• Lead Levels Linked to Male Infertility
  
• Rights Of Way Restrictions Eased
  
• Moscow Treaty May Not Reduce Weapons
  
• House Subcommittee Leader Wins Praise
  
• U.S. Fishing Vessels Harvested Russian Crabs
  
• Eighth Alternative to Lead Shot Approved
  
• Shark Attacks Declined Again Last Year
  
• Survey Finds Refuge Visitors Satisfied
  

Lead Levels Linked to Male Infertility

A report a European medicine journal, "Human Reproduction," concludes that exposure to lead damages sperm function and may be one cause of unexplained male infertility cases.

The findings have led principal investigator Dr. Susan Benoff to urge doctors to measure lead in semen samples when evaluating men from couples with unexplained fertility. She said she also believes there is a case for health and safety authorities to continue reevaluating environmental exposure safety limits for lead.

Benoff, director of the Fertility Research Laboratories at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research Institute in Manhasset, and colleagues from several other U.S. institutions, studied metal ion levels and sperm function in semen from the partners of 140 women undergoing their first attempts at in vitro fertilization (IVF).

They found that while lead levels in seminal plasma varied over a wide range, there was a strong association between high lead levels and low fertilization rates, with changes in lead levels accounting for a fifth of the variance in fertilization rates.

"From our tests on lead in the seminal plasma of the participants and control experiments on nine fertile donors, we have evidence that higher lead levels interfere both with the ability of the sperm to bind to the egg and with its ability to fertilize the egg," said Benoff.

In order to fertilize an egg, a sperm has first to bind to it. A sugar called mannose on the outer coating of the egg is crucial to binding. Mannose receptors located on the head of human sperm recognize the mannose on the coating of the egg and regulate the binding process.

Then the sperm has to penetrate the egg. Successful binding induces an event called mannose-induced acrosome reaction (MIAR) - the release of digestive enzymes from the sperm that ease its passage through the egg coating so that its nucleus can fertilize the egg.

The researchers found that in the 140 men whose partners were undergoing IVF, higher lead levels in the semen were correlated with low numbers of mannose receptors, and with an inability of sperm to undergo MIAR. Higher lead levels were also associated with a premature or spontaneous acrosome reaction that occurred before sperm-egg contact, which also blocks fertilization.

"To see whether this association between increased lead levels could be causal we exposed healthy sperm from nine fertile donors to increasing doses of exogenous lead to see what would happen. We got the same results," said Benoff.

"Our data suggest that lead is acting at multiple levels in testis and sperm to decrease human male fertility," she added. "Our data also confirm that increased seminal plasma lead levels can occur without any detectable effects on male reproductive hormone function and also that they are associated with decreased sperm concentration, sperm shape, form and movement, suggesting that lead also acts in the testis."

Benoff said previous studies have shown that elevated lead levels in rats' testes are associated with programmed cell death of sperm precursors. Studies of men with low or zero sperm counts that are not caused by a physical obstruction suggest that programmed cell death in the testes is a major determinant of sperm count in the ejaculate.

"This leads us to believe that lead is a contributory factor of declining sperm counts," she said. "In the light of these results, environmental exposure limits for lead might be reevaluated."

Rights Of Way Restrictions Eased

The rule allows roads and highways to be built along any route presently traced by a road or trail, even if the trail is 150 years old and has never been traveled by a motor vehicle. Criticized as a giveaway of lands owned by the public, the rule will hit especially hard in Alaska and the West.

"The statute is like a fish out of water - it just doesn't belong in the modern world," said Courtney Cuff, director of the National Parks Conservation Association's (NPCA) Pacific regional office. "In California, local counties have alleged more than 2,500 miles of routes in the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park. Counties in Montana, Idaho, and Oregon have asserted claims to roads on national forest lands. The new rule should be seen for what it is - a blatant land grab that defies public interest."

The 130 year old rule (RS 2477 of the 1866 Mining Act), designed to encourage road building in the Civil War era and repealed by Congress in 1976, has been resuscitated by the Department of the Interior. Beginning Wednesday, local and state governments will be able to expedite filing claims for rights of way under the Civil War era statute.

