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Feds Killed Nearly 1.6 Million Native Animals in 2016
The federal government’s wildlife killing agency, Wildlife
Services, recently released its body count, admitting to killing 1,594,595
native animals in 2016. This alarming death toll translates to over three
deaths per minute. Casualties include 997 bobcats, 415 gray wolves, 407 black
bears, 21,286 beavers, and 76,963 coyotes. The program also admitted
accidentally killing 39 domestic dogs. Wildlife Services commits this slaughter
using a variety of cruel tools, including trapping, snaring, poisoning, and
aerial gunning. Wildlife Services must enter the modern era of ethical wildlife
management and use the wide variety of effective, nonlethal, proven tools. It’s
time to endthewaronwildlife.
Read more >>
Progress in Protecting Chaco at New Mexico Legislature
A resolution defending the Greater
Chaco region from fracking won approval in the New Mexico House of
Representatives this month. House Memorial 70, “Protection of Chaco Landscape,”
drew unprecedented support from Tribes and Pueblos. Although much more remains
to be done to fully protect this sacred landscape from the oil and gas industry
the resolution builds on a similar request from the Navajo Nation which asks
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to stop fracking in Greater Chaco until the
agency can fully protect the landscape and its people. Working together, WildEarth
Guardians is helping to amplify the chorus of voices calling for the protection
of Greater Chaco.
Read more >>
Protect the Wild from Destructive “Wreckreation”
Guardians is calling on the U.S. Forest Service to protect
the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana from motorized
recreation. This national forest is a vital wildlife corridor between Greater
Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. Motorized roads and trails split habitat
into ever-smaller pieces, disrupting wildlife movement and draining sediment
into pristine streams. Under political
pressure, the agency wants to further fragment this wild landscape. More than 3,600 miles of old logging
roads—most now unnecessary—already slash
across this forest.
Join us in asking the Forest Service to eliminate these destructive roads and
let this wounded landscape heal.
Take action >>
Guardians Targets Public Lands Giveaway for Fracking
We
challenged a Trump administration plan to auction off more than 32,000 acres of
public lands in Wyoming to the oil and gas industry. The plan would hand over
the rights for industry to drill and frack in Wyoming’s high desert,
undermining our climate and clean air and threatening the region’s wildlife. These fracking plans come as the Trump administration is moving to
sell nearly a million acres of public lands throughout the American West to the
oil and gas industry in 2017. The Wyoming challenge is part of our mounting
efforts to confront these giveaways and protect our public lands and climate.
Read
more >>
Water Transfer Challenged to Protect Rio Grande Flows
Our work to protect flows
in the Rio Grande continued with a legal challenge of a plan by the City of Rio
Rancho that would decrease river flows in nearly 100 miles of the Rio Grande. Our
challenge will be heard by the New Mexico State Engineer whose job it is to ensure
accountability of water resources in the middle valley. The proposal involves
discontinuing the use of water on a farm in Socorro County and “transferring”
that water upstream to offset the diversions from a well field for the City of Rio Rancho
which lies upstream. This transfer, if not carefully mitigated, will diminish
flows in nearly 100 miles of the Rio Grande and further imperil native fish and
wildlife. Guardians will continue to fight for the Rio Grande by pursuing
policies that ensure a living river.
Read
more >>
Community Drinking Water Demands Utmost Protection
A coalition of 11 conservation groups, including
WildEarth Guardians, spoke up for rural communities by opposing timber industry
and Oregon Board of Forestry efforts to suppress a report about logging’s harm
to clean, drinking water supplies. In letters to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the
Board of Forestry, we demanded the release of the original report, which
identified logging as a risk to drinking water in coastal towns. We also
requested stronger policies to put drinking water protections first. Eighty
percent of Oregonians rely on water from upstream forests, and it’s time to ensure
protection of this vital resource.
Read more >>
Settlement Reached in Idaho Wildlife-Killing-Contest Saga
Guardians and our allies reached a settlement recently with
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Idaho that makes it a little more
difficult for the sponsors of wildlife killing contests to host them on public
lands. Under the settlement, the BLM must notify the conservation groups if the
agency receives an application for a wolf- or coyote-killing contest on public
lands in Idaho. These cruel contests award prizes such as firearms or cash to
contestants who kill the most or largest animals. Public lands should be safe
havens for wildlife, not a place for killing contests. Our challenge against
the Forest Service for similarly failing to regulate these unethical contests
is ongoing.
Read
more >>
Wild Lobo Count Is Up, Grave Threats Remain
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2016 census
reports 113 Mexican wolves in 21 packs are roaming eastern Arizona and western
New Mexico, up from the previous year’s 97 wolves. Lobos still face significant
challenges, including poaching and low genetic diversity. 2016 was a landmark
year for success in cross-fostering, with at least three captive-bred pups
introduced into a wild den surviving until the end of the year. Obstruction from
New Mexico is preventing new wolves from being released. Immediately releasing
more Mexican wolves will allow this iconic species to play its integral role in
the Southwest’s wild lands.
Read
more >>
Pro-Public Lands Resolution Passes in Washington State
King County, Washington, became the latest county to join the
movement in support of public lands on March 6, when the county council passed
a motion opposing efforts to allow states to privatize public lands. Citizens
across the West overwhelmingly oppose states’ efforts to privatize the public
lands all Americans own. County councils or boards of commissioners in Arizona,
Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Wyoming have passed resolutions declaring that
America’s public lands provide tremendous benefits to their residents and
should be retained for future generations. WildEarth Guardians was invited to
testify in support of the motion before the King County Council.
