro those that might wish to cause havoc and there is the question of the spent rods, or nuclear fuel. A hybrid can create its own electricity, but still needs some sort of fuel to run on. At present that fuel is petrol. And while there may not be concern on a limited basis, there is obviously a need for more general use. To knock plant based fuels without a real alternate strikes me as not a solution. Petroleum is popular, or has been, because it is relatively easy to get, easy to transport, contains high energy, and is an easy way to make other products such as plastic, fertilizers, &c. Of course, we see that that is now changing, and that it is a pollutant of high order, causes wars, and so on. I fail to see what is gained by fighting plant based fuels. People are already starving, so evidently there is already a problem. Corn isn't the most nutritious of foods, and the use of cheap corn syrup rather than cane sugar has its own health consequences. Cheapness is an illusion. It is an argument of economists to continue whatever it is they wish to continue. It is easily made a particular without taken into account the other various factors, and is so used to blind people that it pretty much loses its strength. Cheap goods from China that are poisoned shows that cheap is a false beacon. Your dog is dead, you are sick and you're kid is retarded, but boy, oh, boy you saved a buck at the superstore! Yes, there are arguments to made about improving any scheme, about how it will, or how it is integral to, helping people in other ways, but an outright and out of hand dismissal doesn't seem to be the way to go. It seems just like those that came on a few years ago saying organics are no better than foods that pesticides are used on. Ask yourself who will benefit from the not using of plant based fuels? Starving people? If just using corn as a fuel will cause people to starve, whatever plan already in place is already a tenuous and faulty plan. [ send green star]
Mari B.	Gore, U.N. body win Nobel Peace Prize!! :) October 12, 2007 4:29 AM Gore, U.N. body win Nobel Peace Prize OSLO, Norway - Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it. Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary on global warming, won an Academy Award this year and he had been widely expected to win the prize. (Link To Full Story Please Note It http://www.care2.com/news/member/577339509/507680 [ send green star]
Peace and P.	October 12, 2007 9:01 AM 6 Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize Environment (tags: ) Wk - 6 minutes ago - msnbc.msn.com "I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said in a statement. "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity." [ send green star]
anonymous	Ansel Adams' Proofs He Did Not Want You to See November 14, 2007 4:21 PM ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – They are photos Ansel Adams never intended anyone to see – tiny proofs taken with a handheld camera of a landscape that lacks the grandeur captured in his portraits of the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National Park. http://www.artbistro.com/news/articles/1149-ansel-adams-proofs-he-did-not-want-you-to-see?referral=ab_nlet [report anonymous abuse]
anonymous	Legal Victory Forces Acknowledgment of Global Warming November 16, 2007 7:01 PM In response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, a federal court yesterday struck down the Bush administration’s weak fuel-efficiency standards for SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks. It also invalidated the administration’s refusal to regulate large trucks and SUVs at all. The court ruled that the administration must: 1) consider how national car efficiency standards contribute to global warming; 2) set mile-per-gallon standards at the “maximum feasible” level; 3) include all large trucks and SUVs; and 4) eliminate loopholes for four-wheel drive SUVs and trucks that are falsely deemed not to be used primarily for carrying passengers. You can read more about the ruling and fuel-efficiency standards by clicking here. Or, read the story in the New York Times. Yesterday’s ruling is the latest in a string of Center victories demonstrating that existing environmental laws require the government to immediately address global warming. Contrary to the Bush administration’s head-in-the-sand strategy, the time to deal with global warming is now — not years in the future when new laws are passed. Thanks for supporting the Center, and particularly for sending emails and letters to decisionmakers when asked. They really do help us protect endangered species and rein in global warming before it’s too late. Sincerely, Kierán Suckling Policy Director and Founder P.S.: The Bush plan would barely increase truck efficiency standards from 22.5 miles per gallon to 23.5 and allow passenger cars to get by with a measly 27.5 miles per gallon. The technology to do much better than this already exists. My own hybrid car gets over 50 miles per gallon* — and it’s six years old*. [report anonymous abuse]
anonymous	November 16, 2007 9:42 PM I guess a Yukon hybrid, at 21 MPG, is bushfuel efficient! [report anonymous abuse]
Elizabeth H.	December 22, 2007 3:45 PM You Did It! Thanks to the efforts of dedicated wildlife lovers like you, Myr Illinois Representative, Daniel 'Dan' W. Lipinski , has signed on to cosponsor the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act, legislation to end aerial hunting of wolves for good. [ send green star]
