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AmeriScan: June 1, 2004

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International Wildlife Refuge May Include Michigan Marsh

LANSING, Michigan, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has formally agreed to the federal purchase of the Humbug Marsh in Trenton and Gibraltar as part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

The purchase of the marsh, which Granholm says includes some of the most unspoiled and ecologically significant wetlands in the Detroit River western Lake Erie basin, will be considered by the federal Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) at its next meeting in early June.

“Placing this permanent protection on Humbug Marsh will be a final step in what has been one of the hardest fought and won environmental battles in Michigan,” Granholm said. “Humbug Marsh will be widely recognized as the crown jewel of America’s first International Wildlife Refuge.”

The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was created by a federal law authored in 2001 by U.S. Representative John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, who serves on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission and has played a critical role in efforts to preserve Humbug Marsh.

The Detroit River refuge law authorizes the Commission to purchase coastal and upland habitats along the American side of the Detroit River and Lake Erie from River Rouge into northern Ohio.

Granholm’s approval of the 409.5 acre Humbug Marsh is her second approval of a federal land purchase in the Detroit River Refuge. Last year, she approved the inclusion by the Commission of 153 acres in Berlin Township, Monroe County as one of the first purchases of the new refuge.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 established the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to approve land to be purchased for the National Wildlife Refuge System with monies from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

The fund is supported by revenue collected from Federal Duck Stamp sales, import duties collected on arms and ammunition, right-of-way payments to the refuge system, and receipts from national wildlife refuge entry fees.

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Georgia Names G-8 Sea Turtles

OLYMPIA, Washington, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - Washington Governor Gary Locke has endorsed a proposal to designate 106,000 acres in the Skykomish River valley as a federally protected wilderness area. Locke announced his support in a letter late last month to Congressman Richard Pombo, a California Republican who chairs the House Resources Committee.

The proposed Wild Sky Wilderness area would be the first such designation in Washington since the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act.

“This proposal presents a unique opportunity to preserve mature old-growth forest stands, as well as protect habitat critical to salmon and steelhead recovery,” Locke said.

Creating the wilderness area would protect some of the last major salmon spawning streams in Puget Sound and approximately 14,000 acres of low-elevation old growth. Old growth forests have a complex plant structure, which supports a variety of species.

The forests surrounding the Skykomish River contain some of the best remaining habitat for threatened species of wild salmon and steelhead trout. Designation would create a natural recreation area, helping local economies, the governor said. It would also help maintain access to trailheads, campgrounds, and 470 miles of existing roads in immediately adjacent areas.

The proposal has received bipartisan support. “I am pleased that over 120 elected officials from throughout Western Washington, from both political parties, have endorsed this proposal,” Locke said.

Legislation in support of the designation sponsored by Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has twice passed the U.S. Senate, and Representative Rick Larsen, a Washington Democrat, has introduced similar legislation in the House.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the National Wilderness Preservation Act and the 20th anniversary of the Washington Wilderness Act. That legislation created 23 wilderness areas in the state.

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Biscuit Fire Final Plan Fuels Logging Controversy

MEDFORD, Oregon, June 2, 2004 (ENS) - The U.S. Forest Service has chosen a logging intensive plan to restore the area burned over in 2002 by a wildfire known as the Biscuit Fire. The Service says its proposal will minimize the possibility of more large fires in the area, create up to 6,900 jobs and enough wood to build 24,000 homes by cutting trees that are already dead. Critics say the plan will leave taxpayers with a multi-million dollar bill and will cut old growth trees in roadless areas.

In its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued Tuesday, the Service cited the need are to recover the economic value from burned timber, reduce risk to nearby communities and forest resources from future high intensity fire, and revegetate conifer stands and other burned plant and animal habitat as the reasons for its decision to allow logging, not only in burned areas but in areas of old growth.

"Revenue from salvage materials would pay for restoration activities," the Forest Service writes.

But according to the FEIS, in all cases the areas of reforestation planned for the burned, logged areas are smaller under the FEIS than they were under the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that the Forest Service issued earlier.

But conservationists who offered another plan that involved putting people to work in Southern Oregon by thinning trees to protect communities and restoring erosion prone hillsides in the burned area were disappointed.

The Forest Service plans to allow the cutting of 370 million board feet of timber. The conservationists say the Forest Service plan would cause serious damage to the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area while costing taxpayers as much as 100 million dollars.

Of the 370 million board feet, 150 million board feet would be logged in more than 8,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas, and the conservationists warn that 170 million board feet would be logged out of old growth reserves, not counting the old growth reserves found in roadless areas.

“By putting forward such an outlandish logging project, the Bush administration seems intent on generating needless conflict,” said Don Smith of the Siskiyou Project. “It’s time such divisiveness be abandoned. We have a solution that will meet everyone’s needs.”

