• Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Logging in Green Mtn. National Forest
  
• Endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Gets Critical Habitat
  
• Phelps Dodge Fined $105,000 for Water Pollution
  
• Everglades Standard for Phosphorus in Water Proposed
  
• BP Offers Solar Systems for California Homes
  
• New Nevada Campus Powered by Geothermal Plant
  
• Clean Energy Market Growing Despite General Downturn
  
• Reintroduced Arkansas Bull Elk Dying Off
  

Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Logging in Green Mtn. National Forest

Forest Watch, the Forest Conservation Council, and Friends of the Earth joined forces to stop the Old Joe Timber Sale because of shared concerns about "prejudice in the public participation and decision making processes and exploitation of national forests in Vermont and across the nation," the groups said in a statement.

"The Forest Service marked thousands of trees for cutting prior to asking the public whether or not it should go ahead with logging the Old Joe area," said Jim Northup, executive director of Forest Watch, a 7,000 member, Vermont group. "Clearly, the agency had its mind made up to log the area regardless of what it heard. This indifference to the public's will and to the nation's laws must stop."

Old Joe is the first new timber sale to be proposed in the Green Mountain National Forest since 1998, when the Forest Service imposed a moratorium on logging in response to public concerns over protection of endangered wildlife, including Indiana bats. Since the agency had five years to plan this new timber sale, conservationists said they "expected it to do a better job of environmental protection and compliance with its own laws and rules."

The areas proposed for logging include sensitive corridors along Chittenden and Bingo Brooks. The agency's forest management plan identifies these corridors as "Significant Streams," and provides that their scenic, recreational and other special qualities should be protected. Conservationists claim that the Forest Service largely ignored these qualities.

"We filed the lawsuit to prevent the Forest Service from violating federal laws and rules contained in its own management plan," said Northup. "The agency seems hell-bent to log some of the steepest, wettest, most scenic areas on the national forest without due regard for the law or its impacts on soils, water, wildlife, scenery, recreation or economics. We had to say no."

"Congress has repeatedly expressed its intent that the Forest Service consider and account for all the ecosystem services that national forests provide and all of the costs associated with logging," says John Talberth, executive director of the Forest Conservation Council.

"Given that the Forest Service has the expertise and sources of information to fulfill this mandate, it is inexcusable that the agency studies only the financial benefits to the timber industry and completely ignores the costs incurred by individuals, businesses and communities that benefit from the amenities national forests provide," Talberth said.

The conservation groups maintain the Old Joe Timber Sale is an example of the Forest Service's focus on "exploiting the nation's forests at the expense of sound public process and public laws, and regardless of the public benefits or costs that would result."

"National forests are under siege by Bush appointees," said Norman Dean, executive director of Friends of the Earth. "Each passing week brings news of another bold attempt by the administration to hand our public lands over to corporate interests, and now their reach has extended to Vermont. Old Joe is certainly not old news."

Endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Gets Critical Habitat

Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that are essential to the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management considerations or protection, but a designation does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other special conservation area, the agency explains. It does not allow government or public access to private lands and does not close areas to all access or use.

The designation means that federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service on activities they undertake, authorize, fund, or permit that may affect critical habitat.

The middle reach of the Rio Grande - from Cochiti Dam to the utility line in Socorro County, marked on the USGS Paraje Well 7.5 minute quadrangle (1980), east of the Bosque Well - is considered crucial habitat to the small fish's survival.

The 300 foot riparian zone on each side of the river is included except when the river is bounded by levees; then the designation includes the levee as well. A portion of the tributary Jemez River that runs from Jemez Canyon Reservoir to its confluence with the Rio Grande is also designated as critical habitat.

The economic cost of making the designation - including the projected price of maintaining minimum instream flows, consulting on federal projects and making modifications to them - is estimated to be between $1.9 million and $16.2 million annually. This assumes that enough water would flow during 95 of every 100 years. The cost estimate varies widely because of the annual fluctuation in snow and rainfall.

