Western Governors' Efforts to Protect Corridors Continues

On June 15, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Western Governors' Association (WGA), the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior was signed to promote the organization, development, and use of science in efforts to conserve wildlife corridors and other crucial habitats.  Signing of the agreement advances the WGA Wildlife Corridors Initiative, launched in 2007, and the Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan, developed by the Department of the Interior Sporting Conservation Council in 2008.

Applied effectively, the agreement will be a valuable tool for helping to manage and conserve big game and other wildlife in the face of climate change.  As the WGA has noted, "Shifts in the timing of wildlife mating, migration, and other life-history traits will continue to occur as climate conditions change."

"Elk, mule deer, pronghorn and caribou will all be impacted by increased drought, wildfires and other symptoms of climate change," said Sierra Club Washington, DC Representative Bart Semcer.  "Efforts to providing increased security for the habitat we know wildlife needs to adapt to these changes deserve the increased attention of state and federal agencies."

Supreme Court Allows Toxic Gold Mining Waste in Alaskan Lake

This past Monday, the Supreme Court upheld a permit that would allow a gold mine to dump its waste directly into a freshwater lake, killing all its fish and aquatic life.  The court ruled 6-3 and reversed a May 2007 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which had found the mining permit in violation of the Clean Water Act.  The Supreme Court is now saying that the Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation's Kensington gold mine near Juneau pumping 200,000 gallons of a toxic wastewater slurry every day directly into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest is not a violation of the Clean Water Act.

Lion's Head Mountain, at the base of which sits Kensington Mine

The dumping, which will take place over 10 years, will fill the bottom of the lake with 4.5 million tons of solid waste and kill all life in the lake.  This decision is based on a 2004 Bush Environmental Protection Agency memo that expanded the definition of 'fill' material that could be dumped directly into bodies of water to include toxic, industrial wastewater slurries.  The memo, it should be noted, was informal and was never subject to any sort of public notice or comment.  And this decision sets an extremely dangerous precedent for other mining operations in Alaska and around the country.  The Obama administration should reverse this grievous 'fill' rule and revise the informal memo before we lose any more of our waters and the communities that depend on them.  The rule of law must be restored to the Clean Water Act.  

White House Releases Climate Change Impacts Report

Last Tuesday, the Obama administration released its first ever climate science report, the most important and comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change in the U.S. since the first National Assessment in 2000.  "Global Climate Change Impacts in the US," compiled by leading scientists and experts, clearly shows the wide-ranging and damaging impacts that climate change will have on our country.

In addition to the effects that the report highlights in terms of water resources, energy supply and use, transportation, agriculture, human health, and society, the report emphasizes the enormous changes we already are seeing and can expect to increase in ecosystems across the country.  The following points are from the assessment's summary:

• Ecocystem processes, such as those that control growth and decomposition, have been affected.
• Large-scale shifts have occurred in the range of species and the timing of the seasons and animal migrations, and are very likely to continue.
• Fires, insect pests, disease pathogens, and invasive weed species have increased, and these trends are likely to continue.
• Deserts and drylands are likely to become hotter and drier, feeding a self-reinforcing cycle of invasive plants, fire, and erosion.
• Coastal and near-shore ecosystems are already under multiple stresses.  Climate change and ocean acidification will exacerbate these stresses.
• Arctic sea ice ecosystems are already being adversely affected by the loss of summer sea ice and further changes are expected.

• The habitats of some mountain species and coldwater fish, such as salmon and trout, are very likely to contract in response to warming.

This report should act as a wake-up call to all the work that still needs to be done.  Enacting strong climate legislation is a critical first step; however, as the above summary shows, many of our country's ecosystems and all the services they provide are seriously threatened by climate change.  We have to work now to reduce as many additional stessors as possible and make our lands more resilient and adaptable in a new, warmer world.

Senate Energy Bill Passes Committee

Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reported out the "American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009."  The energy bill, despite some good aspects, was severely compromised during its long slog through committee markup.  The final product is extremely deficient when it comes to repowering our country with renewable energy, clean energy jobs, and the fight against global warming.  Nowhere is this more apparent than the aggresive offshore drilling program that the bill authorizes.

As laid out in my last post, the offshore drilling amendment was introduced by Senator Dorgan (D-ND) and would allow drilling as close as 45 miles to all of Florida's gulf shores.  This region is one of the few remaining coastal areas that still retains protections from the oil and gas industry, protections that are meant to be in place until at least 2022.  The amendment also authorizes special permissions to drill in an area known as Destin Dome, a mere 26 miles from shore.  The one silver lining to this situation, however faint the consolation, is that the amendment does not include any revenue-sharing provisions for the states.

The Sierra Club has already stated its opposition to the bill in its current form and our hope now is to strengthen the bill when it comes to the Senate floor later this year.  Congress has a historic opportunity looking them in the face.  This legislation, moving parallel to the climate and energy bill about to be voted on in the House floor, is potentially the most important energy legislation any of us will experience in our lifetime.  Our lawmakers are at a crossroads where they can either follow the administration and help lead the world into a new energy economy.  Or they can stumble and fall into the trap of business-as-usual.  The Senate just stumbled.  We must make certain they don't fall.