The American taxpayer will end up paying the bill, according to a study by Taxpayers for Common Sense. Logging in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area will cost taxpayers anywhere from $3 million to $100 million depending on how many trees are actually cut.

As an example, the taxpayers' watchdog group says, a logging plan that cuts 300 million board feet of timber, less than what the Bush administration originally proposed, will cost taxpayers $36 million.

Ninety-five percent of the public comments received by the Forest Service opposed the Bush administration’s original preferred alternative to log more than half a billion board feet of timber in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area.

Ashland City Council member Cate Hartzell said, “The Forest Service is proposing a timber sale that the taxpayers will subsidize instead of a forest health project that most Oregonians want."

A letter signed by more than 30 local elected leaders urged the Bush administration to take a more balanced approach and delay the decision to send in the chainsaws.

The Biscuit Fire began as several small fires on July 13, 2002 after widespread lightning swept through northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Active for 120 days and burning through 499,965 acres, the fire was declared controlled on November 8. The fire burned across the Siskyou National Forest, the Six Rivers National Forest and through nearly all of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and the headwaters of the Chetco and Smith Rivers.

The Forest Service says the logging is necessary because, "Although the fire consumed an enormous amount of fuel, it also created conditions which may give rise to increased hazardous fuel conditions in the future."

"Large areas of snags were created by the fire," the Forest Service writes in the FEIS. "These snags will soon be surrounded by dense brush and saplings. This increase in available fuel sets the stage for another large fire."

Forest Service Supervisor Scott Conroy says the agency plan would "reforest 31,000 acres, which is about seven percent of the project area." It would "provide up to 6,900 jobs and enough wood to build 24,000 homes – all this by salvage of dead trees on just four percent of the project area – 19,400 acres for a total of 370 million board feet."

Helicopters would be used to salvage dead trees to minimize impacts and reduce temporary road construction, Conroy says. No new permanent roads will be built. The Service will decommission 10 miles of road, close 18 miles of road, and stabilize 42 miles – "all work that is very similar to that called for by some organizations," says Conroy.

Read the FEIS at: http://www.biscuitfire.com/proj_plan_index.htm

View the Siskiyou Restoration Plan at: http://www.siskiyourestoration.info

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Sierra Club Showcases Hybrid Vehicles Coast to Coast

WASHINGTON, DC, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - On Memorial Day, the Sierra Club kicked off its new Hybrid Evolution Campaign which encourages Americans to demand clean cars and clean energy at a time when gas prices are hitting record highs, U.S. oil dependence is increasing, and global warming is heating up.

Driving hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles campaigners are touring the country, stopping in communities to hold rallies. The hybrid vehicles will travel three routes - along the East Coast from Key West, Florida to Portland, Maine; across the Midwest from Chicago to Los Angeles; down the West Coast from Seattle, Washington to San Diego, California.

The rallies are intended to give Americans a chance to test drive hybrid vehicles, and learn about renewable energy.

There is a political component to the tours as well - Sierra Club workers will speak about "how Bush administration policies threaten the local environment." The will criticize the Bush administration's "backward energy policy that increases America's dependence on oil and other polluting sources of energy."

"The Sierra Club is playing Paul Revere," said Dan Becker, Washington director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming program. "We're driving hybrids from town to town to tell people that hybrid cars and renewable energy are a reality. We'll invite people to get behind the wheel, kick the tires, and demand action from the Bush administration."

In addition to the hybrid road tours, the Sierra Club will be placing a series of new print ads targeting trendsetting audiences. These ads feature young people standing confidently in the foreground while wearing Hybrid Evolution tee shirts. The ads highlight clean cars and clean energy and encourage viewers to ask whether the Bush administration is for or against evolution.

"The Bush administration prescription is gas guzzlers and polluting power plants," said Brendan Bell, associate Washington representative for the Sierra Club's Global Warming program. "So we're taking clean cars and clean energy up the East Coast, down the West Coast, and across the Midwest to demand a 40 mile per gallon fleet average, 20 percent renewable energy by 2020, and energy efficiency."

The campaign website: www.iwillevolve.org, links the campaign activities around the country. The website will feature regular updates and photos from the road tours, ad images, tour dates, and facts on evolved energy solutions and how they contrast with the Bush administration's energy policies.

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Montana Kids Fishing Derby Cancelled Over PCBs

BOZEMAN, Montana, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - A Kids Fishing Derby that has been held every year for 13 years on the first Saturday in June has been cancelled this year due to concerns over polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the fish released for the kids to catch.

