http://www.psmag.com/environment/fracking-away-the-wildlife-44012/Pacific Standard: Fracking Away the Wildlife
A spiderweb of natural gas sites is making it harder for the antelope to roam.

(Nancy Bauer/Shutterstock)
August 7, 2012 • By Bruce Dorminey • 1 Comment and 55 Reactions
The population of Wamsutter, Wyoming may have grown four times over in the last three years, but the town on the southeastern edges of some of the largest natural gas fields on the continent is still a dusty pit stop off Interstate 80. The augmented volume of trucks flowing through this isolated interchange only affirms the energy boom of the Intermountain West—and the fracturing of the habitat of the American pronghorn.

Once ubiquitous on the Great Plains and high deserts of the American West, these antelope rely on thousands of miles of unspoiled ranges to avoid their predators, and to find food in winter. Galloping pronghorns—which stand about three feet high at the shoulder and weigh less than 125 pounds—can reach Interstate speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour. Now, natural gas development, mostly on Bureau of Land Management territory in Vermont-sized counties like Sweetwater or the smaller Sublette in the western half of the state, have crowded the animals’ room to run.

A study led by the Bronx-based Wildlife Conservation Society, reported in the journal Biological Conservation, links the fervid development of two of the country’s largest gas fields to the abandoning of the area by the pronghorn. Those two fields, the Pinedale Anticline and the Jonah, lie in the southern region of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—right in the middle of the pronghorn’s winter range.

Tens of millions of pronghorn once roamed North America; 700,000 remain, with more than half in Wyoming. “They are open country animals that have to see their threats and escape by running. They’re vulnerable to predators like coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions,” explains Jackie Skaggs, a public affairs officer at Grand Teton National Park.


Pronghorn graze in sight of natural gas derricks in the Upper Green River Basin , Wyoming. (Photo by Jeff Burrell, Wyoming Conservation Society)

In winter, the animals need large expanses with shallow snow, so they can find sagebrush to eat. Roaming the desert based on snow depth and wind direction, pronghorn will go as far south as Green River, Wyoming, some 200 miles south of the Tetons. Aside from migration bottlenecks created by a couple of natural pinch points and some private property fencing, the Wyoming pronghorn remain fairly unimpeded until they hit the gas fields, in the southwestern part of the state, which lie smack in the middle of their winter ranges.

“Because of human occupation, roads, development, fence lines, and cattle grazing,” said Skaggs, “the free flow of pronghorn … has been greatly restricted.”

Researchers have long noted that the fracking sites interfered with the pronghorn’s 6,500-year-old migration routes. For the Wildlife Conservation study, 125 female pronghorn were tracked using GPS over five years. In that time, says Jon Beckmann, scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s North America program and the study’s lead author, natural gas field development in the Upper Green River basin has led to pronghorn abandoning up to 82 percent of their highest quality winter range.

“We’re not seeing changes in mortality or reproduction of the pronghorn due to the gas fields,” said Renee Seidler, a field biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. “But we’re seeing the beginnings of problems for the pronghorn and the winter range,” describing a trajectory already seen among the region’s mule deer.

If the gas fields were static, she adds, the pronghorn would likely adapt, but the fields are expanding.


The intersection of ancient pronghorn migration routes and modern-day gas fields. Click to enlarge (Map from Linda F. Baker, Upper Green River Alliance)
“We started with 45 gas wells in the Jonah field and now there are 4,500 permitted wells,” says Linda Baker, the director of the Upper Green River Alliance in Pinedale, Wyoming,, adding that 4,400 wells are permitted on the Pinedale Anticline, and the undrilled field over will be permitted for 3,500 wells.

Jon Beckmann says development in the Upper Green River basin could be done with consideration for the wildlife, with a permeable landscape for migration and the density of the wells kept below certain numbers in important pronghorn wintering areas.

Most of the 60,000 pronghorn that make up the herd in Sublette County just south of the Tetons, migrate to other summer ranges throughout the western part of the state. “The pronghorn that summer in the Grand Tetons are tied to those wintering areas where the natural gas drilling is occurring,” said Steve Cain, a senior wildlife biologist at the park. Only some 200 to 400 pronghorn migrate as far north as Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park itself. “If there are large impacts on the wintering range, the population in the park could actually go extinct.”