Senate Energy Bill Markup Expands Eastern Gulf Drilling

Yesterday, during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee markup of a broad energy bill, the committee voted to allow leasing as close as 45 miles to Florida's coast.  The vote was 13-10 in favor of an amendment by Senator Dorgan (N-ND) that would do away with existing long-term protections for Florida's Gulf Coast and allow leasing as near as 45 miles from all of Florida's Panhandle and Gulf beaches.  It would also open up an area known as Destin Dome, a region merely 25 miles off the coast of Pensacola.  The oil and gas title marked up yesterday will next go to the Senate floor as part of a broader energy bill.

The committee did, however, reject an amendment by Senator Landrieu (D-LA) that would have provided states with offshore production in adjacent federal waters a share of the revenue.  It also rejected an amendment by Senator Murkowski (R-AK) that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge via direction drilling that would technically occur outside of the refuge's borders.  The markup will continue on Thursday where we expect amendments pertaining to oil shale as well as split estate leasing issues.

This is only the beginning of the fight and should serve as a reminder that we still have much work to do when it comes to convincing the public and members of Congress that drilling is not the answer.  We cannot continue to rely on dirty, climate-changing fuels that threaten our coastal environments and livelihoods.  We must shift the discourse and the economy toward clean, renewable energy.

Old Growth Forests Near Grand Canyon Won't Be Logged

Several weeks ago the U.S. Forest Service made a sound decision when they halted their plans to log old-growth forests in Arizona's Kaibab National Forest.  The Kaibab is a 1.6 million acre forest that borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon.  It is also home to the largest breeding population of goshawks in the lower 48 states, despite having much its habitat destroyed by past logging efforts.  In 1996, as a result of this destruction, the Forest Service adopted special measures under the Kaibab Forest Plan to avoid having the goshawk listed under the Endangered Species Act.

This past March, however, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diverstiy filed an appeal against a 26,000-acre timber sale in the forest.  The sale, while intended to thin the area to reduce the wildlife possibility, did not comply with requirements under the Kaibab Forest Plan to protect the larger and older stands of ponderosa pine forest.  Not only are these stands of old growth prime goshawk habitat, they are also more resistent to fire.  The Forest Service appears to have listened to the appeal and has suspended the plan.  They agree that more research must be done to determine the logging plan's projected impacts on the goshawk's habitat and best practices to mitigate those impacts.

Stacey Hamburg of Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter says, "It is time for a project that focuses on restoration, protection of wildlife, and preserving the limited old growth that remains.  By reversing its deceision, the Forest Service now has an opportunity to do that."

Administration Creates Youth Conservation Corps

This past Monday, Secretary Salazar officially established an Office of Youth in Natural Resources at the Department of the Interior (DOI).  The program is specifically designed to create jobs, career opportunities, and expand outdoors experiences available to young people with an eye toward those who are underserved.  One of the cornerstones of this office is the creation of a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps.  Modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps that employed millions of people, this modern-day program will connect people who are in need of work with very necessary projects on our public lands.  And in doing so, it will give people who may not normally have the opportunity to interact with the outdoors the chance to develop that connection.

The annoucement of this initiative could not come at a better time.  Much of our country's youth has become disconnected from the natural world, more inclined to the virtual one of television, video games, and internet.  At the same time we are mired in a recession and people desperately need jobs.  Meanwhile, our public lands are facing unprecedented threats from a warming climate.  This new DOI office, as well as the Youth Conservation Corps, perfectly addresses the confluence of these three issues.  It is a clear recognition and a bold statement by the administration that says we can put people to work, help protect our public lands against a myriad of threats, and restore a respect and affinity for the outdoors in a new generation of young people.

Read the Sierra Club press release here and the DOI release here.

Time-Out for Roadless Areas

The Obama administration just took a huge leap toward protecting our country's vast roadless areas.  Last Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack signed a directive that essentially gave a time-out to millions of acres of our forests.  The directive requires any project that involves road building or timber harvesting on a majority of the area covered by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule to have the personal approval of the Secretary. 

This interim directive provides the administration with all of the tools it needs to protect most of our country's most wild and cherished roadless areas in the short term.  Unfortunately, this directive does not apply to Idaho, which had previously developed its own, weaker plan under a state petition process established by the Bush administration.  However, it does include the Tongass National Forest.  That forest, covering 17 million acres of southeast Alaska, is by far the largest national forest in the country and has a complicated history regarding the Roadless Rule.  Despite being the wildest national forest and serving as a poster child for why roadless areas should be protected, the Tongass was exempted from the rule by the Bush administration in 2003.  The Obama administration's decision to include the Tongass in this directive is a good first step towards reinstating the original 2001 Roadless Rule.  Hopefully it won't be too long before the critical next steps are taken as well.