The NPCA said the regulation could allow mining companies and other developers to force the building of thousands of miles of new roads through pristine western public lands, including national parks.

In Alaska, the roads and trails that could be developed in national parks and preserves under the 1866 rule total more than 2,700 miles. More than half of those potential miles could be built in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the nation's largest national park and largest park wilderness area, potentially adding more than 1,600 miles of road in a park that now has about 100 roads.

Thirteen Alaska national parks and preserves could be affected, including Denali, Bering Land Bridge, and Yukon-Charley. The state of Alaska has already identified 24 routes into Denali National Park and Preserve that may be claimed under the rule, covering about 350 miles that are now almost all eligible for wilderness designation.

"February 5, 2003, marks a dark day in the history of public land protection in the United States," said Craig Obey, vice president for government affairs at the NPCA. "This Bush administration action to allow a cynical few to turn footpaths in national parks into paved roadways flies in the face of the conservation legacy of great Republican leaders like Theodore Roosevelt. Unless the administration reverses course and refuses to give away any piece of America's natural heritage, its legacy will be national parks scarred by pavement and mountainsides gouged for unneeded roadways, not parks and other public lands protected for posterity."

For more information regarding the rule, visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-07-06.asp

Moscow Treaty May Not Reduce Weapons

Critics of the Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions say it has "serious flaws," and would allow both nations to maintain massive numbers of weapons while removing only the oldest and most obsolete.

According to the administration's own "article-by-article analysis," submitted with the treaty, the effective date of the treaty's only constraint - a reduction in "operationally deployed strategic" weapons that must occur "by December 31, 2012,"- lags by just a microsecond the expiration of the overall treaty, which remains in force only "until December 31, 2012."

The treaty's advertised "two-thirds" reduction in deployed strategic arsenals thus never enters into legal force and effect. "The only substantive provision in the treaty is a sham," warns Christopher Paine, a senior analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The Moscow Treaty does not require the governments to meet any interim milestones for implementing reductions and assessing compliance, Paine noted. According to the administration's article by article analysis, "prior to December 31, 2012 each Party is free to maintain whatever level of strategic nuclear warheads it deems appropriate."

"This same freedom obviously exists on or after December 31, 2012, but for a different reason - the treaty expires before compliance with the phantom reductions provision can even be assessed," Paine said.

The treaty's voluntary limit on operationally deployed strategic weapons excludes strategic nuclear systems that are being overhauled, but the treaty contains no corresponding cap on the number of deployed warheads that may be claimed to be in overhaul at any given time. The result is that the 1,700 to 2,200 warhead limit, even if voluntarily observed by each side, is also reversible.

The treaty lacks verification and inspection provisions of any kind, and does not mandate the elimination of a single nuclear missile silo, submarine, missile, warhead, bomber or bomb. It allows unlimited production and deployment of new nuclear warheads and delivery systems, both tactical and strategic.

"It even lacks an agreed definition between the parties of what, if anything, is being 'reduced'," Paine added.

Under the Moscow Treaty, in 2013, the U.S. president would still command a nuclear force consisting of:

• 954 strategic launchers;
• 3,000 "operational" strategic and "substrategic" nuclear weapons;
• 2,100 "active reserve" nuclear weapons ready for re-deployment;
• 4,900 intact but "inactive" reserve weapons (i.e. not ready for immediate deployment);
• nuclear components for some 5,000 additional weapons;
• an aggregate potential for 15,000 weapons.

Under the Moscow Treaty, the Bush administration is planning to maintain "enhanced readiness" to resume nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site, and senior officials are contemplating the possibility of resuming nuclear test explosions within the decade.

President George W. Bush, who negotiated the treaty with Russian President Vladimir Putin last May, welcomed the unanimous vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in favor of the pact, and urged to full Senate to move forward on the resolution "at its earliest opportunity."

House Subcommittee Leader Wins Praise

Solis was named as the senior Democrat on the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The subcommittee oversees environmental issues such as the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Superfund program to clean up toxic waste sites.

The first term House member from southern California has earned a perfect 100 percent rating on the League of Conservation Voter's (LCV) National Environmental Scorecard - voting pro-environment 22 times in as many chances since her election to Congress in 2000.