The Pueblo Indian lands of Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Sandia, and Isleta were originally included but have been deleted from the final designation, the Fish and Wildlife Service explains. "The Pueblos developed voluntary conservation plans that provide greater conservation benefits than does the critical habitat designation," the service said today.

"This designation is based upon sound science," said H. Dale Hall, director of the Service's Southwest Region. "We are extremely pleased with the voluntary conservation efforts of the Pueblos of Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, Sandia, and Isleta. These proactive measures protect the silvery minnow's habitat and keep our river alive and healthy. That benefits all New Mexicans."

"In our experience," said Hall, "the majority of federal projects can be successfully implemented with, at most, minor changes."

This species was historically one of the most abundant and widespread fishes in the Rio Grande Basin, occurring from Española, New Mexico, to the Gulf of Mexico. It was also found in the Pecos River - a major tributary of the Rio Grande - from Santa Rosa, New Mexico, downstream to its confluence with the Rio Grande.

Today the silvery minnow is completely extirpated from the Pecos River. In the Rio Grande, it is extirpated downstream of Elephant Butte Reservoir and upstream of Cochiti Reservoir.

This designation was made after considering all public comments and suggestions on the proposal that was issued last June. This is the second time that the service has worked on a critical habitat designation for the silvery minnow. The previous designation, done in 1999, was set aside in March 2001 by a court order. A Recovery Plan for the species was also completed in 1999.

The economic analysis, environmental impact statement and other documents supporting this designation are posted at: http://southwest.fws.gov under Hot Topics.

Phelps Dodge Fined $105,000 for Water Pollution

The inactive copper mine near Winkleman, Arizona discharged pollutants at levels harmful to aquatic life into the Drippings Springs Wash in 2000 and 2001, the agency says. The Christmas Mine, located along the Gila River, mined and processed copper from the early 1900s until 1981.

The company failed to report monitoring results required by the discharge permit, failed to notify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of discharges endangering the environment and of facility changes that caused the permit violations.

"Inactive mines can pose serious environmental risks and permit holders must make sure that pollutants are not discharged from their facilities," said Catherine Kuhlman, the EPA's acting Water Division director for the Pacific Southwest region. "Phelps Dodge has an obligation to prevent mine drainage from impacting streams in Arizona."

Groundwater from mines becomes polluted when it comes into contact with mining waste, such as tailings or waste rock. The polluted water then flows to the surface and contaminates water bodies. Copper and sulfides are toxic to fish and the food sources fish depend on.

The wastewater discharge program, which was recently delegated to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, controls water pollution by regulating sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. The permits contain limits on what can be discharged, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure that the discharge protects human health and the environment.

Everglades Standard for Phosphorus in Water Proposed

The proposed rule establishes the first numeric criterion of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for phosphorus in the Everglades Protection Area and provides the process for assessing progress toward achieving that goal. Struhs says that over 90 percent of the 2.4 million acre area already meets this water standard.The Everglades Protection Area includes Water Conservation Areas 1, 2, 3 and Everglades National Park.

The Environmental Regulation Commission will consider the proposed rule on February 27. The 1994 Everglades Forever Act directs the DEP to adopt a numeric phosphorus standard by December 2003.

Struhs says that decades of scientific research and biological analyses provide the basis for the phosphorus standard. "No other water quality standard in Florida's history has ever been so rigorously and comprehensively reviewed," he said today. "We have used sound science and research to determine a standard that will use the best available technology over time to fully restore and protect this ultra-sensitive natural area."

The proposed rule requires the use of best available technologies to ultimately achieve the water quality standard. Tools for reducing phosphorus in the remaining 10 percent of the Everglades Protection Area include continued implementation of Best Management Practices by farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area and the optimization of 42,000 acres of new wetland filters, known as Stormwater Treatment Areas.

