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BIODIVERSITY BROADCAST
I. BCA Wins Legal Challenge Against Oil/Gas Leases in Big Game Winter Ranges In April, BCA has had its second win in as many months before the Interior Board of Land Appeals in Washington, D.C. The Board reversed the BLM’s decision to offer 11 lease parcels for sale in big game crucial winter range across the state, because the BLM had not consulted with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The BLM had falsely claimed they completed the required consultation, when in fact they had not. We protested offering these parcels for sale because of the impacts to big game which are already being significantly affected by oil and gas development throughout the state. Visit http://www.voiceforthewild.org/general/news/n7April08.html for more details.
II. Governor Freudenthal Takes a Strong Conservation Stand on Oil Shale Calling oil shale technologies “unproven and still unknown,” Governor Freudenthal recently supported the “no commercial leasing” alternative in the state’s comments on the federal proposal to open Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah to commercial oil shale leasing and development. Pointing to oil shale’s “checkered past,” the Governor urged the BLM not to open the state to oil shale leasing until Research and Development projects in Colorado had proven themselves. The Governor also called for the protection of Adobe Town from oil shale extraction, citing the new ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ designation conferred on the area by the state Environmental Quality Council. We applaud the Governor’s strong stance on oil shale and hope that he will formally support a Congressional funding moratorium that would preclude the Bush administration from rushing through a final decision on the program during the waning months of the administration.
III. BCA’s Wyoming Pocket Gopher Endangered Species Petition Heads to Court The Wyoming pocket gopher is among the rarest and most imperiled mammalian species in North America. Unique to only two Wyoming counties (Carbon and Sweetwater), the gopher’s entire range is slated for oil and gas development. In August 2007, BCA filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list as Endangered or Threatened the Wyoming pocket gopher under the Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife failed to issue the required 90-Day Finding on the gopher’s status. BCA has given the Service more than enough time to study the issue, and now plans to file a notice of intent to sue the US Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to issue a 90-Day finding as required by law. Without protections, the Wyoming pocket gopher will likely face extinction in the not-so-distant future. BCA is leading the effort to secure these protections.
IV. Join Us for Free Red Desert Outings! BCA has just announced our schedule of Red Desert Outings, free to the public and suitable for people of all ability levels. Come take a guided tour of Red Desert landscapes like Adobe Town, the Boar’s Tusk, the Powder Rim, and the Ferris Dunes. Visit our full schedule at http://www.voiceforthewild.org/general/news/n22April08.html and make your reservations before they fill up!
V. Wyoming’s Wolves in Peril Again The Wyoming wolf population has been removed from the Endangered Species list, and the killing has already begun. At the current rate wolves are being killed, Wyoming’s wolf population will be back to numbers low enough to have them re-listed under the Endangered Species Act and before the ink has even dried on the wolf de-listing order. BCA extends thanks to Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance for leading efforts to reform Wyoming’s wolf plan to limit shooting and expand protections through the legal system. We are supporting the plaintiff groups by working to convince U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Wyoming to revisit the State’s wolf management plan. We encourage you to continue to voice your support for a more wolf-friendly Wyoming wolf management plan. Newspapers across Wyoming and the nation are reporting a barrage of phone calls to the governor’s office from people demanding a stop to the uncontrolled shooting of gray wolves since being taken off the Endangered Species list. At least 800 calls have already flooded the Governor’s office. The Governor’s phone number is (307) 777-7434. Please feel free to give him a call.
VI. Appeal Victory Against Logging in the Black Hills In the Black Hills National Forest we challenged by administrative appeal the Forest Service’s decision to carve out a small project from a huge timber sale, in order to avoid doing the required environmental analysis. The Medicine Mountain project involved fuels reduction on 250 acres within the larger 44,000-acre Upper Spring Creek project area. The Appeals Officer agreed that the Forest Service’s desire to speed up the process by bypassing it altogether was not supportable. The Medicine Mountain project will now be re-combined with the Upper Spring Creek project and undergo full environmental analysis. Visit http://www.voiceforthewild.org/general/news/n10April08.html for details.
VII. ORV Plan Imminent for the Bridger-Teton The Bridger-Teton National Forest is set to unveil its Draft Environmental Impact Statement on motorized recreation in the north zone of the forest at a public meeting in Jackson on May 6th. This travel management plan will determine whether the trails of the Mount Leidy Roadless Area, a key wildlife connection, will remain free of off-road vehicles. If you can, attend the public meeting from Tuesday, May 6th from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the Teton County Library, or watch for a BCA alert for opportunities to write in your comments.
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073 (307) 742-7978 - carmi@voiceforthewild.org
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