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Join BCA at Front Street Tonight to Toast Roadless Victory!
Laramie Peak Roadless Area
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BCA friends and supporters can join staff members at Front Street Tavern in downtown Laramie at 6:30 pm this Thursday, November 3rd to raise a glass and celebrate our momentous victory for Roadless Area conservation. BCA and other conservation groups, represented by the able lawyering of Earthjustice, successfully beat back an attempt by the State of Wyoming to overturn the Roadless Rule nationwide. The State had gotten a ruling from Wyoming District Judge Clarence Brimmer that that blocked implementation of the Roadless Rule, but Intervenors' appeal to the 10th Circuit Court resulted in a successful reversal of the Brimmer ruling and reinstatement of protections from commercial logging and road construction on more than 53 million acres of Roadless National forest lands. Join us to celebrate!
Suit Filed to Halt Excessive Logging, Overgrazing on the Black Hills
Headwaters of Sand Creek
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Last Friday, BCA filed a major lawsuit challenging the extreme level of logging as well as several grazing projects in the Black Hills, citing the failure of the Forest Service to maintain viable populations of native wildlife. BCA originally appealed the 1997 Black Hills Forest Plan and won when the Chief of the Forest Service determined that the new Plan failed to maintain viable populations of native wildlife. The Forest Service then embarked on a two-phase process to amend the Forest Plan and fix the deficiencies, but when the final Phase 2 Plan Amendment was completed, the agency had used the process to increase logging, while continuing to ignore wildlife concerns. At risk are Black Hills populations of the northern goshawk, American dipper, Pahasapa mountainsnail, and many other rare plants and wildlife. Our lawsuit, with BCA attorney John Persell at the helm, challenges 5 timber sales covering tens of thousands of acres as well as 4 grazing projects.
BCA to Intervene in Million Water Diversion Pipeline Permitting
Colorado Pikeminnow
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The Aaron Million water diversion project, which would siphon off more than 8 billions of gallons of water from the Colorado River watershed at Flaming Gorge Reservoir and pipe it to the Colorado Front Range, has been moved to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permitting. The switch was made from the Army Corps of Engineers by Million after he became frustrated at delays in the Corps' permitting process. This diversion projects threatens to stress an already heavily-overdrawn desert river system, which is home to four species of fishes that are already on the brink of extinction: the Colorado pikeminnow, bonytail, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. BCA is among several groups that are planning to intervene to try to prevent the project from being permitted.
BCA Asks BLM to Scale Back Chokecherry Wind Farm
A week ago, BCA submitted detailed comments on the Chokesherry wind farm, a 1,000-turbine project being planned on BLM and private lands south of Rawlins. Originally, the site for the project was included within a sage grouse Core Area designated by the State of Wyoming to protect the areas that had the greatest sage grouse concentrations. But in a development that is becoming all-too-familiar, the industry asked for a boundary change and the Sage Grouse Implementation Team was only too willing to grant it. The project will not only devastate thousands of acres of prime sage grouse habitat, but also is expected to kill 102 to 120 raptors each year (including 36 golden eagles) according to BLM estimates, and will have a major impact on the scenic settings of the Overland Historic Trail and Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. BCA asked the BLM to scale back the project to the 301 turbines that can be located outside the original sage grouse Core Area, or relocate the entire 1,000 turbines to the High Plains east of the Laramie Range, where wildlife concerns are minimal.
Join BCA for Its First Annual Member and Volunteer Holiday Celebration
Come celebrate at our office at 412 South 2nd Street in Laramie on December 5th from 6 pm to 8 pm. Help us celebrate our victories, and enjoy each otrher's company over appetizers and beverages.
Please RSVP to Jennifer.
Thanks for using your voice for the wild!
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073
(307) 742-7978 - jennifer@voiceforthewild.org
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