Northern Spotted Owl Continues to Decline – Endangered Listing Needed
The Northern Spotted Owl will have its status reviewed
under the Endangered Species Act. Scientific studies indicate
Endangered status is likely warranted because the owl population is in
rapid decline due to ongoing habitat loss and the Barred Owl’s incursion
into Northwest forests. Long-term demography studies
show that in 2013 populations in all eight study areas were in decline
and well below historic averages for both total numbers and breeding
success. Newly released 2014 studies show a continued overall population
decline.
“American
Bird Conservancy appreciates that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is
taking this action to help reverse the Northern Spotted Owl’s spiral
toward extinction,” said Steve Holmer, senior policy advisor for American Bird Conservancy. OPB News reports: http://www.opb.org/news/
BLM Northwest Forest Plan Revision Moving Ahead
The BLM is moving towards releasing Western Oregon draft resource management plan revisions on April 24
and will be holding a series of public meetings during the 90 day
comment period. A number of potential problems have been identified
with the upcoming BLM drafts including not utilizing the most recent
Northern Spotted Owl demographic data, not providing a regional
conservation framework by working with the Forest Service, and an
inadequate range of alternatives that do not assess or attempt to build
upon the multiple benefits of the Northwest Forest Plan.
Groups Oppose Expedited Post-Fire Logging on Klamath National Forest
The
Klamath National Forest is proposing a post-fire salvage logging timber
sale called the Westside Fire Recovery Project. Logging is planned for
6,680 acres (ten square miles) of Late Successional Reserves established
to protect Northern Spotted Owl habitat. The timber sale will impact
approximately 70 Northern Spotted Owl nesting sites and log on steep
slopes. Organizations are opposing the use of Alternative Arrangement
for NEPA from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the use if
an emergency situation determination by the Forest Service because of
proposed post-fire logging in reserves, in Northern Spotted Owl Critical
Habitat, and along roads that are closed or not usable by the
public.
Planning for Diversity: A Guide to National Forest Planning to Conserve America’s Wildlife
A Defenders of Wildlife guide on utilizing the new 2012 National Forest Planning rule is available at http://www.defenders.org/
Feds Reject Coastal Oregon Forestry:
The US Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA Fisheries Service in
January disapproved Oregon’s coastal nonpoint pollution program. As
expected since a 2013 environmental lawsuit ruling, EPA and NOAA
attacked Oregon’s forest practices rules, claiming small salmon streams
and landslide-prone areas are not sufficiently protected from logging,
spraying, and forest road runoff impacts.
The Northwest Climate Change Digest is a monthly newsletter jointly produced by the Northwest Climate Science Center and the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative aimed
at helping you stay informed about climate change science and upcoming
events and training opportunities relevant to your conservation work.
Do you have a published article or upcoming opportunity that you would
like to share? Please send it to nwcsc@uw.edu.
Broad Alliance Critiques EPA’s Announcement on Bee-Harming Pesticides, Urges Agency to go Further to Protect Pollinators
On
April 2, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced
a moratorium on new bee- and bird- harming neonicotinoid pesticide
products and uses. While supportive of the partial halt on new
registrations, farm, beekeeper and environmental groups were
disappointed that the action ignored the huge numbers of other
bee-harming pesticides already on the market.
“We need EPA to protect bees and other pollinators from the neonicotinoids and other bee-harming insecticides that are already covering
the corn and soybean acres in our area, not just keep new products off
the market," said Joanna Voigt at Kansas Rural Center.
Over 125 farmer, food safety, beekeeper, faith and environmental groups sent a letter
to the president last month urging a moratorium on all neonicotinoids
and their chemical cousins, other systemic pesticides. Additionally,
more than four million Americans signed petitions urging the Obama administration to take immediate action on bee-toxic pesticides.
