• Firefighting Chopper Crash Kills Pilot
  
• Lake Okeechobee Lawsuit Filed to Limit Pollutants
  
• Entire Pilot Whale Pod Dies Off Cape Cod
  
• Crabs, Fish Die Without Oxygen in Oregon Waters
  
• Beluga Sturgeon Considered for Endangered Listing
  
• Yucca Mountain Volcanic Hazard Greater Than Thought

Firefighting Chopper Crash Kills Pilot

The pilot had been dropping buckets of water on the northwest corner of the fire when the helicopter went down, firefighters said. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transport Safety Board.

The accident occured just 12 days after two pilots were killed in an air tanker crash in the same area on July 18.

The Big Elk Fire burned 4,413 acres and is now considered to be 100 percent contained, fire officials said.

In California on Monday, a California Air National Guard helicopter flying over rural San Diego County accidentally clipped power lines starting the a forest fire near the town of Julian. Both pilot and crew landed safely.

Sources say the chopper was on a mission to spot illicit cannabis growing in the forest.

Just 10 percent contained, the fire has engulfed more than 15,000 acres in mountainous eastern San Diego County, and it has destroyed five homes. Four of the some 2,000 firefighters have sustained minor injuries. At least 500 people were evacuated from homes and campsites; 300 residences, numerous commercial properties and 100 outbuildings are threatened.

Four rare Mexican gray wolves burned to death a day earlier at the California Wolf Center near Julian. Another 26 wolves, a mix of Mexican grays and the more common Alaskan grays, survived.

Elsewhere in California, a wildfire raging in the Sequoia National Forest grew to 88,000 acres Wednesday and remained 35 percent contained. The Giant Sequoia National Monument and 12 residences are threatened, fire officials say.

As the fire moves northeast, officials in neighboring Inyo National Forest closed off remote areas that were at risk of catching fire.

In Oregon, the Florence fire in the Siskiyou National Forest 26 miles west of Grants Pass has charred 141,650 acres and is just five percent contained. Steep, inaccessible terrain is hampering containment efforts. The Illinois River Valley is under a 24 hour evacuation notice; 750 residences and 50 commercial properties are threatened.

Lake Okeechobee Lawsuit Filed to Limit Pollutants

Filed Tuesday by Earthjustice attorneys on behalf of the Florida wildlife group, the suit was triggered after the Management District was given more than 60 days written notice of violations of the Clean Water Act and failed to make any changes.

"It is just shameful that the South Florida Water Management District pumps water with oil, grease, urban runoff, and other pollutants into Lake Okeechobee," said David Guest, managing attorney for Earthjustice's Tallahassee office.

"The Water Management District is required under the Clean Water Act to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit before allowing the discharge of pollutants from pump stations they operate in Lake Okeechobee. However the District has never been issued a permit or even bothered to apply for one. We want the District to follow the law like everyone else has to," Guest said.

"Lake Okeechobee is a priceless treasure that represents some of North America's most important fish and wildlife habitat," said Manley Fuller, president of Florida Wildlife Federation. "We can't let the District pollute the lake any longer. And of course the big question is 'where was DEP'?" he asked, referring to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

"Our goal," said Guest, "is to show the South Florida Water Management District that they can not pollute our waters and expect to get away with it. It is in blatant violation of the law and it is time we put a stop to this illegal action."

In March 2001, Earthjustice reached a settlement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to reduce the pollution of phosphorus into Lake Okeechobee.

Lake Okeechobee is a site for recreational use by all Floridians, including canoeing, sport boating, wildlife observation, photography, personal and commercial research, and sport fishing.

Entire Pilot Whale Pod Dies Off Cape Cod

This triggered a second day of response from the Cape Cod Stranding Network and its co-founding organization the International Fund for Animals Welfare (IFAW).

Despite the remote location, more than 100 volunteers worked for hours pouring water over the animals and covering them in wet towels to keep them cool during the heat. Even though 14 whales died at the scene, 31 were returned to the water after the tide had come in.