CallCongress W.	Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace get help December 22, 2007 6:16 PM Australia to monitor Japanese whaling By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press WriterTue Dec 18, 11:43 PM ET Australia will send planes and a ship to conduct surveillance of Japanese whaling ships off Antarctica, the government announced Wednesday. The craft will collect photographic and video evidence that would be used to decide if Australia will launch legal action to try to stop Japan's whaling program, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said. Smith also said Australia will lead a group of anti-whaling nations in lodging a formal protest with the Japanese government within the next few days against Japan's plans to harvest more than 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks, in its largest-ever scientific whale hunt. "We are dealing here with the slaughter of whales, not scientific research," Smith told a news conference. "That is our start point and our end point." Japanese government officials said the research whaling is permitted under International Whaling Commission rules and the whalers will go ahead with their plans. "Australia is free to do whatever it wants, send planes or a ship," said Ryotaro Suzuki, director of the fisheries division at Japan's Foreign Ministry. "We have no immediate plans to lodge a protest against the Australian action, as long as they don't use force to stop the Japanese whaling fleet." An Airbus A-319 used by the Australian government's scientific division in Antarctica will conduct surveillance flights over the Japanese fleet, which is due in its target area soon. In addition, Australia will send a ship operated by Australia's Customs service to the area to collect potential evidence that could be used in international legal action against Japan. Smith said Canberra was taking advice on whether it could launch legal action against Japanese whaling in a range of international forums, including the International Court of Justice, the International Whaling Commission and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Each year, Japan defies a ban on killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary — a massive feeding ground in the Antarctic Ocean that the International Whaling Commission has declared off-limits for commercial whaling — saying its program is exempt because it is for scientific purposes. Critics call the Japanese program a sham, noting the meat turns up for sale for human consumption. Smith said he did not expect the tough new stance on whaling to create diplomatic problems between the Japanese government and the new government of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was elected in November. Smith declined to identify the other nations involved in the official protest, saying it was up to them to identify themselves. An independent panel of Australia's leading international law experts concluded in May that the Australian government could take legal action to stop the Japanese whaling. The so-called Sydney Legal Panel concluded that Japan's rapidly expanding scientific whaling program breached the U.N.'s Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Antarctic Treaty System, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. Australia's announcement came as anti-whaling protesters pledging to put themselves between Japanese harpoon guns and their whale prey left from New Zealand to confront the whalers. The Greenpeace ship Esperanza left the port of Auckland for Antarctic waters determined to find the Japanese whaling fleet and "protect the whales, not attack the whalers," the group's Southern Oceans whale campaigner Karli Thomas said. Already the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sailed to the Antarctic Ocean vowing to use whatever means necessary to block Japan from harvesting whales. "We'll be taking nonviolent direct action to stop their hunt ... putting ourselves, our inflatable boats, in between the harpoonists and the whales to stop them getting a clear shot," Thomas told The Associated Press. [ send green star]	(Member Is Blocked)
anonymous	January 05, 2008 6:32 PM Nature Conservancy buys headwater springs of Verde River http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19172067&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=111827&rfi=6 The Nature Conservancy bought 312 acres for an undisclosed price from a Paulden couple, who also donated two major conservation easements on the uplands portion of their ranch to The Nature Conservancy (160 acres) and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (2,440 acres). The easements prevent development. The Upper Verde River is one of the two best remaining native fisheries in Arizona and is home to three endangered and threatened species, Nature Conservancy officials said Friday. The Upper Verde has been at the center of controversy in recent years as Prescott-area communities move forward with their plans to pump groundwater from the Big Chino Sub-basin south about 20 miles to their water-strapped region. Those plans prompted American Rivers to name the Verde one of the most endangered rivers in the country in 2006. Scientists generally agree that the Big Chino supplies 80 percent of the baseflow of the upper Verde River. The new Nature Conservancy property encompasses the first mile of the river, where springs help keep the first 24 miles of the river flowing during the dry seasons. The Arizona Game and Fish Department already bought 700 acres on three parcels along about three miles of the river that are interspersed with the new Nature Conservancy property. The Prescott National Forest and State Land Department are the other major landowners along the Upper Verde. Nature Conservancy and state wildlife officials say the new purchase will foster efforts to protect and restore native fish threatened by at least eight non-native fish species. [report anonymous abuse]