"Florida has already made more progress in less time to reduce phosphorus levels than ever predicted," said Struhs. "Such unprecedented success is confirmation that we are on the right track. By making the right investments in the right areas, we will see further improvements that will lead to phosphorus reductions in the remaining 10 percent of impacted areas in the Everglades."

The DEP estimates that $450 million will be invested over the next decade to implement a detailed, enforceable, long term plan to ensure continued water quality improvements and protection of the Everglades.

BP Offers Solar Systems for California Homes

In addition to what the company calls an "efficient and reliable solar system," customers will be offered financing options, access to California Energy Commission rebates up to 50 percent of the purchase price, a full planning, installation and commissioning service, and a display in their homes that tracks their system's electricity production.

BP Group Vice President for Renewables John Mogford says the company is taking a customer focused approach. "A decade ago, the industry focused on developing new technologies and driving down manufacturing costs. Our products are affordable and generate clean, reliable electricity. We now need to become more customer focused."

The BP Solar system includes solar electric photovoltaic modules that convert the sun's light energy into direct current (DC) electricity mounted to almost any kind of roof.

The inverter converts the electricity produced by the photovoltaic modules from DC to alternating current (AC), the same kind of electricity that powers homes and offices delivered by utilities into the power grid. The BP Solar System Monitor provides a digital readout of how much electricity the home solar system is producing, and how much the house is using.

The solar system connects to the main electrical supply. A utility meter tracks net power usage, spinning forward when electricity is used from the grid, and backwards, generating a credit, when a home system creates more electricity than is used.

BP Solar offers a Solar Savings Estimator on its website. By entering their zip code and utility bill, homeowners can calculate their potential savings, the payback period and the environmental benefits of having a solar photovoltaic system.

California homeowners can call 1-866-BP-SOLAR to get more information or order a system or visit: http://www.bpsolar.com.

New Nevada Campus Powered by Geothermal Plant

A new 30 year agreement between Advanced Thermal Systems, Inc. of Reno and the University of Nevada, Reno will bring geothermal technology to provide heat and power for the collaborative new Redfield Campus and provide a new source of clean, affordable power for northern Nevada.

Under the agreement, announced today, Advanced Thermal Systems (ATS) will build and operate an 11 kilowatt Kalina Cycle geothermal power plant adjacent to the new campus. The plant will provide electricity, hot and chilled water. It will also supply hot water to support university research in areas such as hydroponics and aquaculture.

ATS hopes to sell the excess electricity generated to the Sierra Pacific electric utility to help meet growing regional energy needs. There are currently 13 power plants operating at nine geothermal sites in Nevada, making the state second only to California in installed geothermal capacity.

"We will be meeting the heating, cooling and electrical power needs of the Redfield Campus and, at the same time, shaping another valuable laboratory for our Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, which is rapidly becoming one of the nation's top centers for education and research on geothermal resources," said John Lilley, university president.

"This will be a complete system for powering, heating and cooling the Redfield Campus facilities, all of it connected to the geothermal resources underground," said Shuman Moore, president of ATS. "It will be a model not only for universities, but also for other commercial and industrial facilities that want to take advantage of the abundant geothermal resource in Nevada and around the West."

Scheduled to open in 2004, the Redfield Campus is a cooperative venture involving the university and nearby Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, and Western Nevada Community College, Carson City.

As part of the new agreement, Advanced Thermal Systems will construct an 800 square foot state of the art classroom at its new facility for educational use by the university. Other terms specify that campus energy costs will be set at $210,000 per year with annual increases limited to one percent. After 10 years, the university system will have an opportunity to purchase the project.

Clean Energy Market Growing Despite General Downturn

"We believe that solar power, wind power, and fuel cells will continue to exhibit aggressive annual growth for the foreseeable future," say Joel Makower and Ron Pernick, founding executives of the research and consulting company.

