• Lawsuit Challenges Klamath Basin Pesticide Use
  
• Northwest Forest Plan to be Overhauled
  
• Vehicle Maintenance Programs Help Cut Emissions
  
• Diesel Car Emissions May Increase Global Warming
  
• Biotech Industry Makes Voluntary Risk Reductions
  
• Radio Tagged Grizzly Shot in Idaho
  
• Senator McConnell Honored for Songbird Conservation
  
• New Wallet Card Helps Consumers Choose Seafood
  

Lawsuit Challenges Klamath Basin Pesticide Use

The groups are concerned about the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's (BOR) regulation of acrolein and several copper hydroxide pesticides known to be toxic to fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC), Headwaters, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Northcoast Environmental Center, and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations brought this action under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), stating that BOR must reinitiate endangered species consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The groups' suit maintains that the requirement for consultation was triggered by the BOR's failure to meet mandatory "terms and conditions" that were imposed to ensure the disputed pesticides are used safely. The organizations filing the lawsuit maintain that BOR has ignored and violated specific ESA requirements for much of the last six years.

Conservation and fishing organizations argue that BOR's failure to report and monitor acrolein, a toxic herbicide placed in BOR's Klamath Basin irrigation canals to control unwanted aquatic vegetation, is a direct violation of the law.

"Measured in parts per billion, acrolein is toxic to all aquatic life it comes in contact with," said Wendell Wood, ONRC's southern Oregon field representative.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the basin's endangered "suckers appear to be among the fish species most sensitive to acrolein."

"BOR should not have continued to authorize the use of these and other toxic chemicals while at the same time failing to complete the analyses that were required as a condition of these pesticides' permitted use. Agency monitoring, with documentation that specific instructions for application are adhered to, is essential to prevent harm to endangered fish and other wildlife species," said Cindy Deacon Williams, an aquatic biologist with Headwaters.

"BOR has been 'hiding the ball' here since at least 1996. They apparently failed to do the information gathering altogether, but in any event, they clearly never properly conveyed the required information to USFWS for critical scientific and expert review," Wood noted.

The groups are also concerned about a variety of fungicide formulations used in the basin, which contain active copper ingredients that are toxic to fish. In 1995, the USFWS wrote: "It is apparent that copper is reaching Tule Lake from the surrounding area and that this element is found in both water and sediments."

Researchers "argue that toxicity data and sediment copper concentrations suggest that (endangered) suckers may be adversely affected by ingestion of contaminated prey. Given the existing and historic copper concentrations in Tule Lake, the Service believes that the use of copper containing pesticides on the Federal Lease Lands may exacerbate the problem and impact the listed suckers," the USFWS said.

"These chemicals are highly toxic and kill fish," said Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), the west coast's largest organization of commercial fishing families, whose jobs depend on a healthy Klamath River Basin system. "A lot more needs to be done to reduce their use or phase them out. Fundamentally this suit is about whether this sort of deliberate pollution will continue or whether we will start cleaning up the basin and the river which downriver fishing communities depend on for their livelihoods."

Northwest Forest Plan to be Overhauled

The announcement follows a settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit filed by the timber industry against the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Conservation groups have questioned the settlement agreement and proposed forest plan amendment on several grounds. They argue that the timber industry's legal claims had little merit, and before the judge could even rule, the Bush administration settled with the industry in secret talks that excluded conservation groups who were granted intervention in the lawsuit.

The relationship between the timber industry and the Bush administration is suspect, the groups say, because the northwest timber industry donated more than a million dollars to the Republican Party during a Bush campaign visit to Portland in May 2000. The normal adversarial roles in this litigation may not have been present and the Bush administration may not have "zealously represented" the public interest as they are ethically required to, the groups charge.

The proposed plan to curtail protection for scores of rare and uncommon species associated with old growth forests will return northwest forest management to a state that the courts found to be illegal, conservation groups say. Curtailing species protection will undermine the purpose of the Northwest Forest Plan, which is to provide a safety net for wildlife associated with the endangered old growth ecosystem and help avoid new listings under the Endangered Species Act.