Read
more >>
Clock Runs Out on Pro-Wildlife Bills in New Mexico
Two pro-wildlife bills in the New
Mexico legislature got closer to becoming law than ever before but hit the end
of the legislative session before becoming law. The bill banning coyote-killing
contests passed out of one House and two Senate committees with bipartisan
support, as well as passing the Senate floor, but did not get a House floor
vote before the adjournment. The bill to ban trapping on public lands endured a
lively and equitable debate, but the Senate Conservation Chair requested a
committee substitute that never came to fruition. Nevertheless, our
efforts are gaining momentum, with public support broadening and understanding
of the need for reform deepening and the Governor's signature within reach for
2019.
Read
more >>
Finally, Some Justice in the Second Malheur NWR Occupation Trial
Some of the occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge in eastern Oregon in early 2016 finally received a dose of justice. On
March 10, a jury found each of four defendants guilty of at least one felony
charge in the armed occupation. While deserved, the recent guilty rulings also
highlight the breach of justice from the earlier not guilty verdict of Ammon
Bundy and the other ringleaders of the occupation. Nevertheless, we can take
some satisfaction that a jury refused to provide legitimacy to these extremists
wanting to take our public lands.
Read
more >>
Trump Administration Delays Protections for Imperiled Guitarfish
Guardians is condemning the Trump administration’s delay of
much-needed protections for two species of imperiled guitarfish. Blackchin
guitarfish (Rhinobatos cemiculus) and
common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos)
are threatened by fishing and need the strong protections of the Endangered
Species Act to escape extinction, but a January 20 memo from the Trump White
House postponed the effective date of many final rules, including the rule
finalizing protections for the guitarfish. Delaying implementation of these
protections makes it more likely that guitarfish will continue to decline
toward extinction. Guardians calls on the Trump administration to immediately
implement key safeguards for guitarfish and all imperiled species.
Read more >>
photo credits: (Left column) black bear—iStock. Chaco Culture—WildEarth Guardians. Lewis and Clark National Forest—Forest Service Northern Region. Red Desert oil and gas—WildEarth Guardians. Rio Grande—Jen Pelz. Indigo
Springs, Willamette National Forest—USFS. coyote—Sam Parks. Mexican wolf pups—Mexican wolf Interagency Field Team. MBSNF creek—USFS. coyote and pup—dollarphotoclub. Sandhill Cranes at Malheur NWR—USFWS. guitarfish—Johan Fredricksson, Creative Commons. (Right column) Kadin and Makai Bacon—Tanja Bolle. bear save the date—Ray Rafiti. Caring Cent logo—Caring Cent. Mountainfilm on Tour—Telluride Mountainfilm. PIELC announcement—PIELC.
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Activist Spotlight
An enthusiastic shout-out to our amazing volunteers, including Kadin and Makai Bacon pictured above, who made
this year’s Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour in Santa Fe the best ever. We depend
on our volunteers to sell raffle tickets, help with seating, answer questions,
and generally be incredibly helpful. Thank you to the following individuals for your time and energy—you inspire
us!
John Josef Harvey Van Sickle Whitney, Kadin, & Makai Bacon Donielle Carrillo Jonathan Day Stacie Singleton
Let
us know if you would like to volunteer at events in Santa Fe or
Denver.
Upcoming Events
Put these dates on your calendar!
Tree Planting Event April 1 (RSVP today)
Aveda and Mark Pardo Salons Earth Month events throughout March/April
Denver Howling Affair May 5 (tickets on sale)
Santa Fe Membership Meeting June 6
Santa Fe Guardians Gala Oct. 6
Albuquerque Treehugger Bash Dec. 7
Now you can also
support WildEarth Guardians every time you shop. Dedicate a credit card to be
your “rounding” card. Purchases made on this card are rounded up to the
next whole dollar, and the difference is donated to Guardians. Once
you register a card, you can cap your monthly donation, make one time
donations, and suspend your card. Learn more and register here.
Guardians is
organizing a forest management Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program in New
Mexico from April 24, 2017 until October, 20 2017 for local New Mexican youth between the ages of 18 and 25. Learn more today and apply by April 7th.
So, How'd it go...
On February 24,
WildEarth Guardians screened Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour in Santa Fe,
N.M. Like previous years, it was a superfun and high-energy evening. We are so
grateful to spend time with our friends and family. We featured The Super Salmon, directed by Ryan
Peterson. It is the story of a super salmon and the human community that works
to protect the fish’s stunning habitat. If you want to be inspired as an
activist, we highly recommend the film.
The Public
Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon,
is an annual gathering of environmental lawyers, citizens, and nonprofit
professionals who share strategies, celebrate victories, and strengthen alliances.
Nine Guardians staff members attended the March conference and led eight
panels on a variety of subjects, including carnivore protection and public
lands coal mining. We always enjoy this yearly opportunity to connect with
colleagues in other organizations and explore working in collaboration.
There is strength in numbers; together we are making a
difference. Guardians is grateful for this community. You are participating
like never before! When we act and give collectively, we are able to increase
the effectiveness of our strategies to protect and restore the wildlife,
wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West. You are supporting
our efforts on behalf of coyote protections in the New Mexico legislature,
filing suit for bears and lions in Colorado, and keeping fossil fuels in the
ground across the West. Thank you for your continued support!
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