The annual Kids Fishing Derby sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service"s Bozeman Fish Technology Center scheduled for Saturday, June 5, was cancelled after preliminary findings from a agency wide survey for PCBs in fish showed high concentrations.

Although we understand that many people will be disappointed by the derby cancellation, public safety is our primary concern," said Bill Krise, manager of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center.

"The results of the PCB testing are currently being analyzed. To prevent any potential risk from human consumption, the trout raised at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center will not be available to the public until the fish are deemed safe for consumption," said Krise.

The popular derby provides free fishing to children six years and under; more than 800 children participated in 2003.

In response to an escalating concern for PCB levels in hatchery and farm-raised salmonids, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathered trout samples from a number of its facilities within three regions of the country in March.

In Montana, samples were taken from Ennis National Fish Hatchery and the Bozeman Fish Technology Center. Preliminary results indicate that the Bozeman Fish Technology Center may have elevated levels of PCBs as compared to EPA Risk-based Consumption Limits, but not compared to the Food and Drug Administration's consumption standards.

Officials are still uncertain about the cause of the elevated levels of PCBs. The fish feed could have been produced from fish meal collected in polluted ocean waters. Or, the PCBs could have come from a local source on the Technology Center property or in the water. Or the sample could have been contaminated during collection and therefore is not an accurate result.

If through retesting, no PCBs are detected, the Technology Center will resume the Derby next year. If the elevated levels are found to be real, fish feed and water quality as well as other possible sources on site will be tested, and when identified, immediate action will be taken to address the problem, the Fish and Wildlife Service says.

Because the Technology Center is a research facility, no other fish raised on site are distributed for human food. But the Technology Center there are some endangered or sensitive species at the center such as pallid sturgeon and arctic grayling for which PCB levels could be a concern. The Technology Center will be working with state and federal partners to limit any risks to these species from PCBs or other harmful contaminants if they are confirmed.

The sample from Ennis National Fish Hatchery did not show any elevated levels of PCBs. The public is invited to participate in the Ennis Fishing Derby, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 20, in Lions Park, next to the Madison River. The event is sponsored by the Ennis National Fish Hatchery and the Ennis Lions Club. More information is available by calling the Ennis National Fish Hatchery at 406-682-4847.

In the Northeast, tests conducted by the Service showed that levels of PCBs and dioxins in fish produced by national fish hatcheries do not exceed existing federal consumption safety levels, said the Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty.

The Service conducted its PCB studies in response to an article in the January 9 issue of the journal "Science," which documented the presence of contaminants in farm-raised fish that are fed the same diet as the hatchery fish.

Each year the Service provides some 14,000 Atlantic salmon, lake trout and rainbow trout from its hatcheries to Northeast states for recreational fish stocking. But the Service stopped providing fish to states in February pending a thorough review of the situation, Moriarty said.

"Based on the test results, we will provide the hatchery fish to states that request them for their recreational fisheries, but we are recommending that state fish and wildlife directors discuss the test results with their public health officials to ensure public health risks are addressed," Moriarty said.

The Service's Fish Technology Center in Lamar, Pennsylvania, tested samples of Atlantic salmon, lake trout and rainbow trout from five of its 11 federal hatcheries for PCBs, dioxins, mercury and other organochlorines.

Hatchery reared trout samples fell within the EPA advisory that one-half meal per month is safe to eat. Hatchery reared salmon were within the one-half to one meal per month advisory level.

"We are working to ensure that we use the best available fish food with the goal of eliminating contaminants," Moriarty said. "Our hatcheries are also looking at incoming water and other potential contaminant sources. Our primary goal is to produce healthy fish for the public."

Additional information on this issue and the results of the contaminants tests from the Northeast region may be found at: http://northeast.fws.gov/fisheries/issues/issues.htm.

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Judge Asked to Review Overfishing of New England Cod

WASHINGTON, DC, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - Once New England's signature fish species, cod on the Georges Bank are at less than 15 percent of healthy population levels, and the species has shown almost no signs of recovery from the record low numbers of the mid-1990s.

Citing a continued threat of overfishing to Georges Bank cod and several other groundfish populations, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) last week asked Judge Gladys Kessler of the federal district court in Washington, DC, to review New England's new management plan for groundfish, known as Amendment 13.

Amendment 13, which went into effect May 1, was approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to meet the requirements of a prior order by Judge Kessler and to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

The new plan manages 12 species, including cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder and other types of groundfish.

The two groups say Amendment 13 allows fishing of Georges Bank cod and other species far above levels that Judge Kessler has already determined are not permissible and above rates recommended by NMFS' own scientists.

In their complaint, the two conservation groups allege that Amendment 13 does not comply with the overfishing, rebuilding or bycatch requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The groups' main concern is that Amendment 13 authorizes continued overfishing of Georges Bank cod and four other depleted groundfishes - American plaice, southern New England-Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, white hake and Cape Cod-Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder.