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Frances A. Hunt
Director, Resilient Habitats Campaign
Sierra Club
50 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
fran.hunt@sierraclub.org
202-675-2386

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http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/07/14/abqnewsseeker/two-new-wolf-packs-established-in-nm.htmlTwo New Wolf Packs Established in NM
By Associated Press on Sat, Jul 14, 2012



POSTED AT: 3:37 pm

Federal wildlife managers have designated two more Mexican gray wolf packs in New Mexico, bringing the number of packs in the American Southwest to 14.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been trying to return the predators to their historic range in New Mexico and Arizona for more than a dozen years, but the program has been troubled by issues such as politics, illegal shootings and courtroom battles.

The Mexican gray wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf, once roamed parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Mexico. Hunting and government-sponsored extermination campaigns all but wiped out the predator. It was added to the federal endangered species list in 1976, and a captive-breeding program was started.

The first batch of wolves was released into the wild in May 1998, and currently at least 58 wolves remain in the wild in those two states. The most recent annual survey showed at least 18 pups among the packs at the beginning of the year.

Liz Jozwiak, the field coordinator for the Mexican gray wolf recovery program, said several packs are showing signs of denning behavior, which could mean a new batch of pups.

The possibility of pups coupled with the formation of the two new packs in June mark what Jozwiak called a “significant, positive step” for the population, which is scattered across millions of forested acres in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.

“Just seeing that there is some natural disbursal and individuals are finding each other, forming packs and having the opportunity to breed is significant,” she said. “I think that’s going to really contribute to the overall recovery of the population.”

But biologists have concerns about genetic diversity within the small population. Without new wolves, inbreeding can result in smaller litter sizes and greater pup mortality.

Last year, the recovery team observed 38 pups in the wild. Less than half survived through the end of the year.

This year, Jozwiak said the team is hoping for a higher survival rate.

“We’re doing everything we can to monitor what the status is of each pack, whether they’re breeding and how many pups they have,” she said.

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that has criticized the management of the wolf program, argued that hope shouldn’t be used as a hedge against Mexican gray wolf extinction.

While two new packs is good news, he said the federal government needs to release more captive wolves to bolster a population that has been kept in check by poaching, a lack of new releases and past instances of trappings and lethal removals triggered by run-ins with livestock.

Ranchers have been just as critical of the program, saying managers have not done enough to protect their livelihood.

One of the new packs, dubbed the Canyon Creek pack, is in the Beaverhead area northeast of the Gila Wilderness. In the past, Robinson said the area was the “epicenter of wolf-livestock conflict.” The area is home to a sizeable elk herd.

The Elk Horn Pack is closer to Reserve, an area that hasn’t had resident wolves.

Sierra Club and allies win big in Florida Everglades to protect panthers.

This news is from WESACT member, Matt Schwartz, a wildlife activist from Florida.

Bear Island section of the Big Cypress National Preserve -

This lawsuit goes back to 2007 when the National Park Service opened up sensitive wetlands and primary Florida panther habitat to off-road vehicle use - in violation of their own Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan which had just closed those same trails in 2000!


We won on just about every claim we made - from the National Park Service Organic Act to the Endangered Species Act. A lot of blood and sweat went in to this case - including a solo trek to shoot some "damage photos" which had me walking home through waist deep water in just about total darkness. That was scary - this makes it worth it.

Our co-plaintiffs in this lawsuit were Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, Wildlands CPR, Humane Society of the United States, National Parks Conservation Association, Florida Biodiversity Project, and Brian Scherf. Obviously good things can happen when we work together.

Judge Steele's decision is attached. We have not heard yet if the government plans to appeal the ruling.

Original press release (2007) from one of the plaintiffs - Wildlands CPR - is here:http://www.wildlandscpr.org/our-news/big-cypress-national-preserve-threatened-damaging-off-road-vehicle-useThanks for the support. Wrong time of the year - very hot and very wet - but will try to organize a Sierra Club outing to Bear Island soon. Aside from all the legal wrangling - this is a truly beautiful wetland.