However, within hours of their release all 31 whales once again stranded in Wellfleet near the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary. After assessing the whales' condition, rescuers euthanized 25 and the other six died naturally.

"The mood is a mixture of sadness and success," said A.J. Cady, leader of the IFAW response team.

"We weren't able to return these animals to the water, but millions of people all over the world have reconnected to whales. It is important to remember we still have a chance to save thousands of these animals every year by working to stop continued commercial whaling in Japan and Norway," Cady said.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network today has returned to the scene to remove the whales and take them to a facility so they can perform necropsies.

These strandings were the most dramatic in recent years and the largest stranding of pilot whales on Cape Cod in more than a decade.

Pilot whales have extensive family structures and swim in groups, called pods, of five to 100 animals. They are still being hunted in some countries, and IFAW says little is known about the current total population of pilot whales worldwide.

Crabs, Fish Die Without Oxygen in Oregon Waters

Oregon State University (OSU) researchers who are studying near-shore ecosystems say extremely low oxygen levels - especially in the lower water column - appear to be responsible.

"Though we are just beginning to amass the evidence, it appears that there has been a confluence of events relating to coastal upwelling and wind patterns," said Jane Lubchenco, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology at OSU. "There isn't any sign that this was the result of human activities. It appears to be a natural event, albeit an unusual one."

In mid-July Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff members surveying the near-shore ocean off Cape Perpetua with a remotely operated vehicle were surprised to find no live fish swimming in an area that in previous years had been densely populated with rockfish.

Crabbers began pulling up pots full of dead crabs, other shellfish, octopus, and fish. Then dead fish and other sea life began washing ashore near Seal Rock, between Newport and Waldport on the central Oregon coast.

A team of scientists led by Jane Huyer from OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences monitoring ocean conditions off Newport and off Heceta Head measured seawater conditions in mid-July. They reported that the water contained some of the lowest oxygen levels the researchers had ever seen near the shore.

Huyer said there is always a large pool of very low oxygen water at depths 2,500 feet below the surface, but this does not normally affect marine life near the coast.

Lubchenco is co-principal investigator for another ongoing research project called the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans, or PISCO.

Bruce Menge, also co-principal investigator for PISCO, and his team of field researchers recorded more marine fatalities - dead wolf eels, Dungeness crabs and sculpins, ling-cod and other rockfish - along the central coast.

Further water samples taken by PISCO scientists aboard the university's research ship provided evidence. "What we found were surprisingly low levels of oxygen in the water column - as low as one or two milligrams per liter, which classified it as hypoxic," said Francis Chan, a post-doctoral researcher on the PISCO project. "That means it cannot sustain most marine life.

Brian Grantham, a research associate in OSU's Department of Zoology, said the low oxygen levels may have been the result of strong upwelling and unusual atmospheric conditions.

From spring through early fall, he said, upwelling brings colder, deeper and more oxygen-depleted water close to shore. There, the high-nutrient waters are exposed to sunlight and microscopic marine plants grow abundantly. As these decay and sink, they consume some of the remaining oxygen in the water.

When summer winds are weak, the surface waters are warm, and there is reduced mixing of oxygen from the surface to the bottom. This allows the low oxygen levels at the bottom to persist and intensify, smothering much of the sea life in the area.

"If this happens for a day or two, the fish and crabs probably survive," Grantham said. "But over a period of time, perhaps three to five days or longer, the oxygen deprivation becomes deadly. It seems to affect the animals that stay hunkered down in one spot, particularly sculpins, wolf eels, worms and young fish. The larger fish may have the ability to swim away and find patches of water that have more oxygen."

All researchers reported that the water in the hypoxic zone was murky and there was an odor in the air. Fox described it as, "kind of a strong, low tide smell you'd find in the bay."

Oregon is not alone in facing unusual low oxygen phenomena. The so-called Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is experiencing widespread loss of marine life, though the problems there are caused by agricultural runoff via the Mississippi River, said Karina Nielsen, an OSU post-doctoral researcher with PISCO.