"The Bush/timber industry alternative is not a credible policy for our public forests," said Peter Nelson of Biodiversity Northwest. "Letting the timber barons manage our public lands without concern for wildlife will be a disaster. We tried it in the past and it lead to massive clearcutting, polluted drinking water, and salmon streams clogged with sediment. Scientists found many species becoming endangered. Let's not go back to the dark ages of indiscriminate clearcutting."

Conservation groups have advocated an alternative forest plan that would protect the remaining mature and old growth forest and refocus the Forest Service and BLM on restoration of forests and watersheds.

"Our alternative will get the agencies out of the controversial business of old forest liquidation and instead put thousands of rural residents to work maintaining roads, restoring streams and thinning many of the young tree plantations that resulted from past decades of intense clearcutting," said Doug Heiken of Oregon Natural Resources Council. "This restoration plan enjoys broad public support and deserves serious consideration."

Vehicle Maintenance Programs Help Cut Emissions

"Cities all across the nation have used inspection and maintenance systems to greatly reduce smog and carbon monoxide. What hasn't really been appreciated is that these tests also reduce large amounts of other toxic air pollutants, some of which cause cancer," said John Kirkwood, president and CEO of the American Lung Association (ALA), which released the report today.

Toxic air pollutants produced by cars and light trucks are linked to numerous health risks including nasal and eye irritation, immune system disorders and cancer. The ALA study focused on four of the most dangerous and most prevalent toxic air pollutants - benzene, which is known human carcinogen; and formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and 1,3 butadiene, which are probable human carcinogens and known irritants.

The study examined inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs in 14 U.S. cities and found that discontinuing the programs in those locations would add 3,105 tons of these four pollutants to the nation's air next year.

"To put such increases in perspective, the Environmental Protection Agency considers an industrial facility to be a 'major source' if it has the potential to emit 10 tons per year of any single toxic air pollutant or 25 tons per year of a combination of toxic pollutants," said Kirkwood.

Cities included in the Lung Association study are: Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; New York City, Ne York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle-Everett, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington, DC.

The cities were chosen because they each have a population of more than one million people, experience high levels of congestion, and operate the enhanced I/M programs that provide tighter emissions monitoring.

Inspection and maintenance programs are used to assess whether a vehicle's emission control systems are working properly. Due to malfunctions and poor maintenance, vehicles on the road emit three to four times more pollution than standards set by the EPA allow for new models.

As cars and light trucks age, emissions increase, negating the benefits of engine and fuel regulations. After seven years - the average age of passenger cars in the United States - the EPA says 55 percent of vehicles are high emitters.

"As pollution levels increase, so do health hazards," said Kirkwood. "Clearly, inspection and maintenance programs are among the most cost effective ways to protect public health from toxic vehicle emissions."

While I/M programs for cars and light-duty trucks were developed by the EPA to reduce smog or ozone, they also reduce the emission of toxic air pollutants. The EPA estimates that 40 percent of air toxics emitted in urban areas come from motor vehicles.

Each state designs and operates its own I/M program to comply with EPA standards. I/M programs provide regulators in areas with poor air quality a tool to identify and fix these problem vehicles. In areas that exceed standards for ozone, the Clean Air Act requires vehicle I/M programs.

The ALA report is available at: http://www.lungusa.org

Diesel Car Emissions May Increase Global Warming

Although diesel cars obtain 25 to 35 percent better mileage and emit less carbon dioxide than similar gasoline cars, they can emit 25 to 400 times more mass of particulate black carbon and associated organic matter or soot per kilometer (mile) or driving. The warming due to soot may more than offset the cooling due to reduced carbon dioxide emissions over several decades, said Mark Jacobson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

Writing in the "Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres," Jacobson describes computer simulations leading to the conclusion that control of fossil fuel black carbon and organic matter may be the most effective method of slowing global warming, in terms of the speed and magnitude of its effect on climate.

Not only does soot warm the air to a greater extent than does carbon dioxide per unit mass, but the lifetime of soot in the air - weeks to months - is much less than is that of carbon dioxide (50 to 200 years). As such, removing soot emissions may have a faster effect on slowing global warming than removing carbon dioxide emissions.

"Since 1896, when Svante Arrhenius first postulated the theory of global warming due to carbon dioxide, control of carbon dioxide has been considered the most effective method of slowing warming," Jacobson said. "Whereas carbon dioxide clearly causes most global warming, control of shorter lived warming constituents, such as black carbon, should have a faster effect on slowing warming, which is the conclusion I have drawn from this study. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 does not even consider black carbon as a pollutant to control with respect to global warming."

