Wildlife

Conservation Groups Welcome Australian Senate’s Support for Coral Sea Conservation Zone

Sydney, Australia - 11/17/2009 - Conservation groups today welcomed the Australian Senate’s support for the Federal Government’s Coral Sea conservation zone. This support now gives a green light for assessing whether the Coral Sea should be protected as a marine park.

The motion by National Party Senator Ron Boswell and Liberal Party Senator Ian Macdonald today to disallow the Coral Sea conservation zone was voted down by the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Greens, and Senator Nick Xenophon.    » read more »

Pew Environment Group Urges Stronger Action to Save Bluefin Tuna and Sharks, Regrets Failure of International Fisheries Commission

Porto de Galinhas, Brazil - 11/15/2009 - After meeting for ten days, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) refused to end fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna. Instead, ICCAT set the catch limit for bluefin, considered the most valuable fish in the sea, at 13,500.

Member countries also agreed on only one measure that will help conserve sharks in the Atlantic, a ban on the retention and landing of big eye threshers, but Mexico was granted an exemption to catch 110 of these vulnerable sharks.    » read more »

Climate Treaty Plans to Slow Heat-Trapping Emissions from Tropical Deforestation Must Include Rules to Protect Biodiversity, Top Scientists Conclude

WASHINGTON (November 16, 2009) – In a paper published today in the scientific journal Current Biology, an international group of leading conservation scientists conclude that plans to reduce heat-trapping emissions from tropical forests must include provisions to protect plants and animals from extinction.    » read more »

11/12/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after the Obama Administration announced the brown pelican has been removed from the federal endangered species list.

"The brown pelican is a treasure of the California coast, and the announcement that the species has been able to rebound is exciting, not only for me, but for all who enjoy our coastal wildlife. It is also a testament to the importance of continuing environmental action for the benefit of future generations. By taking action to clean up the pollution that could have caused the extinction of the pelican, we are ensuring our children and grandchildren can experience one of the most majestic birds on the ocean."    » read more »

Salazar: Brown Pelican Recovery is “an Amazing Success Story”

November 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Sam Hamilton today announced that the brown pelican, a species once decimated by the pesticide DDT, has recovered and is being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

“At a time when so many species of wildlife are threatened, we once in a while have an opportunity to celebrate an amazing success story,” Salazar said. “Today is such a day. The brown pelican is back!”    » read more »

Highlights Severe Impact on Oyster Industry

Nov 10, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE - Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued the following letter to the Food and Drug Administration urging officials to reconsider new shellfish policy changes, highlighting the severe impact the new policy would have on the oyster industry.

The Honorable Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
Commissioner

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Dear Commissioner Hamburg:    » read more »

Hinchey Leads 89 House Members in Calling on Interior Secretary Salazar to Administratively Protect Wild Lands in Utah While Congress Continues to Work on Legislation

November 10, 2009 -- Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today led a letter from a group of 89 members of the U.S. House of Representatives calling on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to protect Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands proposed for wilderness designation in Utah while Congress continues to work on measures to legislatively protect 9.4 million acres of public, wilderness quality land in the state.    » read more »

November 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye announced today that the full Senate has approved $74,753,000 for Hawaii commerce, justice and science initiatives including protection for marine wildlife, climate change research, and programs for at-risk, rural youth.

The federal funds for Hawaii-related projects were approved as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Bill.

The bill passed by a vote of 71 to 28, with Chairman Inouye and Senator Daniel K. Akaka supporting the bill. The bill must now face a joint House-Senate Conference and final approval by the Senate and House, before it is transmitted to the White House.    » read more »

Legislation seeks to expose true causes for declines of fish, return flow of water to Valley

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dennis Cardoza introduced bipartisan legislation today that calls for a review of the federal biological opinions that have significantly reduced the amount of water flowing to San Joaquin Valley farmers. Congressmen Costa (D-Fresno) and Radanovich (R-Mariposa) joined as original cosponsors.    » read more »

Sierra Club, Coalition Partners Will Challenge Governor Fortuño's Cancellation of "Nature Reserve" Designation

November 3, 2009 -- San Juan, Puerto Rico -- Sierra Club and its coalition partners will challenge Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño's proposed cancellation of the "nature reserve" designation held since 2008 by the island's Northeast Ecological Corridor.

Covering more than 3,000 acres in the northeast corner of Puerto Rico, the Corridor had been designated as a nature reserve in 2008 by preceding governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. But late Friday, Governor Fortuño removed the designation of nature reserve in order to allow for large-scale, unsustainable development in the area, including more than 4,500 residential and tourist units and four golf courses.    » read more »

Hobart, Tasmania - 10/28/2009 - The Pew Environment Group today called on the world’s governing body for conserving Antarctic marine life to geographically spread out krill catches in the Southern Ocean. This would prevent the concentration of the fishery from significantly reducing the amount of krill available for key predators including whales, penguins and seals.

Listen to an audio recording (MP3) of a press call on this topic.    » read more »

Increased Funding is Good News for America’s Wildlife, Waters and Lands

October 29, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Today, the House and Senate cleared a $32.2 billion Interior and Environment appropriations bill for the 2010 fiscal year. The $4.7 billion increase over 2009 funding levels will improve conservation efforts across the board and give agencies the resources they need to take on new climate change initiatives. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet joined their Senate colleagues late Thursday in passing the conference report for the Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010, and sending the legislation containing key funding for Colorado's national parks, forests and public lands to the President's desk. The bill passed by a vote of 72-28.    » read more »

Bill Clears Congress Late Thursday, President Will Sign

WASHINGTON -- Oct. 29 -- The U.S. Senate Thursday night passed a bill that includes emergency help authored by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to address a disease that is decimating bat populations in Vermont and the Northeast.

Leahy secured $1.9 million to buttress the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s response to the puzzling outbreak of “white nose syndrome” in Northeast bat populations. Leahy’s provision, in the annual budget bill for the Department of the Interior and other agencies, doubles funding for investigating and devising solutions to the epidemic. Leahy is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a conferee on the Interior Appropriations Bill.    » read more »

Cooperative agreement will foster programs to support wildlife populations and promote biodiversity on AEP-owned lands and transmission rights of way.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 19, 2009 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has agreed to become a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Energy for Wildlife program. As part of the program, AEP and NWTF will work cooperatively to identify, develop and implement programs to enhance the environment and habitat for a number of wildlife species on AEP-owned lands and transmission rights of way.

The agreement covers approximately 60,000 acres of AEP-owned land and segments of existing transmission rights of way throughout AEP´s 11-state service territory, stretching from Michigan to Texas.    » read more »