A more relevant and naturally occurring hypoxic zone takes place off South Africa, she said. "They have an upwelling system that is similar to that of Oregon, and almost every year for the past 10 years they have seen rock lobsters literally walk out of the water and onto the beach," Nielsen said. "They are desperately looking for oxygen."

Lubchenco says scientists are not yet sure how widespread the hypoxic zone is, the extent of the damage to sea life, or how long it will last. "This is exactly why the research we are doing on near-shore ecosystems is so critical," she said, "to better understand the mechanisms behind such events, and increase our ability to respond to them in the most appropriate manner."

Beluga Sturgeon Considered for Endangered Listing

Loss of habitat in traditional spawning areas, pollution and overharvesting are the major threats to survival of beluga sturgeon in the wild.

Illegal trade poses the most serious threat to beluga sturgeon conservation. If listed as endangered under the ESA, commercial imports, exports, re-exports and interstate commerce of beluga sturgeon would be prohibited.

Today's action is in response to a petition submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Sea Web. In reviewing the petition, the service found "there was sufficient information to make a finding that the action may be warranted," the agency said today.

Beluga sturgeon is currently listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty under which the more than 150 member nations seek to monitor and regulate global trade through permits in wild animals and plants that may be at risk due to commercial exploitation.

Trade in all Appendix II species must be accompanied by a valid export permit from the country of origin prior to export to ensure the product was legally obtained and its harvest was not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.

Prized for their roe and flesh since ancient times, beluga sturgeon, or Huso huso, are vulnerable to depletion because they are slow to mature and live for many years.

The beluga sturgeon is native to the Caspian and Black Seas, and spawns in the rivers that constitute the watersheds of these seas. It has been eliminated from the Adriatic Sea, and is maintained in the Sea of Azov through artificial propagation. Over 90 percent of the beluga sturgeon in the Caspian Sea have been found to be hatchery roduced.

During a 90 day public comment period beginning today, the agency hopes to gather the best scientific data and trade information available as part of its consideration of the proposal.

Comments, information, and questions can be submitted by mail to the Chief, Division of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 750, Arlington, Virginia 22203, by fax, 703-358-2276, or by e-mail, Scientificauthority@fws.gov.

For a complete copy of the proposal, visit: http://international.fws.gov.

Yucca Mountain Volcanic Hazard Greater Than Thought

Andrew Woods of the BP Institute, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and colleagues published their findings in the American Geophysical Union journal "Geophysical Research Letters."

Yucca Mountain is located within a long lived volcanic field. Risk assessments have suggested that the probability of volcanic activity occurring during the 10,000 year compliance period of the repository is around one in 1,000 to one in 10,000.

Eruptions from volcanos located within 12 miles [20 kilometers] of the proposed repository have tended to produce small volumes of magma, or molten rock. But the content of volcanic gases in the magma means that the eruptions have been quite explosive.

The model developed by Woods and his team envisions that volcanic magma rising from below Yucca Mountain would form a narrow body of molten rock called a dike.

The dike is hypothesized to cut through several of the repository drifts and be diverted into them. Upon entering a drift, the high gas content of the magma would cause it to expand rapidly.

Based on their models, Woods and his team found that magma in the drifts could reach speeds up to 600 miles per hour, filling parts of the repository with magma within a matter of hours after the initial eruption.

Flowing magma might displace canisters holding radioactive waste, Woods said. And intense heat associated with the magma would be expected to cause extensive damage to the containers.

The results suggest that a greater number of canisters could be affected than previously estimated.

The researchers suggest that the pressure associated with the magma could be enough to open new and existing fractures at Yucca Mountain, providing a conduit for radioactive material to reach the surface.

Woods and his colleagues note that "although their models are simplified relative to the complex interactions that would occur in the repository during a volcanic eruption, the models are consistent with understanding of these types of eruptions."

Therefore, while previous estimates suggest that the probability of a volcanic event may be very low, potentially significant impacts on the site during such an event warrants further research to fully assess the risk, they say.