Californians Unite Under New Environmental Campaign

“A strong and lasting economy depends upon a healthy environment, and a healthy, clean environment is vital to our success.” Such is the standard for Sierra Club California’s newly launched Protect California-A No Regrets Campaign which had its debut in the state capitol earlier this month.

A flailing economy, and aggressive right-wing legislative attacks on the environment led Kathryn Phillips, Director of Sierra Club California, to spearhead this new campaign along with other allied environmental organizations. Their cause for action: The environment, which came under attack during the last few weeks of 2011 when big polluters and legislature introduced bad environmental rollback laws in Sacramento, and although most of the bills were killed, the remainders still pose a threat.

The idea that everyone—but especially a new generation of legislative staffers and term-limited legislators—needs to be reminded about that the public supports cleaning up and protecting the state’s environment, drives the campaign. The campaign is waged inside the Capitol, through hearings and briefings.  At the district level around the state, Sierra Club members will play a key role through emails, calls, and visits to remind legislators that their constituents care about the environment.

Everything Changes Because of Clearcutting

“The forests are our sponges, so when we cut them down, everything changes - our water system, our hydrology, the amount of water coming down in the summer. We have major problems in the state with water shortages and water pollution that starts with clearcutting in the headwaters,” said Caleen Sisk, spiritual leader and tribal chief of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, whose ancestral land was inundated by the Shasta Reservoir.

On February 10th and 11th, dozens of forest activists flooded the small city and logging capitol of Northern California, Redding, to raise awareness about the harmful impacts of clearcutting. Currently clearcutting in California is happening at an unprecedented rate and scale. The clearcuts threaten important waterways like the headwaters of the Mokulemne River, which provides drinking water for East Bay residents. Water pollution from clearcuts also threatens to undermine extensive salmon recovery efforts and the region’s fishing economy.

The demonstration was timed perfectly with the timber industry's annual expo which features the BackHoe Rodeo and Lumberjack Banquet. Local Redding-area groups including the Battle Creek Alliance, Cascade Action Now! and the Shasta Group of the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club planned a series of events to highlight the importance of sustainable forestry and watershed protection. 

The West For Itself-Perhaps At Last

It is possible to naturally restore wildlife habitat while financially benefiting rural communities and public lands ranchers. In fact, that’s exactly what the Rural Economic Vitalization Act would achieve.
Known as REVA, the legislation would accomplish all this by simply transferring a certain authority from the U.S. government to ranchers who hold federal grazing permits—specifically, the authority to direct the government to both retire one’s permit, and to permanently close the associated grazing allotment. This authority is needed because the government is usually too intimidated by the grazing lobby to permanently close a grazing allotment even under the most dire environmental conditions.

Why might a rancher choose to retire his permit? In most cases the rancher has been offered money, and has concluded that for him it makes sense to receive value for his grazing permit without the need to sell his base property. There are many reasons why a rancher might accept money for his grazing permit, and they are as varied as the people involved. Most frequently he’ll want to retire or restructure his business, or perhaps prolonged drought has greatly reduced the income producing value of his grazing permit.

Culling Wolves In Order to Promote Tar Sands Development

This piece is cross-posted on the Sierra Club's Compass blog.

Tar sands development in Alberta, Canada, has recently been tied directly to habitat destruction and declining caribou populations. Canada’s woodland caribou is listed as a threatened species, provincially as well as federally, and the dramatic expansion of tar sands in recent years is severely impacting this already vulnerable species. Yet instead of dealing with the real problems affecting Caribou, the Canadian government is blaming the caribou’s decline on wolves.

According to the Pembina Institute, a Canadian non-profit think tank that advances clean energy solutions, “95% of woodland caribou habitat in northeastern Alberta is to be lost in order to promote oil sands development.”

A study conducted by Samuel Wasser of the Center for Conservation Biology found that many oil extracting operations take place in the same areas that caribou use to graze. During the wintertime when oil production activity is at its peak, caribou food sources are hard to come by, causing serious distress among the herds.

An even more disturbing report by the Alberta Caribou Committee found that the continued expansion of the tar sands industry “will cause the complete collapse of caribou populations living in the Boreal forest.” It is clear that in order to protect and revive this species immediate action must be taken to restore their lost habitats.

But where are Canadian officials focusing the blame? Rather than dealing with the issue of caribou habitat fragmentation and loss, they have decided to directly target wolves which prey on caribou. Specifically, Canadian wildlife officials are poisoning wolves with strychnine-laced bait. Strychnine is a deadly poison known for an excruciating death that progresses painfully from muscle spasms to convulsions to suffocation, over a period of hours.

Protecting a Strange and Valuable Bird

I would venture a guess to say that the vast majority of Americans have never heard of the sage grouse, let alone seen one. Sage grouse used to be one of the most abundant birds in the sagebrush steppes of the American west, providing food for early settlers and game for modern hunters.

Their complicated and somewhat unusual mating rituals give life to open spaces and their health is an indicator of the health of whole communities.  Just watch this short video from the BBC to see how unique these birds are.

 
Sage grouse are a fun and weird prairie bird (if you want to learn even more about them, check out this longer video from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department) – but as I said in a previous column, from the beautiful and popular, to the bizarre or ugly and hardly-known, all critters deserve protection.

That time is now for the sage grouse. Decades of unsustainable livestock grazing, minerals and energy extraction have now pushed the sage grouse to the brink of extinction. Wildlife scientists in Wyoming say because of encroaching development from humans, sage grouse now only comprise about half the area they used to.