The groups fear the measures in Amendment 13 will not achieve its stated goals for reducing fishing.

They question how the plan can achieve its stated goal of a more than 50 percent cut in Georges Bank cod fishing mortality from 2002 levels by relying on what appears to be, at best, a 20 percent cut in the amount of time vessels can spend fishing.

In addition, the court documents claim that Amendment 13 fails to include a standardized reporting methodology for assessing the amount and type of bycatch in the New England groundfish fishery, another requirement of the Magnuson Stevens Act that was reinforced by Judge Kessler's prior order.

Bycatch is the unintentional catch and discarding of non-target fish and other marine species.

The fishing industry is concerned that a legal challenge to the new management plan may result in immediate and unanticipated changes in management, so the two plaintiff groups are requesting that the federal court enter an order requiring NMFS to develop and implement improvements to the plan by May 1, 2005.

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Four Restored Beaches Top 2004 Awards List

CASWELL BEACH, North Carolina, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - When beaches lose their sand to storms, or surf, or erosion into channels and inlets, many communities around the United States restore those beaches by replacing sand. To build appreciation for the value and importance of America's restored beaches, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association has announced its third annual Top Restored Beach Awards.

The four winners for 2004 are beach restoration projects in Bogue Banks, North Carolina; Long Beach, California; and Ocean City, Maryland; as well as the Sunrise Beach, Illinois park restoration project.

"These four projects exemplify the breadth of beach restoration in this country today," said Harry Simmons, president of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA), who also serves as mayor of a beach community - Caswell Beach, North Carolina.

"Ocean City shows us of the scope and complexity of the process, while Sunrise Beach reminds us that the battle to save our shorelines must be fought on the lakes and rivers as well as the coastal sandy beaches."

The ASBPA describes the Bogue Banks project as "a complicated effort, implemented in an area where the beach literally is the local community." Working through a federal regulations, funding and policy problems, the project combined a federal navigation project with a shore protection project. For the first time in almost 100 years, the navigation requirements for Morehead City were combined with the beach nourishment needs of Bogue Banks.

The Long Beach project was chosen for its contributions to the quality of life of this large southern California community. Because it is a closed coastal system, separated from other beaches that might feed it sand during normal wave action, the city of Long Beach has regularly moved material from the accreting area to the eroding area of the beach. The city spends $1.50 per cubic yard for sand, and the program is a normal line item in the city's budget.

The Ocean City project has stimulated the local economy; it is well managed and effectively implemented; it enjoys broad public support; its cost has been shared by local, state and federal interests; and the benefits of the long-term program far outweigh the costs. "Those who've watched this complex and complicated restoration effort believe it may one day rival Miami Beach as a beach nourishment success story," said Simmons.

The Sunrise Beach Park project started with almost no shoreline sand to work with and was facing dramatic fluctuations in lake levels. The community of Lake Bluff, Illinois created a sustainable, cost-effective beach using shoreline structures, imported sand, native vegetation and regular maintenance.

"Beach restoration can become almost routine, as in Long Beach," said Simmons, "or precedent setting, as in Bogue Banks, but both of those projects underscore that each project faces unique challenges that demand an equally unique solution."

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EPA Offers $200,000 in Grants to Improve Elders' Health

BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - Nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and state, local, and tribal governments have until June 28 to apply for a total of $200,000 in grant money for projects that will improve the environmental health of older people.

Funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is requesting applications for grants of $15,000 to $25,000 each.

The winning grants will fulfill one of the following objectives, in order of priority:

Implement effective training programs for older adults to be environmental leaders in their community.

Develop and implement outreach and educational strategies on risk reduction of environmental health hazards to older adults.

Conduct outreach and educational intergenerational programs that engage older adults and children to address environmental health hazards.

Build state capacity among state, local and tribal agencies of aging, health and the environment to protect the health of older adults from environmental hazards.

Promote healthy communities for older adults through smart growth activities, such as improved transportation choices, better housing options, and encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

An eligible project might train low income elders to conduct outreach and education on environmental issues in their communities, or conduct an environmental health needs assessment of environmental hazards in the community for older minorities.

Another eligible project might raise awareness of the benefits of using non-chemical and alternatives to pesticides in community gardens.

The EPA also says it might supply a grant to convene a statewide or tribal summit on environmental health hazards for older adults - such as triggers for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - and preparing a plan of action to address these hazards.

Contact: Kathy Sykes, U.S. EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection, Room 2512 N (Mail Code 1107A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004-2403. Email: aging.info@epa.gov, or log onto: http://www.epa.gov/aging/grants/index.htm

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