Various articles

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/830/3

headline:


Trouble with trout.
Stocking of non-native fish put the greenback trout (inset) in peril.

Credit: Rocky Mountain National Park; Dan Brauch/Colorado Division of
Wildlife

Right Time, Wrong Fish

By Erik Stokstad
ScienceNOW Daily News
30 August 2007

The greenback cutthroat trout was supposed to be a U.S. conservation
success story. Wildlife managers spent more than 2 decades rearing the
endangered species and restocking it in mountain streams in Colorado.
There's just one problem: A new genetic analysis finds that
conservationists have been helping the wrong fish.
The greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii stomias) once
lived throughout thousands of kilometers of rivers and streams on the
eastern slopes of the Colorado Rockies. Its life changed drastically,
however, after mining, pollution, and competition from other species
that were stocked in its habitat for recreational fishing. In 1937,
the greenback was declared extinct.

But beginning in 1953, several populations were discovered in the
headwaters of the South Platte River and Arkansas River in Colorado.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added the subspecies to the federal
list of endangered species in 1978. To help it recover, wildlife
managers first removed non-native fish from greenback habitat. Then
they took eggs and sperm from surviving greenbacks and reared fish in
hatcheries. Last year, the Colorado Division of Wildlife reached the
target of 20 self-sustaining populations--or so they thought.

The bad news comes from a study by researchers at the University of
Colorado, Boulder, and colleagues. While surveying the genetics of the
greenback trout, they discovered that only four populations actually
consisted of greenback trout. The rest were Colorado River cutthroat
trout (O. c. pleuriticus), a species that looks very similar, the team
reported online 28 August in Molecular Ecology. That means managers
had been accidentally stocking streams with Colorado River cutthroat,
which are not listed as endangered.

Instead of being fully recovered, the greenback inhabits just a dozen
kilometers of streams. Moreover, the genetic diversity of the
greenback population in the eastern Rockies is low compared to other
subspecies of cutthroat, perhaps enough to have led to inbreeding.
"Now there's no way they are coming off the list" anytime soon, says
lead author Jessica Metcalf.

Biologist Kevin Rogers of the Colorado Division of Wildlife in
Steamboat Springs agrees. ""It's certainly discouraging," he says.
"We've got guys who have spent the last 20 years of their careers
doing what they thought were good things for [the] greenback." Rogers
says the agency is still digesting the information and hopes to figure
out how to proceed with conservation efforts by next year.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/2007/09/06/great-lakes-if-cleaned-are-worth-50-billion/6234/

Great Lakes - If Cleaned - Are Worth $50 Billion

Cost-Benefit Analysis Sees Gold, if Congress Wants To Invest $26
Billion

So many environmental issues follow this formula: Pay more now, but
reap the benefits and save money over time.

The story is the same, on a grand scale, for the world's largest
freshwater reservoirs. If Congress invests $26 billion, a new study
suggests, it will pay off with $50 billion in long term benefits, as
reported in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Of course, finding $26 billion for projects so unsexy as fixing up old
sewage plants and dredging up contaminated sediments is no easy task,
election year or no.

The study also illustrates a second common theme in modern
environmental protection: Do right by the environment, and - often -
the economy responds in kind.

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/090607/HER_BE7V9HDG.027.php

headline:

A different feather

Land use and evolving attitudes have altered the balance of Illinois'
bird population


Thursday, September 6, 2007

BY CLARE HOWARD
Peoria conservationist Bill Rutherford used to lament in the later
years of his life that he no longer heard the soulful evening song of
the whippoorwill.
His sons used to play outside after dinner with the directive to
return home at the first call of the whippoorwill.

Apart from losing the poetry of life lived with songbirds, America is
dealing with new numbers showing the devastation of environmental
degradation on common songbirds.

One set of numbers comes from the National Audubon Society's recent
report "Common Birds in Decline." According to the report,
whippoorwill populations are down 57 percent since 1967. The rate of
decline for the northern bobwhite quail is 82 percent; the evening
grosbeak, 78 percent; and the northern pintail duck, 77 percent. ...
(cont)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39167

headline:

ARGENTINA: Finally, a Marine Preserve
By Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Sep 6 (Tierramérica) - Argentina's first marine and
coastal park, which is to protect rich biological diversity in the
southern province of Chubut, is awaiting legislative approval.

The Southern Patagonia Interjurisdictional Marine Coastal Park, which
will cover some 600 square kilometres of ocean and 200 on land along a
coastal swath 100 km north of San Jorge Gulf, in Chubut, also
encompasses 40 islands in the Atlantic.