Forest Service Deepens Commitment on Climate

I’ve had the good fortune to visit Alaska several times during the course of my life and she never ceases to amaze me with her beauty.  Several years ago, while in Anchorage attending a scientific meeting, a colleague and I snuck away one morning to hunt ptarmigan in the Chugach National Forest.  Driving our rented Subaru down a rough two track we were nearly creamed by a giant bull moose that burst out of the brush, his hair glistening with the moisture that hung in that coastal mountain air, his eyes deep and wide in their indifference to our presence, his antlers silhouetted against the cerulean sky, like a bony halo.

Catching our breath, we drove on until we reached  the end of the track in a high elevation basin ringed by peaks studded with snowfields, its floor carpeted in willows.  Our shotguns loaded, we started climbing, picking our way across scree, listening for the telltale clucks of the ptarmigan.  The terrain, the chill, the unparalleled scenery made for one of the most challenging and rewarding mornings of bird hunting I’ve ever experienced.  By the time we returned to the Subaru we had three birds in our bag.  Back home in Virginia, they were oven roasted and served at a special dinner party where most of the guests had never heard of the Chugach until they were told the story of how it had come to feed them and in turn deserved some reverence.

The Chugach National Forest is a special place, and not just because of the opportunities it gives hunters like myself.  The rain and snow that falls on the Chugach Mountains supply fresh water to the 270,000 residents of the city of Anchorage.  They also feed the rivers and streams that support wild salmon runs that help form the backbone of Alaska’s multi-billion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industries. The forests and meadows are home to wildlife like the moose and ptarmigan we encountered, along with grizzly and black bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat and bald eagle, making it a crucial area for conserving America’s natural heritage. 

Arizona Senators Want to Give Away Public Lands to International Mining Corporation

Yesterday the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on a bill that would give away public lands in Arizona, lands that are sacred to many Native Americans, to an international mining corporation. The bill in question is the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act and it's being pushed by Senators McCain and Kyl of Arizona.
This blatant giveaway has been a priority of the Arizona Senators for years. It would mandate a transfer of 2400 acres of land in the Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper Mining, a foreign-owned company that plans to turn the land into one of the largest copper mines in the country. This land includes Oak Flat Campground, a place recognized across the country for its premier climbing and birding opportunities. It is also of profound religious, cultural, and historic significance to many Native Nations. In fact, the bill is opposed by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the National Congress on American Indians, and tribes and tribal organizations across the country.

The area's values have been recognized and reaffirmed for decades. In fact, it was first set aside by President Eisenhower who issued a withdrawal from mining for the area in the 1950s. And that withdrawal has withstood the test of time. If passed, this legislation would require the land to be turned over to an international mining conglomerate without environmental review and without going through any of the legally required land transfer procedures.

The Arizona Senators continue to push this irresponsible bill despite local opposition from the community, despite opposition from the many who find the lands sacred, and despite environmental opposition. They have gone so far as to hold up other legislation and Presidential nominations in an attempt to force through their pet project.

Write your Senator and tell them to oppose this bill.

Photo by Tiffany Sprague

U.S. Forest Service Awards $40 million for Forest Health

Photo by Stephen Ausmus, courtesy USDA When we turn on the tap, water flows out of it.  When we look at the sky, we will likely see birds in flight.  If we look out our back doors, or drive just a short distance from our urban areas we will find forests, wetlands, meadows and mountains.  As a nation, America is blessed with a staggering amount of natural wealth, so much that its presence can sometimes be easy to take for granted.  Our wealth though is the result of over a century of work by Americans who know that conservation is not just an idea, but a process and a practice.

 To support the work of these Americans, the U.S. Forest Service recently awarded over $40 million in grants across the country, supporting collaborative projects to improve forest health. While not perfect, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program is an important piece of the forest management puzzle. Program funds go to improve habitat by restoring streams, decommissioning roads, repairing culverts, applying prescribed fire and reducing fuels that can feed catastrophic and life threatening wildfires.

Effort Launched to Protect California

You could have heard a pin drop after a Sacramento labor leader pressed legislators about the need to end clearcutting in California recently.

The labor leader, a member of a panel on clearcutting, was participating in the launch of the Protect California Campaign, a concerted educational effort led by Sierra Club California, environmental and environmental justice groups, and other allies to push back on anti-environmental rhetoric at the state Capitol.

“I could feel tears welling in my eyes as the clear cutting panel testimony ended with Bill Camp’s impassioned plea to give working people sustainable jobs by keeping the forest sustainable,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “The entire panel provided such a great balance of data and heart—exactly the balance that will help us recapture the environmental debate.”

The panel was organized by the Sierra Nevada Campaign and Sierra Club California. It was one of five that drew more than 100 audience members and 15 legislators during a three-hour update on the environment.

$1 Billion Jobs Proposal for Veterans to work on public lands

National Parks Director Jon Jarvis made the statement last week, “Let’s prepare our parks for 1 million returning veterans and their families,” now President Obama is proposing that we get them ready ourselves through a $1 billion proposal to put up to 20,000 veterans to work over the next five years in our country’s great outdoors.

Later today, the President will be announcing this proposal through the development of  the Veteran Job Corps. Obama is following up on his promises made during the State of the Union Address to help returning veterans find pathways to civilian employment.

Let’s review the numbers one more time:

• 1 billion dollars

• Five years

• Up to 20,000 jobs

Is anyone else as excited as I am? Thank you Mr. President!