WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Presidential Pardon Requested for Endangered Western Grouse Species

The request comes on the cusp of the traditional pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey by the President
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM - Nov 16. WildEarth Guardians and nine other conservation and animal protection groups today requested that President Bush "pardon" endangered grouse in western North America by granting them protection under the Endangered Species Act. The request comes on the cusp of the traditional pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey by the President. Grouse are related to turkeys, as they are both gallinaceous birds, heavy-bodied, largely ground-feeding species of the order Galliformes. A video news release on the organizations’ request for a pardon ofwestern grouse, "Talkin’ Turkey," has been posted on the WildEarth Guardians web site.

"The compassion which marks the Presidential Pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey should be extended to the beautiful and graceful wild grouse of western North America, several of which are suffering greatly under President Bush’s uncompassionate assault against wildlife and public lands in the U.S.," stated Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Conservation Director for WildEarth Guardians. "We believe there is a moral imperative to protect the diversity of life and to show gratitude forthe wildlife and wildness that enriches our lives," added Rosmarino.

The organizations urged Bush to marry the 58-year tradition of Presidential Pardons for Thanksgiving turkeys with the 32-year tradition, under the Endangered Species Act, of providing a vital safety net for wildlife on the brink of extinction. They warned that federal protection should be expedited for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse, Greater Sage-Grouse, and Mono Basin Sage-Grouse in order to avoid the dismal fates of the Heath Hen, a grouse which went extinct in 1932 due to belated protection, and theAttwater’s Prairie-Chicken, which presently numbers less than 100 birds.

The Bush Administration has a track record of forestalling listing of imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act. While President Clinton listed 65 species a year during his administration, and President George H.W. Bush listed 59 species per year, the George W. Bush Administration has listed only 7 species per year, and all of these were compelled by the courts. For species on the brink of extinction, protection delays lead to species declines. According to a 2005 report from the Center for Biological Diversity (based on Service data), between 1974-2004, 42 species for which federal protection was long delayed, went extinct.

In addition, the groups recommended that, just as the Presidentially pardoned turkey will be provided refuge on a Virginia farm, the public lands of the western United States should be safeguarded as refuges for the wild imperiled native grouse. The letter to Bush contended that western public lands are presently being destroyed by the Bush Energy Plan and the Administration’s elimination of legal safeguards against habitat destruction by public lands livestock grazing.

The groups noted many reasons to protect imperiled grouse species, including:

• The spirit of compassion, which marks the Presidential Pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey.
• The support of the vast majority of Americans - 86 percent - for a strong Endangered Species Act and their recognition that it provides a vital safety net for the nation’s wildlife and plants.
• Smart resource planning goes hand in hand with endangered species protection. Intact lands for imperiled grouse will preserve natural ecosystem services, which benefit human communities, such as clean water and air.
• The moral responsibility to safeguard grouse out of reverence for creation. A plurality of faiths and spiritual foundations underscore the need to preserve life on earth. The moral underpinnings for this course range from the inherent value of grouse as beings whose must not be allowed to go extinct to our obligation to future generations of humans to leave a rich natural legacy, rather than squander it for the short-term profit of a few.

WildEarth Guardians was joined in its request for a Presidential Pardon for imperiled grouse species by nine organizations throughout the western U.S., including Animal Protection of New Mexico, Animal Protection Institute, Center for Native Ecosystems, Chihuahuan Desert Conservation Alliance, Oregon Natural Desert Association, Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sagebrush Sea Campaign, Southern Plains Land Trust, and Western Watersheds Project.

The letter is one component of WildEarth Guardians newly initiated "Western Grouse Project" which seeks to restore western grouse species via federal Endangered Species Act listing, designation of Bureau of Land Management administered public lands as "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern," challenging oil and gas operations in grouse habitat, and other habitat protection and restoration activities.

Contact Dr. Nicole Rosmarino at 505-699-7404 for further information.

Watch the video