"It is going to be difficult in logistical and budget terms, but that
shouldn't be an impediment," Pablo Yorio, biologist with the Centro
Nacional Patagónico in Chubut and author of the study that gave rise
to the protected area, told Tierramérica.

President Néstor Kirchner and Chubut's Governor Mario Das Neves signed
a treaty in August that created the park.

"It will all depend on political will and on the administrative
possibilities of the authorities in implementation. There is not much
experience with marine areas, but there is technical capacity and long
experience in land areas, both in Chubut and in the National Parks
Administration," said the expert.

While awaiting approval by the national and provincial parliaments,
the non-governmental Fundación Patagonia Natural is working with
Chubut authorities and the fishing and tourism sectors to demarcate
the zones that require different degrees of protection, foundation
biologist Ricardo Delfino told Tierramérica.

The cost of operating the park will be about 320,000 dollars a year,
coming from the Chubut government and the federal government in equal
parts, he added.

Penguins, killer whales, dolphins, sea elephants, sea lions, various
whale species and other ecologically and economically important
species will have park rangers to keep an eye on them, and work
towards a better balance between development and preservation.

The chosen area is one of the most significant coastal sites because
of its biodiversity and productivity, explained Yorio. Its protection
will include conservation and sustainable use goals, with some
restricted areas and others that will allow development of fishing and
tourism.

"Protection does not mean untouchable," said the biologist, though he
warned that caution must be taken with the petroleum industry, which
currently has hundreds of tanker ships sailing along the Chubut coast
each year, and with overfishing and its collateral damage, such as
dumping of "waste fish" and accidental capture of birds and sea
mammals. ... (cont)

http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200709050004

headline:

Reporting on Preble's mouse, Gazette again omitted findings of
impropriety by Interior Department official
Summary: The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported on September 5 that
a conservation group plans to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
over decisions affecting dozens of threatened and endangered species,
including the Preble's meadow jumping mouse. While the article noted
that the agency is "reviewing" former Deputy Assistant Interior
Secretary Julie MacDonald's 2005 decision to remove the mouse from the
threatened species list, it did not mention that an investigation
determined that MacDonald violated federal ethics rules.

A September 5 article in The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported that
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) "is reviewing the decision
of former deputy assistant [Interior] secretary Julie MacDonald in
2005" to take the Preble's meadow jumping mouse "off the threatened
species list." The article, however, failed to report that MacDonald
resigned her position after an Office of Inspector General (OIG)
investigation determined that she violated federal ethics rules. In
fact, according to the OIG's report, MacDonald was "heavily involved
with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species
Program's scientific reports from the field," including specifically
the USFWS study of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse.n... (cont)


http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/articles/2007/09/05/news/fedsuit.txt

Center to sue federal government


By KATHY PORTIE

Wednesday, September 5, 2007 6:03 PM PDT

Less than three months after the bald eagle was removed from the
federal endangered species list, the Center for Biological Diversity
is up in arms. The new battle has nothing to do with the eagle, but
with what the center calls political interference with 55 other
endangered species of plants and animals in 28 states.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to
sue the United States Department of Interior over the issue. It is the
largest substantive legal action in the 34-year history of the
Endangered Species Act. Kieran Suckling, policy director for the
center, lists several reasons for the suit, including the government's
illegal removal of one animal from the list, the refusal to place
three animals on the list, proposals to remove or downgrade protection
of seven animals and stripping protection from 8.7 million acres of
critical habitat in 28 states.

While the Big Bear Valley is not included on the center's critical
habitat list, a successful lawsuit by the center could mean changes.
"If there are any of these species present or recently present
(locally), then the Big Bear area would have to be reviewed," Suckling
said.

Twenty-four of the species can be found in California. Those familiar
to the San Bernardino National Forest region include the Arroyo
southwestern toad, Coachella milk-vetch, the Santa Ana sucker, the
Quino checkerspot butterfly, the Southwestern willow flycatcher and
the California red-legged frog.

According to Marc Stamer, biologist for the San Bernardino National
Forest, the milk-vetch is mainly in the front country and San Jacinto
districts. The front country of the San Bernardino National Forest is
west of Interstate 15 in the Lytle Creek area.

The Southwestern willow flycatcher has been seen in all three
districts of the San Bernardino National Forest and the checkerspot
butterfly can be found in the San Jacinto district. "The arroyo toad
is in all three districts," Stamer said. "Historically the red-legged
frog was on two districts, but it is no longer known. The Santa Ana
sucker was historically in the front country, but as of right now we
don't know of any on the forest."