In Europe, one of the major proposed strategies for satisfying the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses, is to promote further the use of diesel vehicles and to provide a greater tax advantage for diesel. Tax laws in all European Union countries, except the United Kingdom, now favor diesel.

Some countries, including Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the Netherlands, also tax fuels based on their carbon content. These taxes also favor diesel, Jacobson notes, since diesel releases less carbon per kilometer [mile] than does gasoline. But the small amount of black carbon and organic matter emitted by diesel may warm the atmosphere more over 100 years than the additional carbon dioxide emitted by gasoline.

Jacobson notes that new particle traps being introduced by some European automobile manufacturers in their diesel cars appear to reduce black carbon emissions to 0.003 grams per kilometer (0.005 grams per mile).

"I think this is great, and it is an indication that tough environmental laws encourage industry to change," Jacobson said. "But diesel vehicles emitting at this level may still warm the climate more than gasoline over a 10 to 50 year period, not only because of black carbon emissions, but also because the traps themselves require addition fuel use. Gasoline/battery hybrid vehicles now available not only get better mileage than the newest diesels but also emit less black carbon."

Biotech Industry Makes Voluntary Risk Reductions

The paper interviewed Michael Phillips, executive director for food and agriculture at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, who said that the North American biotechnology industry is instituting a moratorium on planting certain types of crops in major crop growing regions.

"The voluntary ban, which goes beyond any proposed government regulation, is designed to prevent the spread of exotic genes into field crops likely to be used for food or animal feed," the paper reported today. "Its most immediate impact will be to bar companies from planting certain types of gene altered corn in the Midwest farm belt or from planting some types of the rape plant (from which canola oil is produced) on the Canadian prairie, but the ban could eventually apply to numerous crops and regions."

The voluntary policy has not been made public, but it has been endorsed by many of the companies working to engineer plants that will produce drugs and industrial chemicals. The moratorium is aimed at keeping genes from these engineered plants out of the food supply, as occurred two years ago when StarLink, a corn variety approved only as animal feed, contaminated dozens of human food products.

The voluntary moratorium goes beyond measures proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration, which would require buffer zones between plantings of engineered and conventional crops.

Radio Tagged Grizzly Shot in Idaho

The four year old male bear spent its life roaming the Selkirk Mountains of northwestern Idaho and northeastern Washington. The bear was trapped and fitted with a radio tracking collar in May 2001, and was being monitored as part of the ongoing recovery effort in the Selkirk Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone.

Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Idaho Department of Fish and Game believe the bear was shot in Idaho about seven miles west of Priest Lake between October 1 and October 4. A biologist working for the state discovered the carcass October 4 on Lamb Creek Road near the Washington/Idaho border.

The biologist was performing an airplane survey to check the radio collar signals of other grizzlies in the area.

"The loss of this bear is particularly troubling since the grizzly population in the Selkirks is only about 40 bears. This bear would have been an important addition to the breeding population" said Anne Badgley, director of the USFWS Pacific Region.

Grizzly bears are classified as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act and also are protected by Washington and Idaho state law. Shooting mortality is the primary cause of death for Selkirk grizzlies, and the major hurdle to recovery facing the bears.

A person convicted of killing a threatened species can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to one year.

A reward of up to $4,000 is being offered by the Defenders of Wildlife and the Idaho Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the shooting death of this grizzly bear. If you have information concerning this matter, please contact the CAP line at 1-800-632-5999; all calls are confidential.

Senator McConnell Honored for Songbird Conservation

The Kentucky Republican was given the first "Kentucky Warbler Migratory Songbird Conservation Award" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (DFWR) at a special ceremony to dedicate the new headquarters of the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge in Benton, Kentucky.

McConnell was recognized for his assistance in establishing the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, which forms a vital link in the migration route of many imperiled neotropical migratory birds and provides resting, nesting and nursery grounds for many of those species.

"Senator McConnell has been instrumental in the protection of habitat for migratory songbirds through his longstanding support and involvement with the establishment of the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge," said Sam Hamilton, Southeast regional director of the USFWS. "We appreciate his continued support and commitment to our National Wildlife Refuge System and the efforts of the Service to protect fish and wildlife resources."