Posing A.	(sigh) January 06, 2008 4:34 PM I love good news. [ send green star]
Posing A.	China? China's doing better? January 06, 2008 4:37 PM Griping about China's exploding fuel consumption? (Who isn't?) Check this out. The Worldwatch Institute reports that ambitious Chinese energy targets, supported by strong government policies and manufacturing prowess, may enable China to leapfrog the rest of the industrialized world in renewable technology in the near future. This even as it conducts breakneck expansion of economy via its reliance on coal. In Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy, Eric Martinot and Li Junfeng report that China will likely achieve, and may exceed, its target of 15% energy from renewables by 2020. Furthermore, renewables could provide more than 30 percent of the nation’s energy by 2050. The nations of the world invested more than $50 billion in renewable energy in 2006. China alone is expected to invest more than $10 billion in new renewables in 2007, second only to Germany, and double the amount the US invested in 2006. China's production of wind turbines and solar cells doubled in 2006, and is poised to pass world solar and wind manufacturing leaders in Europe, Japan, and North America in the next three years. China already dominates the markets for solar hot water and small hydropower. Still not enough. But moving in the right direction. Evidence of understanding. Unlike here at home. [ send green star]
Thomas M.	January 06, 2008 9:48 PM all good More Good News: 2008 and a shred of hope for this country [ send green star]
Vicky A.	January 07, 2008 7:42 AM Congratulations, WaveMakers! You did it…the Vermont Country Store has agreed to stop selling shark oil squalane, which will help protect deep sea sharks! >> Learn more about the sharks you helped protect at oceana.org/sharks! Two weeks ago, I told you that we were shocked to discover a disturbing and ironic fact: a company has been manufacturing shark liver oil - called squalane - as a skin enhancer and selling it under the brand name "Oceana." This so-called beauty product was being sold by Vermont Country Store, but has been dropped in response to your feedback. The thousands of WaveMakers who helped make this happen should feel good this holiday season--you have helped to protect some of the most vulnerable sharks in the world. Deep sea sharks typically grow slowly, mature late in life and have only a few young during their long lives. As a result, deep sea shark populations are at extreme risk and only recover very slowly. It's simply wrong to let sharks disappear for the sake of personal beauty, especially when squalane can be made from alternatives such as olives. As some of you have written to tell us, there are other places selling squalane from sharks. Stay tuned for more opportunities to take action as we work to end this unsustainable practice. Thank you and Happy New Year! Elizabeth Griffin Marine Wildlife Scientist Oceana P.S. We hope you'll support The Vermont Country Store for doing the right thing. Visit their web site at www.vermontcountrystore.com to learn more about this family-owned business and provide them with product ideas you think they should carry. P.P.S. If you see other places online selling squalane from sharks, please let us know at wavemaker@oceana.org [ send green star]
NANCE O.	January 08, 2008 2:20 PM Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 10:27 AM Subject: Whales win big... thanks to you. > > Fantastic news! A federal court in California has just imposed > the strongest-ever protections for whales against an onslaught > of military sonar. > > The new controls are the result of an NRDC lawsuit that demanded > the Navy rein in its deadly sonar before beginning two years of > maneuvers near the Channel Islands -- one of the world's most > sensitive environments and home to five endangered species of > whales. > > The Navy itself estimates that the booming sonar would harass or > harm marine mammals some 170,000 times -- and cause permanent > injury in more than 400 cases. > > U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the Navy's > existing plan for protecting marine mammals was "grossly > inadequate." And she has ordered the Navy to put a series of > precautionary measures in place -- many of them recommended by > NRDC -- that will go a long way toward protecting whales from > needless injury and death. > > For starters, the Navy will not be permitted to use its > dangerous mid-frequency sonar within 12 miles of the California > coast, a zone that is heavily used by migrating whales and > dolphins. Sonar will also be banned in the Catalina Basin, an > underwater canyon with a high density of whales. > > The Navy will also have to monitor