Many of the center's accusations are the result of decisions by Julie
McDonald, the former deputy assistant secretary of the Interior who
resigned under fire in March. But Suckling said she isn't the only one
doing the wrong thing in the department. He accuses the Bush
administration of using McDonald as a scapegoat and downplaying the
infractions.

"They say there were eight decisions that (McDonald) messed up,"
Suckling said. "This is rubbish. She overruled hundreds of positions
by government scientists. But there are far more bad actors up there.
She's just one of many. We're trying to expose how completely the
disdain for science and for wildlife pervades the Bush
administration's endangered species program."

For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity and its
charge against the Department of Interior, visit the Web site
www.biologicaldiversity.org.

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=10201

Tribes Studying Effects of Climate Change
Kevin Gribble
9/5/2007

Tribal college leaders from around the country are in Bismarck this
week to learn about climate change and its effects on native people.

Researchers with the US Geological Survey are speaking about how the
world`s changing climate can affect the native culture and economy.
The USGS is hoping native college leaders can use the information to
teach better agricultural practices and long-term urban planning.

USGS Director Dr. Mark Myers said one of the biggest emerging problems
is a lack of water.

"The second [problem is] invasive species," Myers said. "We`re seeing
more opportunistic invasive species take advantage of the new niches
as the climate changes. Third is, we`re generally seeing, because
we`re seeing earlier melt of snow pack, less water available, less
soil moisture in general and earlier forest fire seasons."

Myers said the problems are a combination of natural and man-made
changes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118895453134517631.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

All boaters to take steps to prevent spread of invasive species
Sawyer County Record
Last updated: Wednesday, September 05th, 2007 09:41:41 AM

MADISON -- Wisconsin entered one of its busiest boating weekends of
the year with 40 percent of boaters surveyed at landings this summer
saying they use their boats frequently and move them from lake to
lake.

Such "lake hopping" can be part of the fun of boating and fishing, but
unless these boaters clean their boats every time they leave a launch
and take other prevention steps, they may accidentally spread aquatic
invasive species and fish diseases to new lakes or rivers, said Julia
Solomon, who leads aquatic invasive species outreach efforts for the
Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin-
Extension.

"We want everyone to ... recognize that moving their boats from one
water to another increases their risk of bringing unwanted hitchhikers
like zebra mussels and Eurasian water milfoil along for the ride,"
Solomon said.

"All boaters, especially those who move from lake to lake, need to
take appropriate prevention steps every time they leave a boat landing
and remind others to do the same."

The major way that aquatic invasive species get spread to new inland
waters is by clinging to boat trailers, boating or fishing equipment,
or being carried in bilge water or live wells. Viral hemorrhagic
septicemia, a new fish disease, also spreads through the movement of
water from infected waters and through anglers moving live infected
fish from one water body to another. To help prevent possible spread
of the disease, anglers should buy minnows from licensed Wisconsin
bait dealers or catch their own and use them to fish in the water from
which they were caught.

Last week, DNR staff confirmed that zebra mussels have become
established in Lake Ripley in Jefferson County, and the previous week,
the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced
the discovery of an aggressive invasive plant, hydrilla (exit DNR), in
a manmade pond in Marinette County.



While the vast majority of Wisconsin waters don't have zebra mussels
or Eurasian water milfoil, two of the most problematic invasive
species, Solomon stresses the importance of boaters taking the
prevention steps wherever they boat. Wisconsin has 15,081 lakes and
44,000 miles of streams that flow year-round; close to 500 inland
waters have Eurasian water milfoil and about 100 have zebra mussels.
"We can't monitor every lake in the state, and unfortunately, the lake
you boat on may have invasive species that just have not been
discovered yet," she says. "Because of this, we urge all boaters to
make a habit of cleaning their boats and equipment every time they
leave a boat landing to keep Wisconsin waters and fish healthy."

Every time boaters, sailors, anglers, or paddlers leave a launch they
should:

· Inspect boats, trailers and equipment and remove visible aquatic
plants, animals, and mud.

· Drain water from boats, motors, bilges, live wells, and bait
containers.

· Do not move live fish, including minnows, from one water to another.

· Dispose of leftover bait in the trash, not in the water or on land.

· Wash boats and equipment with high pressure or hot water, or let
them dry for five days

In the Hayward and Cable areas, contact the following for information:
Kristi Maki (634-6463) is the Sawyer County AIS Coordinator; Stefania
Strzalkowska (682-7187 ext 119) is the Bayfield County AIS
Coordinator; and Lisa Gabriel (468-4640) is Washburn County staff that
works on AIS.



http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/scitech.shtml

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