This includes votes in favor of a safer standard for arsenic in drinking water and tougher protections against hardrock mining waste, which has polluted about 40 percent of Western watersheds. She also led the fight to force companies to pay millions of dollars in damages for the pollution they caused at four San Gabriel Valley toxic waste sites.

"Hilda Solis has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to ensuring that all Americans live in communities in which they can breathe clean air and drink safe water," said LCV political director Betsy Loyless. "By earning the job of subcommittee ranking member, Hilda Solis has a powerful position from which she can continue to fight for commonsense environmental protections."

U.S. Fishing Vessels Harvested Russian Crabs

The vessels were ordered to Dutch Harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard after a Coast Guard aircraft and a cutter identified the vessels setting and pulling crab pots on the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line.

The alleged illegal crabbing occurred the week of January 19 in Russian waters off Alaska, and involved vessels from Washington and Alaska. More than 223,000 pounds of prized snow crab, also called Tanner or Opilio, were seized from the five vessels by special agent Ernie Soper, of the Office for Law Enforcement at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

The estimated value of the crab is almost $350,000. All of the vessels will be investigated for potential violations of the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to acquire fish or wildlife in violation of international treaties.

"It's unusual to have U.S. boats illegally fishing in Russian waters," said assistant special agent in charge Mike Mahaffey.

The alleged illegal crabbing occurred days before the official closure of the Bering Sea snow crab fishery. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed the fishery on January 26 when the U.S. fleet of 191 boats reached the snow crab quota of 23.7 million pounds.

The fishery reached this year's quota - down almost five million pounds from last year, in just 11 days, less than half the time of last year, when the fleet spent 24 days fishing in the Bering Sea.

Federal and state officials denied requests to increase this year's quota, saying populations of Bering Sea snow crabs are still depressed. In 1999, NMFS declared the stock to be overfished, and created a strict plan for rebuilding the crab populations.

Eighth Alternative to Lead Shot Approved

On January 10, the agency gave permanent approval to ENVIRON-Metal's HEVI-SHOT brand of non-toxic shot that contains a tungsten, iron, nickel and tin formulation (TINT). The shot had been given temporary approval, pending completion of toxicological studies and other evaluations.

"This will give waterfowl hunters another option for hunting," said USFWS Director Steve Williams.

After reviewing ENVIRON-Metal's application and supporting data, and evaluating public comment, the USFWS has determined that this shot "does not pose a significant danger" to migratory birds and other wildlife or their habitats.

Efforts to phase out lead shot began in the 1970s, but a nationwide ban on lead shot for all waterfowl hunting was not implemented until 1991. Canada instituted a complete ban on the use of lead shot in 1999, after banning its use near bodies of water and on national wildlife areas earlier.

In order to measure the effect of the ban on lead shot, researchers examined thousands of ducks harvested in the Mississippi Flyway during the 1996 and 1997 waterfowl seasons, the fifth and sixth seasons after the 1991 ban on lead shot.

Based on the survey's findings, researchers William Anderson of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Stephen Havera and Bradley Zercher of the Illinois Natural History Survey estimate that the ban on lead shot reduced lead poisoning deaths of Mississippi Flyway mallards by 64 percent. Overall ingestion of toxic pellets declined by 78 percent over previous levels after the ban.

The report concludes that by reducing lead shot ingestion in waterfowl, the ban prevented the lead poisoning deaths of an estimated 1.4 million ducks in the 1997 fall flight of 90 million ducks. The researchers state that about 462,000 to 615,000 acres of breeding habitat would have been required to produce the same number of birds that were likely saved by nontoxic shot regulations that year.

With the ban now entering its twelfth year, ingestion of lead shot has continued to decline from the levels documented in the study, the USFWS said, preventing an increasing number of lead poisoning deaths.

Shark Attacks Declined Again Last Year

The researchers attributed the drop in attacks to a weak economy, which kept many vacationers away from the beach, and excessive shark fishing.

The annual total of 60 unprovoked attacks worldwide was less than the 72 reported in 2001 and 85 recorded in 2000, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, which is housed at UF.