Lowe’s Commits to Decisive Action to Protect Pollinators
Friends of the Earth, Domini Social Investments and Trillium Asset Management praised Lowe’s for making a commitment to eliminate neonicotinoid pesticides from its stores. After input from suppliers, NGOs, investors and other key stakeholders, the company announced it will phase out neonicotinoids (“neonics”) as suitable alternatives become available, redouble existing integrated pest management practices for suppliers and provide additional material educating customers about pollinator health. “We commend Lowe’s for taking a leadership position on this critical issue,” said Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and Director of Corporate Engagement at Domini Social Investments. “Sales of neonic-containing products may be exacerbating a critical systemic risk – alarming declines in honeybees and wild pollinators that support our food systems. As investors and as human beings, we all depend upon pollinators. We believe Lowe’s actions will help protect an irreplaceable resource.” See http://www.foe.org/news/news- San José, the capital of Silicon Valley, has become the fourth and largest California city to enact bird-friendly building guidelines. Previously, ordinances were adopted by San Francisco in 2011 and Oakland in 2013, while guidelines were adopted by Sunnyvale in 2014. The implementation of Bird-Safe Building Design Standards in San José concludes several months of research led by the San José Environmental Services Department (ESD) and collaborative work with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) and the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club. San José’s guidelines are based on American Bird Conservancy's Bird Friendly Building Design and will be applied citywide on a voluntary basis. See http://www.abcbirds.org/ Vancouver, Canada Adopts Bird-Friendly Building Guidelines: Congratulations Vancouver for implementing bird-friendly building guidelines! ABC published "Bird-friendly Building Design" in 2011 as a resource for building professionals, and we're excited to see cities like Portland, Minneapolis and Calgary develop guidelines specific to their own regions. http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/ Light Pollutions Adds to Collisions Risk with Glass Building Facades: A group of researchers in New York examined the effects of light and glass on bird-building collisions in an urban park using New York City Audubon's collision-monitoring data from fall migration 2013 and photographic analysis of building facades. A significant positive relationship was found between the number of collisions and interior building light; however, the amount of light was strongly correlated with the amount of glass in building facades. Carcass persistence at the site was also examined using tagged, dead birds. Only 37 percent of carcasses were found by our monitors, suggesting that our estimate of bird mortality due to collisions has been overly conservative. Mitigation of both light and glass are needed to reduce bird—building collisions in urban areas. Light, Glass, and Bird—Building Collisions in an Urban Park.
All Nations Urged to Protect Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites
The
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is encouraging
nations to take action to meet Target 11 by protecting Alliance for Zero
Extinction (AZE) sites and to apply to the Global Environment Facility
to support this end. AZE,
which is currently chaired by ABC, works to identify and protect the
remaining habitats of birds and other wildlife facing extinction.
Country dossiers outlining the protected area coverage of AZE sites are
being developed to help countries plan for AZE site protection. https://www.cbd.int/doc/
This CBS News video features ABC Invasive Species Program Director Grant Sizemore. http://www.wwmt.com/news/
ABC Calls for Changes in Collection of Data at Wind Developments
ABC
is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to institute a new
system of pre-construction risk assessment and bird and bat mortality
data collection in connection with wind turbines. The ABC proposal was
made in a letter
to Department of Interior and FWS pursuant to their request for
comments on information collection in connection with their land-based
wind energy guidelines. It follows the entering of a guilty plea on January 6
from PacifiCorp that will require the company to pay $2.5 million in
fines, restitution and community service for violating the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act by killing 38
Golden Eagles and 336 other birds at two Wyoming wind farms. http://www.abcbirds.org/
California Marine Sanctuaries Expanded, By Carolyn Lochhead, SF Chronicle, March 12, 2015
WASHINGTON - After more than a decade of effort by California lawmakers, the Obama administration gave final approval Thursday
to a giant expansion of two marine sanctuaries off the coast north of
San Francisco that will protect one of the planet's most prolific ocean
ecosystems. The Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine
sanctuaries will more than double to become an area nearly the size of
Connecticut. The 2,220-square-mile expansion to the north and west
covers ocean where an unusual upwelling of cold water, driven by winds,
brings nutrients to shallow coastal areas. That in turn encourages
intense plankton blooms, reefs and sponges that provide food for fish,
marine mammals such as endangered whales, turtles and birds, including
the largest seabird colony on the U.S. mainland. It is one of four such
areas in the world.
Wisconsin NPR Reports on Lead Poisoning and Bald Eagles: Wildlife rehabber gives a first-hand account of the lead poisoning of a Bald Eagle on Wisconsin Public Radio.
ABC's position continues to be that if you are going to hunt, use only
lead-free ammunition and eliminate the needless deadly poisoning of
millions of wildlife that ingest lead fragments or pellets.
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Friday, April 10, 2015
information from the American Bird Conservancy
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