According to Clean Edge research, solar photovoltaics - including modules, system components, and installation - will grow from a $3.5 billion global industry in 2002 to more than $27.5 billion by 2012.

Wind power is predicted to expand from $5.5 billion in 2002 to approximately $49 billion in 2012. In 2002, some 6,500 megawatts of wind generating capacity was installed around the globe - the equivalent of more than six nuclear or fossil fueled power plants.

Fuel cells for mobile, stationary, and portable applications will grow from $500 million to $12.5 billion over the next decade, the report says.

"Venture investments in clean energy technology now represent 2.3 percent of total venture activity, up from just 0.7 percent three years ago," said Makower. "While total investments are down over the last couple of years, clean energy continues to gain a larger portion of the overall market."

Large corporations are investing in this sector, the Clean Edge report shows. General Electric last year acquired Enron Wind to establish GE Wind Energy, now the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the U.S. BP Solar is introducing Home Solutions, an effort to create mass markets for residential solar photovoltaic systems in the United States and Europe.

The Japanese comapny Sharp Electronics has doubled its output of solar photovoltaic modules over the past two years, the report says.

Ballard Power Systems, BASF, Duke Energy, Mitsubishi Corp., Shell Hydrogen, and others have joined forces as limited partners in Chrysalix Energy Management, a venture fund focused on hydrogen and fuel cell investments. ChevronTexaco continues to invest in clean technology through its Technology Ventures group as well as through its holdings in Energy Conversion Devices, Clean Edge reports.

While venture capital investments are declining across the board, "clean energy venture investments fared better, and now represent a larger percentage of total venture capital activity than ever before," Clean Edge reports.

A copy of the report is online at: http://www.cleanedge.com.

Reintroduced Arkansas Bull Elk Dying Off

Eastern elk, a subspecies of North American elk, once roamed the Ozark Mountains, but became extinct in the 1840s in Arkansas due to overhunting. In the early 1980s, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission transplanted 112 elk from Nebraska and Colorado to try to re-introduce elk to the landscape. The population has grown to approximately 400 to 450. A limited hunting season opened in Arkansas in 1998.

Don White, Jr., assistant professor at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, William Thompson, assistant unit leader for the Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Michael Cartwright, Wildlife Biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and Sam Lail, Natural Resource Manager for the Buffalo National River, will be studying bull elk survival, causes of mortality, and habitat use in the Buffalo River watershed beginning this month.

To better understand bull elk ecology in general and to discover the cause of the decline in the number of bull elk in particular, a professional wildlife capture company, Hawkins and Powers Aviation, from Greybull, Wyoming, have been netting and darting bull elk from a helicopter since February 17. Radio collars will be placed on each captured elk to track elk movement patterns and assist researchers in determining causes of mortality.

"The main objective of this research is to determine the causes of bull elk mortality in the Buffalo River watershed. When we know what the causes of mortality are, we can then develop a management plan to mitigate the losses," said White.

"Ideally, we will capture an equal number of calves, yearlings and adult bulls, perhaps 20 in each age category. But in reality, we don't know how difficult it is going to be to capture elk in a predominately forested environment, so we will take whatever we can get," White said.

The researchers use radio-telemetry to tell them when and where elk mortalities occur. When an elk dies the radio transmitter attached to the collar emits a signal at twice the pulse rate it did when the animal was alive. When the researchers pick up the mortality signal as they locate their collared elk from an airplane, they will hike in as soon as possible to locate the carcass and determine the cause of death.

"To identify the possible causes of mortality, you have to examine the carcass as soon after the animal dies as possible," White said. In the mild conditions of the Ozarks, scavengers, insects and bacteria decompose the animal's remains quickly, erasing the evidence needed to identify the cause of death, Thompson said.

The researchers believe natural predation, disease and poaching by humans may be responsible for the bull elk decline. But they need evidence to support their theories - including information on the animal's age, physical condition and location at the time of death. The study will continue through 2006.