ALBANY CO.: SPEAK OUT FOR WILDLIFE THIS WEEK!

The Albany County Citizen's Advisory Committee is creating a comprehensive plan which will have bearing on future zoning rules and other decisions throughout the county. This plan depends upon public input. Initial public meetings have been held and a draft plan will be presented at various locations in the county this week. The public has overwhelmingly expressed the need to protect water, aquifers, riparian zones and wildlife, among other concerns at early meetings, but wildlife migration and dispersal corridors, as well as habitat maps, have not so far been incorporated into the plan. Since Albany County is an important part of the Great Divide and is rich with wildlife, we need your voice. The meetings will follow the format of a slide presentation with an integrated keypad question and answer session where you can give feedback. If you want to see future development in Albany County be done thoughtfully and without harming wildlife, please attend the meeting, and please try to be there on time or less than 20 minutes late.

Albany County Planning Meeting Times and Locations

Laramie, Albany Co. Public Library, 310 S 8th St.: Thursday, March 1, 6-8 pm. We apologize that because of a server error this message could not be sent before the Laramie meeting. Please call 307-742-7978 to carpool to the Centennial meeting.
Rock River, Rock River School, 262 N Morris: Monday, March 5, 6-8 pm.
Harmony, Harmony School, Hwy 230: Tuesday, March 6, 6-8 pm.
Centennial, Centennial School, Hwy 130: Wednesday, March 7, 6-8 pm.
Thank you!!

ILL-CONCEIVED GROUSE TRANSPLANT ABANDONED

In a move that is great news for the native Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, a proposed transplant of non-native ruffed grouse to the western slope of the Sierra Madre Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest has been cancelled. Ruffed grouse are native to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, but have never occurred in the Southern Rockies. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department originally planned to trap and transplant the ruffed grouse last fall, but abandoned the plan in the face of strong opposition from BCA, the Forest Service, and biologists. The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is so rare in Wyoming and Colorado that it may soon be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The introduction of ruffed grouse into Wyoming's only habitat for the Columbian sharp-tail had the potential to cause competition with the native sharp-tails and potentially drive them out of their prime habitats.

Colorado officials were concerned that ruffed grouse transplanted in Wyoming might invade habitats in Colorado, displacing native species there as well. Grouse expert Clait Braun alerted BCA to the proposed transplant, and together we worked successfully to convince Forest Service and Wyoming Game and Fish officials to abandon the project. Given the numerous ecological disasters that have resulted from transplants of non-native species, the abandonment of the ruffed grouse project is an important victory for native wildlife!

CITIZENS SUPPORT WOLVES AT PUBLIC HEARING

The US Fish & Wildlife Wolf Delisting public hearing held in Cheyenne on February 27th was a great success! While Wyoming and USF&W remain deadlocked on the delisting issue, the public spoke out loud and clear. Save Our Wolves! Over forty voices, the vast majority of attendees, expressed support for Wyoming's Gray Wolves. The political saga continues and gray wolf supporters must continue to fight to save our state's cherished treasure. Thanks to all BCA members who either attended the public hearing and/or wrote letters, and thanks very much to our coalition partners for their efforts to get the word out!

BLM DRAFT PLAN FOR UPPER GREEN IS A DISASTER

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to allow oil and gas drilling on 70% of the lands (850,000 acres) within the BLM Pinedale Field Office, with more than 7,000 new wells to be drilled in the next 10-15 years. The recently released draft resource management plan for the Upper Green River Valley fails to provide adequate protections for wildlife, allowing hundreds of thousands of acres of big game habitat to be drilled and important sage grouse habitat to be bulldozed. The plan also lacks sufficient safeguards for critical wildlife migration corridors. In an area already subjected to intense pressures and impacts from oil and gas, the Upper Green can expect to see more degraded air quality and fewer wildlife species if the BLM's preferred plan is adopted. The current seasonal wildlife stipulations, which have already proven to be inadequate, could be relaxed even further. In sum, the BLM preferred plan would permit greatly increased intensity of development, continued wildlife habitat destruction and fragmentation, and further degradation of air quality, all of which could be substantially reduced if BLM had the will to require use of the best technology and slow the pace of drilling.

Please send letters through May 18, 2007 to:  Pinedale RMP/EIS, Attn: Kellie Roadifer, Bureau of Land Management, Pinedale Field Office, P. O. Box 768, Pinedale, WY 82941. Or email them to PRMP_WYMail@blm.govwith "RMP/EIS" in the subject line. A copy of the draft plan is available at http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale. 

SWEETWATER COMMISSION GUTS ADOBE TOWN RULE

In a surprising turn of events, two of the three Sweetwater County Commissioners caved in to pressure from the BLM and the oil and gas industry, backing away from a formerly strong resolution that called for protecting all of the Adobe Town citizens' proposed wilderness. The amended resolution calls only for protecting the Wilderness Study Area lands, which make up less than half of Adobe Town and are already withdrawn from oil and gas leasing and development.

Even though the original Adobe Town protection resolution had no effect whatsoever on private property rights, the two commissioners who backed down from the Adobe Town resolution, Wally Johnson and Joe Oldfield, cited the need to protect property rights as their justification for dropping the call to protect over half of Adobe Town. Commissioner Debby Dellai-Boese stood firm in defense of the original protection proposal, which called for withdrawing all of Adobe Town from oil and gas leasing and was originally passed unanimously in November. BCA will continue to work to educate the Sweetwater County Commission, and perhaps a resolution that explicitly protects private property rights while simultaneously calling for the full protection of Adobe Town will ultimately be adopted.

JOIN BCA FOR HAPPY HOUR @ ALTITUDE'S MARCH 8

Have you ever wondered who the people are behind these news and alerts? Do you know us well but want to bend the ear of a BCA staff member? Join Erik Molvar, Executive Director, and Sarah Egolf, Development Director, for a basic introduction to BCA March 8, 2007 at Altitude's Chophouse and Brewery, 320 S 2nd St., in downtown Laramie, WY. We'll buy the appetizers; you buy your drinks. We'll be there from 5-6 pm, in the pool hall with our sign on the table. We'll give a half-hour presentation of BCA's work, and would love to hear your questions or discussion on burning issues. No RSVP is necessary; feel free to bring a friend, come late or leave early as you need. We can't wait to see you!

ONLINE SHOPPING CAN MEAN FREE $ FOR WILDLIFE

Your online shopping can mean free $ for BCA through iGive.com. How? Sign up for the email coupons from iGive.com (save $ and hear about deals), and click on the links you'd like to take them up on. The percentage donated to your chosen charity (we hope it's Biodiversity Conservation Alliance) is announced right in the email. Membership at iGive.com is free and easy. To learn more, visit http://www.igive.com:80/html/igivenews2.cfm.