The "Kentucky Warbler Migratory Songbird Conservation Award" is the first by the USFWS and the State of Kentucky to honor a state conservation leader. The agencies plan to give this award every year to a Kentucky conservationist.

"The legislation Senator McConnell sponsored protects wildlife in the refuge area and protects the interests of farmers and adjacent landowners," said Tom Bennett, commissioner for the Kentucky DFWR.

"More than 70 conservation groups wrote letters to support our first National Wildlife Refuge which provides critical habitat for all kinds of wildlife. It's a great asset to Kentucky," Bennett added.

The Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge was created by legislation, which was introduced on March 13, 1996 by Senator McConnell. McConnell shepherded the legislation through Congress and was instrumental in getting it passed.

In addition, the Senator has worked to get initial funding to acquire land within the refuge acquisition boundaries. To date, Senator McConnell has helped to secure $8 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for land acquisition.

The Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge solely within the boundaries of the state of Kentucky. A small portion of Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge is in the Southwestern tip of Kentucky, but the majority is in Tennessee.

The first track of land for the Clarks River refuge was purchased on August 19, 1998. To date, 45 tracks encompassing 7,000 acres have been added to the refuge to protect 225 different species of migratory birds. When complete the refuge will consist of about 18,000 acres.

New Wallet Card Helps Consumers Choose Seafood

The card was created by New York's Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Audubon's Living Oceans Program to help consumers distinguish between species that are doing well and those that are not.

The "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Card is the latest in a series that Audubon's Living Oceans Program has produced in conjunction with a number of aquariums and other partners over the last two years. What makes this one different is that it is the first of its kind to focus on those species that are available and popular in one of the world's most influential seafood markets - New York City.

Seafood diners carrying the "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Card can make quick decisions about which seafoods to choose when in a restaurant or seafood market. Consumer demand for seafood in the card's green category provides incentive for fishers, fishery managers and fish farmers to move toward best practices and sustainability.

"New Yorkers can become part of the solution by using the power of their wallets," said Dr. Ellen Pikitch, director of WCS's marine programs. "If enough people start making environmentally responsible decisions, we can make a significant impact on protecting the environment and keeping species in trouble or associated with a lot of problems off the menu."

The "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Card ranks 35 species of fish and shellfish - all available and popular in New York - along a color bar. If the fish is ranked green - okay to eat - then it is relatively abundant and is caught or farmed in a way that causes relatively little harm to habitat and other marine life. Examples of green ranked species are Alaska halibut and farmed clams and mussels.

A fish in the yellow category - such as sea scallops or lobster - means there are some problems and consumers should use their conscience to decide whether or not or how frequently to eat it. A fish in the red indicates major problems, such as vulnerable biological characteristics, depletion, or that the fishing or farming method degrades fragile habitat or other marine life.

Depleted species including sharks and Chilean sea bass are ranked red. Consumers are encouraged to begin choosing seafoods higher on the scale, in the green and sometimes in the yellow zone.

"Clearly, not all fish are equal," said Mercédès Lee, assistant director of Audubon's Living Oceans Program and author of the "Seafood Lover' s Almanac." "This card can help consumers in New York understand that there are environmental differences in their seafood and feel good when they make better choices."

More than one billion people worldwide rely on seafood as their primary source of protein. Many species are being driven to their lowest levels ever, but there are examples of how species can rebound when the fisheries they support are managed well.

A strong recovery plan that reduced catch limits in the once highly depleted North Atlantic swordfish resulted in an upturn of juveniles in the population. Swordfish have moved from a former ranking in the red/yellow zone on Audubon's previous cards to the yellow category.

Central to this success of has been support from prominent chefs and restaurateurs in New York and other major cities.

"Seafood purveyors can join with consumers in helping give those species in trouble a chance to recover," said Rick Moonen, a renowned seafood chef and co-owner of rm and Branzini restaurants in New York City. "Those two players can make a huge difference in protecting the oceans, particularly in a high profile location like New York."

The "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Cards are free, and can be obtained through the Wildlife Conservation Society (718-220-5155, or visit: http://www.wcs.org/gofish) and Audubon's Living Oceans Program (1-888-397-6649).