Below is a press release sent on March 16th.
Here’s my ‘key’ to who the different groups are:
EPIC “works to protect and restore ancient forests, watersheds, coastal
estuaries, and native species throughout Northwest California” using “an
integrated, science-based approach, combining public education, citizen
advocacy, and strategic litigation.” www.wildcalifornia.org
KS Wild: “works to protect and restore the oustanding biological diversity
of the Klamath-Siskiyou and south Cascadian Ecoregions of southwest Oregon
and northwest California” using environmental law, science, education and
collaboration to defend healthy ecosystems and help build sustainable
communities.” www.kswild.org
CBD: “Protecting endangered species and wild places”, “combining
conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative
strategic vision, … to secure a future for animals and plants hovering
on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and
by extension for the spiritual welfare of generations to come.”
www.biologicaldiversity.org
CDF: a govn’t agency that is supposed “to protect and enhance forest,
range, and watershed values providing social, economic, and environmental
benefits to rural and urban citizen.” [I guess they do that (sarcasm) by
rubber stamping corporate timber logging plans and defending their deals
with timber corporations (i.e.Maxxam/Pacific Lumber) against grass roots
and other preservation groups…]
CA Dept. of Fish and Game: another govn’t. rubber stamper claiming “to
manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the
habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their
use and enjoyment by the public.” [same comments as for CDF]
PLEASE REMEMBER: While many of my emails relate to corporate logging on
‘private’ lands, National Forests are also logged and destroyed by the
highest bidding timber corporation. Those corporations also need the
complicity of the govn’t. agencies for approval of plans.
“The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders.”
–Edward Abbey
In defense,
Verbena
HABITAT OF NEWLY DISCOVERED SALAMANDER SPECIES SLATED FOR LOGGING
IN BACKROOM DEAL, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENTS OF FORESTRY AND FISH AND GAME
APPROVE REMOVAL OF PROTECTIONS FOR SCOTT BAR SALAMANDERY
Yreka CA - The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC),
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild), and Center for
Biological Diversity (CBD) filed suit today against the California
Departments of Forestry and Fish and Game for approving logging of crucial
habitat for the newly discovered Scott Bar salamander. The species was
first described in May of 2005 and has one of the smallest ranges of any
salamander.
“In Arkansas, hundreds of volunteers and scientists are combing the woods
trying to confirm the location of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which was
driven to near extinction by careless logging of its habitat,” states Noah
Greenwald, conservation biologist with the Center for Biological
Diversity. “Meanwhile, in California, the Departments of Forestry and
Fish and Game are putting the newly discovered Scott Bar salamander on the
road to extinction by approving logging of its habitat.”
The Scott Bar salamander was previously considered the same species as the
Siskiyou Mountains salamander, but was recently discovered to be a
separate species by researchers who published their findings last May in
the journal Herpetologica. The Siskiyou Mountains salamander is listed as
“threatened” under California’s Endangered Species Act, giving it a
measure of protection from logging.
Upon learning of the new species, the California Department of Fish and
Game informed industrial timber companies that because the Scott Bar
salamander is a new species, protections afforded to the rare salamanders
would cease. The California Department of Forestry has since approved
amendments to at least four timber harvest plans (THPs) allowing logging
of Scott Bar salamander habitat. Amendments to the THPs were approved
without public notice or comment.
“Rather than heralding the discovery of a new species in California, the
California Department of Forestry is rushing to wipe out the rare
critters’ habitat,” said Joseph Vaile, campaign director of KS Wild. “In
approving logging plans, the state agencies left the public in the dark,
violating public trust and ignoring their responsibilities to protect
California’s natural heritage for future generations.”
Paraphrasing Shakespeare, EPIC’s Timber Harvest Monitor, Lindsey Holm
quipped, “a rare species by any other name is still threatened with
extinction.”
Conservation organizations petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to list both the Siskiyou Mountains and Scott Bar Salamanders under the
federal Endangered Species Act in June of last year, and expect an initial
decision on this petition by the end of April.
At the same time, California Department of Fish and Game is moving to
delist the Siskiyou Mountains salamander under the state Endangered
Species Act. This move has been sharply criticized by the primary experts
on the biology of these salamanders. Forest Service scientist, Dr.
Hartwell Welsh, for example, concluded that “interpretation of the
science” used by the state game agency to support delisting was “seriously
flawed” (letter available upon request).
“The newly discovered Scott Bar salamander needs immediate protection from
logging under both the state and federal Endangered Species Acts,” states
Greenwald. “Instead, the California Departments of Forestry and Fish and
Game are doing everything in their power to ensure timber companies are
allowed to log this unique species’ habitat.”
In filing suit, the groups hope to ensure additional protections for the
Scott Bar salamander, give the public a voice in the management decisions
for such a rare species, and hold the agencies accountable for their
actions. The groups are represented by attorneys Michael Graf and Sharon
Duggan.
Photos of the species available upon request. Check out above websites.