• California Court Upholds Stringent Stormwater Permit
  
• Loss of Wolves Reshaped Western Ecosystems
  
• Wild Whooping Crane Dies From Gunshot Wounds
  
• Environmentalists Sue to Obtain Otero Mesa Drilling Plans
  
• Forest Service Delays Timber Sale in Roadless Tongass Area
  
• Energy Department Funds New Natural Gas Projects
  
• A Boost for Green Power
  
• Gas Station Contaminates Water in New Jersey Highlands Town
  

California Court Upholds Stringent Stormwater Permit

Loss of Wolves Reshaped Western Ecosystems

The removal of the wolf took out the natural element of "fear" from these ecosystems, researchers said, and this triggered a cascade of ecological effects on everything from elk populations to beaver, birds, fish, and even stream systems - and helped lead to the collapsing health of aspen and some other tree species and vegetation.

"Prey species will alter their use of space and their foraging patterns according to the features of the terrain and how that affects the risk of predation," according to the study by Oregon State forestry scientists William Ripple and Robert Beschta. "They forage or browse less intensively at high risk sites."

The researchers built on a study they published last year that found how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park benefited the surrounding ecosystem.

That study documented that the loss of aspen and cottonwood trees in Yellowstone National Park dated almost exactly to the extermination of the last wolf packs in the park in the mid-1920s.

The elk moved in, ate young trees before they could become established, and the entire riparian ecosystem began a slow demise that was only reversed recently - when wolves were re-introduced to the park.

In their newest work, the researchers have found exactly the same forces at work along the Gallatin River in southwestern Montana.

As wolves have been reintroduced to that area, there has been a dramatic recovery of willow populations along streams. Scientists say other possible factors such as changing climate conditions have been ruled out as a possible cause of willow recovery.

The researchers say the body of evidence has become compelling that predation by top carnivores, especially wolves, is pivotal to maintaining biodiversity in some ecosystems.

Wild Whooping Crane Dies From Gunshot Wounds

Whooping cranes, native only to North America, are a protected endangered species, and the rarest of all cranes.

The endangered bird was being treated for shotgun wounds, including a broken wing, and a respiratory condition.

Earlier this week, Dr. Glenn Olsen, Patuxent's veterinarian, reported that the crane's respiratory problems had worsened since his arrival at the U.S. Geological Survey facility.

The injured crane, part of the last remaining wild flock of an endangered species that migrates annually from northern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, was shot in November as he traveled through Kansas on migration south.

The bird had 11 pellets in its body and a broken wing.

Another male crane was shot during this incident and did not survive.

The injured crane received extensive treatment at Kansas State University before being sent to Patuxent on November 18.

The carcass will be sent to the National Forensics Laboratory in Oregon for necropsy, because the shooting of these whooping cranes is still under investigation by law enforcement officers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"With such as small number of whoopers alive in the world, the loss of each individual bird is upsetting, especially one that we cared for so intensely," said Dr. John B. French, Jr. head of the Crane program at Patuxent.

The whooping crane that died had been a member of the last remaining wild flock, which numbers 213 birds today.

There are about 440 whoopers in the world today, about one third of which are in captivity.

Environmentalists Sue to Obtain Otero Mesa Drilling Plans

The Otero Mesa extends eastward from the Hueco Mountains to the Guadalupe Mountains and north from the Texas border into New Mexico. It is home to numerous species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act, including the black-footed ferret, northern aplomado falcon, Kuenzler's hedgehog cactus, and bald eagle.

The area also holds a supply of clean ground water large enough to supply more 800,000 people or half of New Mexico's current population. Critics fear oil and gas development could contaminate this supply.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) plan would allow 141 oil and gas wells across some seven million acres.

The suit was filed on behalf of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and The Wilderness Society by the environmental law firm Earthjustice.

It follows a bid by the groups to uncover documents on the deal through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In July, the BLM released some general background documents, but the environmental groups contend the agency withheld more than 10,000 pages that address the potential adverse environmental impacts oil and gas exploration would have on the Otero Mesa. Those documents were shared with industry representatives, the plaintiffs allege.

"If the oil and gas corporations are permitted to see the plans, the public should also be welcome," said The Wilderness Society's Pam Eaton. "That's how we will achieve balanced management plans that work for our land, our water, and our communities."

The drilling proposal has also drawn criticism from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who signed an executive order earlier this year making it state policy to prevent drilling in Otero Mesa.

Forest Service Delays Timber Sale in Roadless Tongass Area

"After careful review of the information and views expressed by the public in the Gravina Island Timber Sale," Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole announced last month. "I am withdrawing the decision of July 2004."

Cole also stated that the Forest Service could improve upon their "analysis and decision rationale" and would release a new Record of Decision for the logging project early in 2005.

Local tribal and conservation groups strongly oppose the project, which federal officials had defended the sale as critical to the local economy and said it could generate nearly 240 jobs.

The logging plan would have allowed the harvest of 37.9 million acres from a 1,800 acre area on Gravina Island, located across Tongass Narrows from the town of Ketchikan.