for marine mammals -- from > the ship and from the air -- both before and during its sonar > exercises. If any marine mammals are spotted within 2200 yards > of the ship, the Navy will have to shut down its sonar. > > These safeguards represent a giant leap forward in our > decade-long campaign to make sure that whales don't have to die > for the sake of military practice. > > I want to thank you for advancing our campaign for whales > through your tenacious online activism. Needless to say, this > fight is far from over and many more court battles lay ahead. > > But case by case, we are accomplishing what many thought > impossible: forcing the Navy to obey our environmental laws and > stop its needless killing of whales -- and all without > compromising military readiness. > > Thank you for standing with NRDC in defense of the world's > marine mammals. > > Sincerely, > > Frances Beinecke > President > NRDC > > P.S. In the wake of this landmark victory, please help us build > nationwide opposition to a separate Navy plan that would put a > sonar range right next to a key migratory route for endangered > whales by clicking here: > www.nrdcactionfund.org/whales_nc_tell_friends > > . . . > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > [ send green star]
NANCE O.	January 10, 2008 6:35 PM Bush Administration Abandons Effort to Undercut National Forest Protections SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 9, 2008 (ENS) - Conservation groups are declaring a "victory for public participation" as the U.S. Forest Service and the timber industry Monday abandoned their appeals of a federal court decision that invalidated a Bush administration rule removing environmental protections for the 192 million acre National Forest System. Regulations issued in 2005 by the Forest Service sought to overhaul the land management planning process for national forests by eliminating mandatory protections for wildlife and clean water, and mandatory limits on timber harvesting. These regulations also curtailed public participation in the process. The National Forest Management Act requires the Forest Service to protect wildlife in the national forests and to allow citizens to participate fully in management decisions. The Bush rules invalidated the 1982 standards for national forest management instituted under President Ronald Reagan that protected species and required public review of the environmental impacts of proposed national forest plans governing timber harvest levels and natural resource protection. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled March 30, 2007 that "because the 2005 Rule may significantly affect the quality of the human environment under NEPA [the National Environmental Policy Act], and because it may affect listed species and their habitat under ESA [the Endangered Species Act] the agency must conduct further analysis and evaluation of the impact of the 2005 Rule in accordance with those statutes." "The USDA is ENJOINED from implementation and utilization of the 2005 Rule until it has fully complied with the pertinent statutes," Judge Hamilton ruled. Her ruling prohibits the "implementation and utilization" of the Bush rules nationwide. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, which includes the Forest Service, filed a motion to dismiss its appeal of this ruling, saying only that, "Following internal review, USDA has decided not to pursue its appeals." Two timber industry organizations - the American Forest & Paper Association and the American Forest Resource Council - which had filed intervenor appeals in the case, joined in the motion to dismiss. "We are glad the Bush administration has thrown in the towel," said Trent Orr of Earthjustice, who argued the case before Judge Hamilton. "The national forest planning rules are like the Constitution for our national forests, and the Bush administration tried to throw out the Bill of Rights." "The Bush rule made any wildlife provisions in forest management plans aspirational, not mandatory. Our wildlife deserve better than a hope-and-a-prayer planning system," Orr said. Judge Hamilton found that Bush administration officials had bypassed legally required environmental review and endangered species protections in creating a new management system for the national forests. The Bush rule eliminated enforceable environmental protections from the forest planning process. Judge Hamilton also decided that the Bush administration had sprung its final forest planning rules on the public without sufficient notice of the paradigm shift that the rules accomplished. The court's invalidation of the Bush rules is a strong signal that full public involvement in decisions regarding their public forests must be restored. Earthjustice represented Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and Vermont Natural Resources Council in the legal challenge to the Bush administration rule changes. The Western Environmental Law Center represented Citizens for Better Forestry in a similar case that will also end with this motion of dismissal. [ send green star]