Not only did the number drop, fewer of the attacks were serious, Burgess added. The number of fatalities declined to three in 2002, from five in 2001 and 13 in 2000. Two of last year's fatal attacks occurred in Australia and the third took place in Brazil.

"The number of shark attacks has declined for the last two years at all three levels, internationally, nationally and in Florida, the so called shark capital of the world," noted Burgess, a biological scientist and coordinator of museum operations at the Florida Museum of Natural History at UF. Burgess has just finished compiling the annual report for the shark attack file, a record of all known shark attacks.

"I think it underscores the views scientists enunciated in 2001 that that year was not particularly unusual and that attacks were not on an upswing," said Burgess.

Media reports contributed to the public perception that 2001 was a banner year for shark attacks, he noted, but scientists say decade long trends are more reliable than year to year fluctuations, which can result from a variety of oceanographic, meteorological and economic conditions.

One explanation for the recent decline in attacks may be over fishing of sharks, Burgess said.

"Shark populations are at low levels, not only on the East Coast of the United States but worldwide, primarily because of over fishing and to a lesser extent because of habitat alteration," said Burgess. "It appears that fishery management practices have stemmed the tide and these East Coast populations may be beginning to recover, but it will probably take decades."

Economics may be another factor in the decline in attacks, he added.

"Clearly, the economy has been down for the last year or so, which may reduce the number of tourists who are able to afford to go to beaches," Burgess said. "That the number of attacks was down in Florida, a popular tourist destination, as well as the U.S. and internationally, may be reflective of a worldwide downturn in the economy."

Other factors that could decrease the incidence of shark attacks include fewer bait fish for sharks in shallow waters where people often swim, or rainy weather and colder water temperatures during tourist seasons keeping people from entering the ocean.

Survey Finds Refuge Visitors Satisfied

The report, commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is expected to help the National Wildlife Refuge System fine tune its public appeal and conservation efforts.

Based on more than 3,000 visitor satisfaction surveys, the report compiled information from 43 refuges throughout the country, each hosting a visitor center, an environmental education program, and an annual visitation of at least 75,000.

"We are glad to see that so many people are pleased with their refuge experiences," said USFWS Director Steve Williams. "Refuges are places that the public should want to visit, again and again, and the public should feel entitled to tell us how we can keep refuges at the top of their 'to do' list."

"One of our most valuable conservation resources is people, and to get them interested in the refuge system is to get them invested in conservation," Williams added.

Survey analysis revealed that almost 90 percent of respondents would likely visit a refuge again within two years. According to the report, visitor satisfaction was "not only consistently high, it was also durable. That is, even visitors who perceived some aspect of a refuge's services or facilities to be inadequate were very likely to express overall satisfaction with regard to their refuge visit."

While the survey did not reveal any fundamental areas of concern related to visitor satisfaction, the refuge system will use the survey results to hone and broaden its appeal. The data analysis cited specific areas that may enhance the visitor experience such as greater law enforcement presence and increased road sign visibility.

Another conclusion reached through analysis is that the National Wildlife Refuge System could benefit by extending its outreach efforts to broader audiences which, according to Williams, is "one of many issues we have already begun addressing."

The National Wildlife Refuge System encompasses includes 95 million acres on 540 wildlife refuges in all 50 states, and hosts some 35 million people each year. In addition to conserving natural habitat for wildlife, the National Wildlife Refuge System is enhancing a variety of wildlife dependent recreation for the public.

Williams said the USFWS is expanding environmental education programs to help instill a conservation ethic that can be passed down from generation to generation.

"In our increasingly urbanized world," Williams said, "it is crucial that people have places to experience, and thereby cherish, the outdoors."

The report also helped the National Wildlife Refuge System better understand public attitudes towards its fee demonstration program. Most refuges are open to the public at no cost, but about 25 percent charge nominal entrance fees or charge for special activities and additional services.

Survey results found that an overwhelming majority of visitors, 94 percent, did not mind the fee. Statistical analysis suggests that while the fee did not restrict visitation at all, almost 90 percent of visitors felt strongly that these refuges provided them with an excellent value.