Whitebark Pine Declared Endangered

 
 

The historic distribution of the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) spanned the scenic, high-elevation mountain ranges of western North America, where stands of the pine lined the slopes of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.  The species, so named for the lustrous white of young trees, is among the longest lived pines in the world, with individuals in the Rockies measuring well over 1,000 years old.  In their histories, these ancient trees have endured and adapted to the harsh life along the cold, rocky timberline.  Now the species faces a combination of threats from which it likely will not recover, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Last week, the agency declared the whitebark pine endangered.  This comes amid recent predictions that less than three percent of the tree’s original range will remain by the end of the century.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have attributed much of the decline of the whitebark pine to climate change, making it one of the first species listed with official acknowledgement of this cause.  Vast stands of the pine have been devastated by the native mountain pine beetle, from whose infestations the whitebark pine was historically protected by fatally cold temperatures.  As winters have grown milder, the beetle’s pest range has expanded into higher elevations and latitudes, where it burrows and lays eggs in pine trunks.  The tree’s mortality has been further exacerbated by white pine blister rust, a foreign fungal disease to which the tree has no immunity, and the ongoing cycle of fire suppression and high-intensity fire.  The deaths of two-thirds of Yellowstone and Glacier’s whitebark pines have been well documented due to a combination of these factors.

 
 The loss of the whitebark pine will reverberate across ecosystems.  As a keystone species, it helps underpin a web of flora, fauna, and ecological processes.  Animals like the red squirrel, black bear, and grizzly bears rely on the tree’s nutrient-dense seeds as a food source, as does the Clark’s nutcracker, a bird that shares a coevolutionary relationship with whitebark pine.  Every year, a single Clark’s nutcracker stores tens of thousands of seeds buried across the landscape.  Many of these seeds are never recovered for food, but instead germinate, establishing new stands of trees and regenerating old ones.  The whitebark pine also prevents mountainside erosion and affects mountain hydrology, as the shade provided by trees reduces snowmelt and regulates watershed replenishment.

Despite its ecological significance and dire prospects, the whitebark pine will not receive federal funding under the Endangered Species Act.  The Fish and Wildlife Service have deemed the species “warranted but precluded” from legal protections due to lack of resources, though it will be reconsidered as a candidate species on a yearly basis.  Advocates hope this national attention may yet bring good news for the whitebark pine.

Images: USDA Forest Service

 
 

The Five Worst Parts of the Budget Bill

Right now the U.S. House of Representatives is debating a budget bill that’s just riddled with bad policy that hamstrings the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency from doing their jobs. If you care about U.S. wild lands policies or how our nation protects wildlife, you’re going to hate this bill.

In no particular order, here are the five worst amendments to this proposed budget bill from my Resilient Habitats perspective:

1.  A rider that would place a moratorium on new Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings and critical habitat designations, as well as prohibit court challenges of ESA delistings. The ESA is regarded as one of the strongest conservation laws the world has ever seen, and it has had an astounding effect bringing species back from the edge of extinction and preserving biodiversity in this country. Its power lies in sound, science-based management, free from political interference.

2.  A rider that would prevent a long-term ban on mining around Grand Canyon. To put it mildly, this is just a bit ridiculous. Why do we want to mine in a national treasure? The Greater Grand Canyon region is a wild and remote landscape that includes two national monuments, two national forests, numerous wilderness areas, and the crown jewel of our national park system: Grand Canyon National Park.

These lands provide important connections for wildlife movement and homes to key animals like the desert tortoise, the endangered California condor, the northern goshawk, and the Kaibab squirrel—an animal found nowhere else.

3.  Conservation funding cuts, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and any funding for climate change adaptation or mitigation. The LWCF is one of the most effective tools the government has to acquire lands critical for conservation and habitat protection. Projects that receive money from LWCF are vital to the continued protection of our national parks, forests and wildlife refuges.

4.  A rider that would prevent EPA from implementing or enforcing water quality standards in Florida. Florida has a history of failing to follow the Clean Water Act. For over a decade the state has refused to set numeric limits for nutrient pollution that causes toxic algal blooms. With over 1,900 miles of rivers and streams and 375,000 acres of lakes in Florida currently suffering from nutrient pollution there is no time to lose in cleaning them up.  

5.  A rider that would prevent funding for Wild Lands policy. The Bureau of Land Management has a responsibility and a duty not just to inventory, but to protect our nation’s wild places. The Wild Lands policy provides a straightforward approach to restoring balance and preserving our last wild places for future generations to enjoy. 

Our outdoor heritage, our communities, and many economies, depends on keeping some places wild. The future of some of our most cherished wild places should not be determined by political games.

This bill is an all-out assault on environmental protections, and it has a good chance of passing. 

Thankfully, we’ve had some champions in the House fight back against these cuts, including Rep. Jim Moran, although he remains pessimistic as well: "I think we should be very concerned that many of these could see the light of day," said Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. 

Why are House members ignoring their constituents? Polls show Americans want to protect our nation’s natural heritage. A March poll showed that 84% of Americans support the ESA and believe it is a safety net providing balanced solutions to save wildlife, plants and fish that are at risk of extinction. The same poll showed that the majority of Americans believe decisions about whether to remove the Endangered Species Act’s protections and decisions about wildlife management should be made by scientists, not politicians. 