anonymous	June 04, 2008 9:49 AM I'm thrilled to report that we just won an important interim victory in our long-term campaign to block Big Oil from drilling in Alaska's spectacular Western Arctic Reserve, one of NRDC's endangered BioGems. Thanks to your support, most of the Teshekpuk Lake region -- one of the most important tundra-wetland ecosystems left on our planet -- will not be opened to oil and gas development for at least 10 years. This victory is particularly sweet because we fended off the Bush Administration's plan to hand over this natural treasure to Big Oil before it leaves office next January. Thanks to years of court battles by NRDC and the tireless activism of tens of thousands of online activists like you, we did it! Next, we will focus our campaign on Congress, in support of legislation to permanently protect this world-class wildlife habitat. In the meantime, this home to more than one million migratory birds, the legendary Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd, and the threatened polar bear will remain undisturbed by toxic oil and gas development for at least another decade. Together, we succeeded in stopping the industrialization of this magnificent Arctic wilderness -- and that's a victory for nature that is well worth celebrating. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council [report anonymous abuse]
anonymous	Great News for Michigan Wolves July 14, 2008 8:47 PM http://www.care2.com/news/member/809565217/814702 PUBLISHED: Monday, July 14, 2008 DNR adopts updated wolf management plan The Associated Press MUNISING, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has adopted an updated version of its wolf management plan, which is designed to protect the predator species while keeping its conflicts with humans to a minimum. DNR Director Rebecca Humphries gave final approval to the plan Thursday during a meeting of the state Natural Resources Commission. "I think the wolf roundtable did an excellent job on this plan," Humphries said, referring to the 20-member citizens' panel representing different interests that advised DNR staffers who crafted the blueprint. The new plan updates a 1997 version. It reflects an extensive review of scientific literature and consultation with experts, plus comments from the public following release of a draft. The goal is to keep the wolf population above a level that would justify classifying it as threatened or endangered. Wolves were hunted to near extinction in the Upper Peninsula by the mid-20th century but mounted a comeback after being placed on federal and state endangered species lists in the 1970s. The DNR's latest census put the state's wolf population at 520. The wolf was removed from the federal endangered list for the upper Great Lakes region last year. The DNR's plan includes provisions on issues ranging from public education about wolves to wolf prey, habitat, diseases, human safety and depredation of domestic animals. It does not allow hunters or trappers to kill wolves, which disappointed some people, including Jay Maki of the Tahquamenon Sportsmens Club in Newberry. Maki told Humphries and the NRC he wanted a trapping and firearm season for wolves. Hunting and trapping would keep wolf numbers in check, while license fees would provide a revenue source for the DNR, Maki said. It also might boost the public's acceptance of wolves, he said. "It would involve a large number of sportsmen and sportswomen in wolf management," Maki said, according to The Mining Journal of Marquette. The state Legislature would have to classify wolves as a game species before hunting and trapping would be allowed. Nancy Warren, who lives north of Ewen and represented Defenders of Wildlife on the roundtable, said she supported the plan. The DNR's wildlife division will report each year about the wolf population size, distribution and conflicts. This post was modified from its original form on 14 Jul, 20:48 [report anonymous abuse]
anonymous	GRRRREAT News July 18, 2008 5:40 PM Judge puts gray wolves in Rocky Mountains back on endangered list, halting planned hunts http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/18/america/NA-US-Wolf-Protection.php The Associated Press Published: July 19, 2008 BILLINGS, Montana: A federal judge has ordered gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains be returned to the endangered species list. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted a preliminary injunction Friday, restoring federal protection for the wolves. The predator was removed from the endangered species list in March, following a decade-long restoration effort. Environmentalists sued to overturn the decision. Officials in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho have been moving forward with plans for public hunts. Molloy's ruling is expected to derail those plans. The region has an estimated 2,000 wolves, a population that has been soaring and increasingly preying on livestock. [report anonymous abuse]
anonymous	July 23, 2008 7:56 PM State's first purebred wolf pack since 1930s found in Methow Valley This photo, taken by a remote camera last Friday afternoon, shows wolf pups that are believed to be those of a lactating female who was captured and fitted with a radio collar on July 18, the same day the image was taken. Recent DNA tests will prove whether they are purebred wolves or some kind of hybrid. (Photo courtesy of Conservation Northwest) It's official. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife tested DNA from a male and a lactating female wolf captured near Twisp last week, and both are confirmed purebred wolves. http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/NEWS04/897966374 [report anonymous abuse]