Matt



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U.S. District Court

Middle District of Florida

Notice of Electronic Filing

The following transaction was entered on 7/10/2012 at 1:21 PM EDT and filed on 7/10/2012

Case Name:
Defenders of Wildlife et al v. Kempthorne et al

Case Number:
2:08-cv-00237-JES-SPC

Filer:


Document Number:
131





Docket Text:
OPINION AND ORDER granting [95] Plaintiffs' Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment and denying [103] Federal Defendants' Cross Motion for Summary Judgment. National Park Service's 2007 trail designation, to the extent it re-designated 1.58 miles of primary trails to secondary trails and re-opened 15.21 miles of primary trails and 7.49 miles of secondary trails is hereby SET-ASIDE. Any portions of these trails which remain open must be closed within FOURTEEN days of this Opinion and Order. The Fish and Wildlife Service's 2007 Amended Opinion is SET-ASIDE, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. See Opinion and Order for details. The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly, terminate any pending deadlines and close the file. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 7/10/2012.

CHICAGO – Chicago Group received word today that its Air & Energy Committee will receive one of the Sierra Club’s highest honors, the 2012 Special Achievement Award which recognizes a single act of particular importance dedicated to the club.

Since its inception in 2007, Chicago Group’s A&E Committee has relentlessly pursued the closure of Chicago’s two remaining coal-fired power plants, Fisk & Crawford, located on the city’s southwest side.

Lobbying efforts ramped up significantly in early 2010 to drum up support for the newly introduced Clean Power Ordinance which would force these 100-year old coal plants to clean up or close.

In less than two years, the advocacy efforts of Sierra Club Chicago Group’s A&E Committee, together with Illinois Chapter volunteers, staff members, and community groups and local environmental allies from the Clean Power Coalition, built a veto-proof majority of Chicago Aldermen with strong support from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. On February 29, 2012, Midwest Generation, Fisk and Crawford’s owner, announced that the plants would be retired.

“Closing Chicago’s last coal-fired power plants were the first and foremost goals of Chicago Group’s Air & Energy Committee. February’s announcement that the plants were being shuttered was a dream come true for many of our 7,000 local members. On behalf of the Chicago Group, I am delighted that the dedication and hard work of our A&E team will be recognized by the national organization,” said Christine Williamson, chair, Sierra Club Chicago Group.

While the entire Air & Energy Committee is being recognized with the award that will be presented at a ceremony in San Francisco in August, lead volunteers Tony Fuller, Rose Gomez, Ryan Baker, Cliff Zimmerman, Kelly Pierce, Jack Gilroy and Nadia Oehlsen deserve particular attention for their single-minded focus on the Fisk and Crawford closure campaign.

Behind the A&E Committee core leadership team were many hundreds of local activists who took to the phones, the streets, city council meetings and to the offices of their aldermen to advocate for clean air in Chicago through the closure of two of the nation’s dirtiest coal-fired power plants.
 

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California condors hit a milestone -- a population of 405 -- after nearly going extinct

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 9:05 PM     Updated: Monday, May 21, 2012, 6:04 AM
By Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian 


EnlargeSpecial to The Oregonian
A California condor, shortly after arriving at the Oregon Zoo's new breeding center in November 2003. RICK BOWMER/The Associated Press
Condor gallery (9 photos)

Good news for California condors: Their population just topped 400 -- 405 to be precise -- the most since the effort to save the species began 30 years ago as it teetered on extinction's edge.

An April 30 count found 226 of the enormous vultures flying free over California, Arizona and Baja, Mexico, and 179 living in zoos and four breeding centers, including the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, an Oregon Zoo-run operation in rural Clackamas County. 

That said, the species faces steep challenges, and the Oregon Zooprogram, which has hatched 35 chicks altogether, has had a tough spring. 

Among eight eggs laid, three chicks have survived with one more due to hatch around June 9. One egg was infertile. One contained an air bubble that destroyed vesseling, so the embryo died. Two other late-stage chicks died despite efforts by zoo staff to help them hatch; the veterinarian sent tissue samples to a lab to try to determine what went wrong. 

"We know their yolk sacs looked odd. They were enlarged," said Kelli Walker, senior condor keeper. "But nothing on the necropsy was obvious." 

For Walker and others working in the condor recovery trenches, each loss disappoints and each new chick is a precious addition to a species that once symbolized American wilderness.California condors used to range across much of the nation; explorers Lewis and Clark dubbed them the "beautiful buzzards of the Columbia." 

But the bald-headed birds whose wings span nearly 10 feet and who can live up to 60 years were almost wiped out by 1982, when only 23 remained in the world. 

Five years later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners captured the remaining wild condors and placed them in breeding programs at the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise established the third breeding center, and the Oregon Zoo built its condor barn and flight pens in 2003, welcoming its first breeding pairs that November. 

It was believed to be the first time in nearly 100 years the birds had spread their wings in Oregon, part of their historic range. 

Including the new chicks, the zoo houses 46 condors today. 

Of the chicks hatched in Oregon, 21 have been released in California and Arizona; Oregon has no release sites. Five of those since have died. It's suspected, Walker says, that lead poisoning killed three. One was caught by a mountain lion. Cause of death for the fifth bird is unknown. 

Other surviving Oregon Zoo-hatched condors have been kept for breeding because of their genetic value to the species. 

Hitting that 400-bird mark isn't necessarily scientifically significant, but it bolsters the spirits of those working to revive a species that plays a key role in nature. Condors feed only off dead animals, picking them clean, which helps keep disease from spreading. 


View full size
A more momentous number, if it comes, will be 450. 

When wildlife officials, conservationists and others drafted a recovery plan for the species in 1996, they determined that until there were at least 450 condors, they couldn't be considered for delisting under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 

Plus, that magic number comes with strings. According to the plan, condors need to be dispersed among three 150-bird populations -- two wild and one captive, with 15 breeding pairs in each group. And they have to be self-sustaining, reproducing and expanding on their own. 

"We're not there yet," says John McCamman, who took over in March as California condor coordinator for USFWS. 

For as much progress as the program's made, McCamman says, it faces serious challenges that will help guide an upcoming re-write of the recovery plan.

Key among issues are lead poisoning caused by condors eating animals, or gut piles from animals, shot with lead ammunition. 

Wind turbines being planted along ridgetops near condors' ranges pose an increasing threat. 

Along the California coast near Big Sur, a condor release site, biologists have noticed serious eggshell thinning. They believe it results from condors feeding on sea lion carcasses containing DDE, a residual from the now banned insecticide DDT. DDE remains in the water column off California, where lots of the insecticide was dumped. 

As they re-draw the recovery plan, McCamman says, scientists and other condor caretakers will look at those issues and more -- everything from habitat loss to the potential effects of climate change on condors' ability to survive. They'll talk about whether to open a fifth breeding center at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo, or develop another release site, perhaps in the Siskiyou Range, near the California-Oregon border. 

The process is likely to take years and include input from lots of parties. 

"The one thing about condors," McCamman says, "is they're loved by everybody. Lots of institutions and organizations are interested in their long-term survival.

Great news about a project to help an imperiled bird species that is not not on the threatened or endangered species list.

New Government Initiative Will Benefit Ten-State Effort to Save Declining Songbird


Click the link for more info:http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/120309.html(Washington, D.C., March 9, 2012) The new “Working Lands For Wildlife” (WLW) project announced today by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide substantial benefits to birds and other wildlife, but will be especially beneficial to the imperiled Golden-winged Warbler.

Good news about an imperiles bird species that is NOT being protected by the Endangered Species Act.

New Government Initiative Will Benefit Ten-State Effort to Save Declining Songbird

Click the link for more info: http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/120309.html(Washington, D.C., March 9, 2012)
The new “Working Lands For Wildlife” (WLW) project announced today by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide substantial benefits to birds and other wildlife, but will be especially beneficial to the imperiled Golden-winged Warbler.