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Endangered Species Protections Sought for U.S. Wolverines |
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WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Jul. 8 -/E-Wire/--
The United States must protect endangered wildlife from global warming and other threats within its own borders and not rely on other countries, such as Canada, to do the job, according to a coalition of 10 conservation organizations that announced today its intention to file a legal challenge against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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The Service violated the Endangered Species Act, say the groups, when it refused to protect wolverines in the United States on the grounds that a healthy population persists in Canada. The Service’s decision is its latest justification for denying long-overdue protections to this imperiled animal — protections that were first petitioned for nearly a decade ago.
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“With the wolverine decision, the Bush administration is essentially outsourcing responsibility for our wildlife to other countries,” said David Gaillard of Defenders of Wildlife. “Wolverines are as American as the bald eagle, gray wolf, and grizzly bear, all of which might have vanished from the lower 48 if the same reckless policy were applied to them.”
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Earlier this year, the agency conceded that if nothing is done, “the [lower 48 wolverine] population will be at risk of extinction.” Yet it decided not to take steps to protect the species. According to the coalition, the fewer than 500 wolverines left in the lower 48 represent a distinct population that is only tenuously linked to the Canadian population of wolverines and in desperate need of habitat and other protections.
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The Fish and Wildlife Service decision not to list the wolverine as a threatened or endangered species underscores the current trend by the Bush administration to deny full Endangered Species Act protections to at-risk species whose range extends beyond U.S. borders, including the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, Montana fluvial arctic grayling, Mexican garter snake, and others. The Service also recently refused to create a recovery plan for the jaguar, citing the existence of jaguars in Mexico.
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“This policy essentially tells our children and grandchildren to go to Alaska or Canada to see wildlife. That is not right, and it’s certainly not what Congress intended in the Endangered Species Act,” said Tim Preso of Earthjustice, which is representing the coalition in court.
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The wolverine, already suffering in the United States from trapping, habitat loss, and other human actions, is especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming because it depends on deep snow for everything from travel corridors to snow dens for raising young. Wolverines once roamed across the northern tier of the United States and as far south as New Mexico and southern California. But now wolverines have been reduced to small, fragmented populations in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.
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“Americans pride themselves at looking after their own, and this absolutely includes our wildlife and the places they need to survive,” said Joe Scott with Conservation Northwest. “How can we ask poor, developing nations to protect their rainforests if we won’t lift a finger to protect nature in our own backyard?”
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“The decision to deny the wolverine protection is characteristic of the Bush administration's disdain for the nation's wildlife,” said Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bush administration has protected the fewest new species under the Endangered Species Act of any administration since the landmark law was passed, to date having only protected 60 new species compared to 522 under Clinton and 231 under the senior Bush.”
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Earthjustice filed the 60-day notice of intent to sue on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Northwest, Friends of the Clearwater, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Alliance, and Wyoming Outdoor Council.
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Contact Info: David Gaillard,
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Defenders of Wildlife,
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(406) 586-3970
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Tim Preso,
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Earthjustice,
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(406) 586-9699
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Joe Scott,
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Conservation Northwest,
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(360) 671-9950 x 11
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Noah Greenwald,
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Center for Biological Diversity,
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(503) 484-7495
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Website : Center for Biological Diversity
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/SOURCE:
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Center for Biological Diversity |
-0-
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07-08-2008 |
/CONTACT:
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David Gaillard,
Defenders of Wildlife,
(406) 586-3970
Tim Preso,
Earthjustice,
(406) 586-9699
Joe Scott,
Conservation Northwest,
(360) 671-9950 x 11
Noah Greenwald,
Center for Biological Diversity,
(503) 484-7495 |
| /WEB SITE: |
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org
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