We must protect, connect, and restore healthy natural systems, not prevent the right people from doing just that. These natural places help clean our air and water. We should be helping our special places survive and thrive in a changing world.  That’s the goal of the Club’s Resilient Habitats Campaign; which recognizes that the natural legacy we leave our children depends on the choices we make today.

But unfortunately, the line has been drawn: the House has it out for anything that would protect critical habitats, endangered species, water quality standards, and policies that keep wild lands free of development.

- Fran Hunt, Resilient Habitats Campaign Director 

Wilderness Advocates Request Protection of Utah Canyonlands

 
Southern Utah’s redrock wilderness is home to a scenic mosaic of mesas, plateaus, and canyons with profound geologic and archeological significance. One region of this wilderness, referred to as the Greater Canyonlands, encompasses one and a half million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Greater Canyonlands region contains an astounding concentration of archeological sites—from Ice Age hunt camps to ancient Puebloan rock art—as well as waterways and wetlands inhabited by hundreds of species of desert flora and fauna.

The Bush-era introduction of 2,500 miles of primitive roads through the Greater Canyonlands has prompted a spike in off-road vehicle (ORV) use that threatens the integrity of these sensitive areas. Increased traffic has subjected the Greater Canyonlands’ fragile ecology to the adverse effects of ORV use, including erosion, compacted soils/vegetation, and water contamination. Officials have already identified the redrock wilderness as ranking among our country’s landscapes that are most vulnerable to climate change, making it all the more imperative that we mitigate additional ecological stressors.

To combat these dangers, the Greater Canyonlands Coalition has formally petitioned the BLM to temporary close 1,000 miles of ORV routes until further assessment of the impacts of vehicles is conducted. Over 1,400 miles would remain open for recreational use in the region, in addition to 10,000 miles of ORV roads on nearby BLM properties. Only July 7 the Greater Canyonlands Coalition—comprising a diverse set of local and national advocacy organizations, including the Sierra Club—published a supplementary letter requesting that the BLM engage the public in this decision-making process. The Coalition would like to see a comprehensive series of open hearings, comments, and other forums for public input as the Department of the Interior considers this appeal.

Read more about this unique region at http://www.greatercanyonlands.org

Images: NPS

Administration Works to Approve Species Protection Deals

 
A landmark legal agreement between officials of the Obama administration and two conservation organizations was publicized yesterday regarding hundreds of species currently unlisted as endangered.  The Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians have both reached deals (July 12 and this past May, respectively) with federal Fish and Wildlife Service officials that would consider a combined 757 plant and animal species for listing and protection by the Endangered Species Act over the next decade.

 Since the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, lack of funds has prevented hundreds of threatened species from attaining protection. Instead they have been relegated to an indefinite stay on the ESA waitlist—where two dozen species have already succumbed to extinction.  The deals forged this year would force a decision on these and five hundred other species, representing every American state and incredible diversity.  The American wolverine, the Pacific walrus, the Sonoran desert tortoise, and the scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper are just a few of the species in a list that includes particular victories for the aquatic biodiversity of the Southeast and the invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest.

 These historic deals come at a decisive moment for the Endangered Species Act, which currently faces pressure in Congress.  House Republicans have proposed a budget that would defund much of the Act and prohibit the listing of any new species.  If a federal judge approves the new agreements, an initial decision will be made on the majority of the 757 species before the end of the year.

Images: NPS

 

 

Grand Canyon Watershed Threatened by Congress

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar had barely made his way back to Washington, D.C. from his announcement at Grand Canyon, where he extended an emergency mining ban on one million acres of public lands in Grand Canyon’s watershed and established that ban as the Interior Department's preferred alternative, when some Arizona congressmen sought to stop it. Immediately, representatives Jeff Flake and Paul Gosar, both from Arizona, said they would seek ways to derail this policy.

Secretary Salazar’s announcement on June 20^th was welcomed by the Sierra Club and other conservation interests, scientists, local government leaders, businesses, tribal communities, and the hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens that submitted comments in support of these protections.  (See Salazar’s speech from Mather Point here.)  Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7) was on hand to herald the announcement as well; he has been working on a bill to make the action permanent. 

The Secretary’s proposed mineral withdrawal will help protect the Grand Canyon’s waters, sacred Native American sites, and critical wildlife habitat. There are more than 3,000 uranium mining claims in the plateaus surrounding the Grand Canyon. Development of these claims would industrialize regionally sacred wildlands, destroy wildlife habitat and permanently pollute or deplete aquifers feeding the Grand Canyon's biologically rich springs. The Colorado River watershed provides water to millions of acres of farmland and people throughout the Southwest living in southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson.

Unfortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives is putting at risk the Grand Canyon, its waters, and wildlife.  They have included a rider in the Interior Appropriations bill (actually, there are many terrible riders in this bill) that will stop the Secretary from enacting the mineral withdrawal and protecting the Grand Canyon’s resources.  Riders like this are often used to promote legislation that would never advance as a stand-alone bill and that frequently include policies that are harmful to land, air, water, and wildlife.  This bill is loaded with them.  

Please click here to ask your congressperson to oppose this and other harmful riders. They are bad for Grand Canyon and other public lands throughout the country, as well as our air, water, and wildlife.

- Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter