By Rhishja Larson •
October 29, 2009
Today the Center for Biological Diversity announced that the winner of its third annual Rubber Dodo Award is Michael Winer, portfolio manager for Third Avenue Management, LLC (”TAREX”).
The Center for Biological Diversity awards the Rubber Dodo each year to the person who has contributed the most to driving endangered species extinct. Winer was selected this year for his leadership role in Third Avenue Management, LLC (”TAREX”), a giant real-estate investment firm responsible for unsustainable sprawl in California and Florida - and the driving force behind the proposed destruction of Tejon Ranch with a luxury development known as Tejon Mountain Village.
Last year’s recipient was former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
By Rhishja Larson •
October 23, 2009
Now that the polar bear is about to receive over 128 million acres of critical habitat designation, the state of Alaska is taking legal action to challenge the decision.
Following the announcement that threatened polar bears are set to receive over 128 million acres of critical habitat designation, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and Attorney General Dan Sullivan responded by taking legal action against federal protection of polar bears.
By Rhishja Larson •
October 9, 2009
Aerial sharpshooters with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have killed four wolves in Montana for preying on sheep in the secretive Sheep Experiment Station.
The last four wolves of the Sage Creek Pack were gunned down this week by USDA aerial sharpshooters, after the wolves had been targeted for preying on sheep in the 100,000+ acre USDA Sheep Experiment Station (USSES) west of Yellowstone National Park.
By Rhishja Larson •
October 2, 2009
Tejon Ranch Company (TRC) has received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) for its PR scheme designed to distract the public from condor-killing real estate development plans.
Apparently, in Schwarzenegger’s California, the development of a luxury mountain resort in the middle of designated California condor habitat is an award-winning event.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 30, 2009
Local governments in Nevada are seeking a permit from the Department of the Interior to kill endangered species so they can “develop” 200,000 acres of desert habitat.
Nevada’s Clark County and the cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite, and North Las Vegas were authorized in 2001 to destroy 145,000 acres of fragile desert habitat. That is, they have permission to “take” 78 species of animals and plants - including the threatened desert tortoise - in order to further develop the overbuilt Nevada desert.
But they want more.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 14, 2009
The Army’s proposal to move 1,000 desert tortoises has been placed on hold by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, amid concerns over the Army’s previous plan that resulted in the death of 252 out of 600 tortoises.
The Center for Biological Diversity announced that a plan by the Army to move over 1,000 federally and state-listed threatened desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from their Fort Irwin habitat to Bureau of Land Management lands has successfully been halted.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 11, 2009
The Kern County Planning Commission has approved development plans for an exclusive gated community featuring luxury homes, golf courses, and hotels in the middle of designated California condor habitat.
Thanks to an elaborate marketing and PR campaign by Tejon Ranch Company (TRC), a massive development project in the heart of California condor habitat has been given the green light by the Kern County Planning Commission.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 9, 2009
Finally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the status of the Pacific walrus to determine whether or not the marine mammal will receive Endangered Species Act protections.
The Center for Biological Diversity stated that the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is facing a double threat to its ice habitat: Global warming and increased oil development.
A petition seeking protection for the Pacific walrus was submitted by the Center back in February 2008. After the USFWS failed to respond to the petition, the Center filed a lawsuit - prompting the USFWS to take action.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 7, 2009
One of only three wolf pairs in Oregon was killed by U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services with approval from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Center for Biological Diversity announced today that Oregon’s wolf recovery program suffered a serious setback when a pair of wolves residing in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in eastern Oregon were killed over the weekend by wildlife authorities.
By Rhishja Larson •
August 19, 2009
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed the re-designation of 74,223 acres of critical habitat for the endangered California tiger salamander population in Sonoma County.
The action is in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center of Biological Diversity (CBD) to reverse the Bush administration’s illegal reduction of the California tiger salamander’s (Ambystoma californiense) habitat to zero in 2005. According to a CBD press release, the action is part of a larger campaign to overturn decisions made by the Bush administration regarding endangered species. The Cleaning up the Bush Legacy Campaign has so far addressed 8 million acres of critical habitat designation decisions in 28 states for 46 species.
Many of the illegal decisions, including the decision over critical habitat for the tiger salamander, were engineered by former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald, who resigned in disgrace following a scathing investigation by the inspector general of misconduct at the Department of the Interior.
By Rhishja Larson •
August 11, 2009
The Mexican gray wolf population continues to struggle at just 52 wolves. However, listing the species as a “distinct population segment” may hold the key to recovery.
The Center for Biological Diversity issued a press release today to announce that they have filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to formally separate the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) from other wolf populations in the United States and list it as either an endangered subspecies or a “distinct population segment.”
Although a 1982 reintroduction effort along the Arizona-New Mexico line hoped to result in at least 100 wolves in the wild, and 18 breeding pairs by 2006, the most recent survey - conducted in 2008 - found only 52 wolves. Unfortunately, illegal shootings, combined with complaints by ranchers who claim to have lost cattle to wolves (wolves that have been involved in three livestock kills in a year can be killed or trapped by federal agents), have taken their toll on the reintroduction plan.