Some 21.8 miles of new roads would have been constructed to access the timber.

Conservationists contend there is ample timber available for harvest in the Tongass without opening roadless areas and say the economic future of the region lies with recreation and ecotourism, not logging.

The Tongass is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the national forest system. Designated a national forest in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it is the largest U.S. national forest and the largest remaining temperate rainforest on Earth.

The forest consists of old growth spruce, cedar and hemlock trees and provides critical habitat for wolves, grizzly bears, wild salmon, bald eagles and other wildlife that have disappeared from other parts of the country.

But much of the Tongass National Forest is not forest. Two thirds is rock, ice, wet lands and scrub timber.

Over the past half century, the Tongass has lost a million acres of old-growth forest to clearcut logging and the construction of more than 4,650 access roads.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, these roads and timber sales have been subsidized by $30 million taxpayer dollars each year.

The Forest Service faces an estimated $900 million road maintenance backlog in the Tongass.

Energy Department Funds New Natural Gas Projects

Abraham said the new projects, supported by $4.2 million in Energy Department funding, will help meet future needs by developing tools and technologies to remotely identify gas reservoirs and reservoir properties in deep exploration settings, as well as to help maximize production in existing fields.

"As America's demand for natural gas grows, we will increasingly turn to resources that stretch the limits of today's technology," Abraham said. "By investing in technology development, the Department of Energy helps to ensure a reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound supply of domestic natural gas for the future. Our energy security will be directly enhanced by these technologies."

Natural gas demand in the United States is forecast to grow by 50 percent by 2025.

Experts say new domestic sources of natural gas that will be found and developed over the next 25 years will be located in increasingly remote and technologically challenging geographic locations.

One project centers on exploiting reservoirs at depths greater than 15,000 feet in the shallow-water, deep-gas plays of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service recently increased its estimate of recoverable gas located in the Gulf of Mexico's shallow water by 175 percent. The new estimate is 55 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas at 15,000 feet and deeper, below the outer continental shelf in water depths up to 650 feet.

The projects also target deep portions of interior U.S. basins - including the Greater Green River, Wind River, Anadarko, Appalachian, and Uinta basins.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that deep gas reservoirs will supply 135 Tcf of technically recoverable gas.

A Boost for Green Power

The Green Power Group is a commercial and industrial partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power - its members are Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinko's, General Motors, IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, and Staples.

The 62 MW - enough to power 46,000 homes - represent purchases made in the past year for more than 80 facilities in 18 states.

The green energy purchases and fuel switches include 21 MW Of biomass generation, 18 MW of wind generation, as well as 21 MW of landfill gas.

In addition, Johnson & Johnson and IBM increased their use of wind power at their U.S. facilities by some 1.5 MW and Staples has plans to install two 280 kW on-site solar power systems in California.

"Renewable energy is available, affordable and offers companies economic and environmental benefits today," said Jonathan Lash, president of WRI. "Natural gas prices, electricity reliability issues, and environmental concerns are all driving companies to diversify their energy purchases."

Convened by WRI in 2000, the Green Power Group's goal is to create 1,000 MW of new cost-competitive green power for corporate markets by 2010.

The announcement brings the total purchases by the group to 174 MW - five Green Power Group members now purchase green power for 10 percent or more of their U.S. electricity.

"I applaud the accomplishments of WRI and its Green Power Group," said Michael Eckhart, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy. "Such large purchases by well-known Fortune 500 companies signal that renewable energy is coming into the mainstream."

Gas Station Contaminates Water in New Jersey Highlands Town

Ground water contamination was first found in Ringwood's Wildwood Terrace neighborhood in June during private well testing performed by the owner of the nearby Skyline Service Station.

The main contaminants found in private wells in residences and in ground water monitor wells at the Skyline Service Station site were methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA).

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley Campbell Thursday proposed a $1.2 million waterline project to bring safe drinking water to the Wildwood Terrace neighborhood.

“Ringwood Borough residents have been aware of the pollution in their ground water supplies for some time,” said Campbell. “Hooking up residents whose wells are at risk to the municipal water supply brings needed relief and protection.”

“Providing safe drinking water will bring some needed peace of mind to the residents of this Ringwood neighborhood,” said Acting Governor Richard Codey. “When companies liable for pollution don’t take action, the state will step up to the plate to protect public health.”

DEP determined that connection to a public water supply system is the most reliable and cost-effective method to supply drinking water to the Wildwood Terrace neighborhood. Under an agreement with DEP, Ringwood Borough will hire the design and construction contractors for the waterline work using state funding.

Confirmed contamination exceeding the state’s drinking water standard was found in four private wells during testing by the owner of Skyline Service Station this summer and fall as well as contamination below the standards in numerous other wells in the project area.

To address the immediate drinking water needs of those residents with contaminated wells above the standards, the owner of Skyline Service Station installed Point-of-Entry Treatment systems to remove the contamination from the well water.

DEP also will work to ensure that a remedial investigation and any required cleanup work are completed for the Skyline Service Station to protect the area's ground water supply.