AmeriScan: March 11, 2002

WASHINGTON, DC, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - At its first meeting Friday, the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group announced a number of steps the federal government is taking to assist farmers and ranchers in Oregon's Klamath Basin who depend on water for irrigation, and to conserve the basin's fish and wildlife.

The first meeting of the Klamath Basin Federal Working Group included, from left: Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman; Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton; Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans; and chair of the Council on Environmental Quality James Connaughton. (Photo by Tami Heilmann courtesy Department of Interior)

"President Bush instructed us to move quickly to address the complex economic and natural resource issues in the Klamath River Basin when he established the working group last week," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who chairs the group. "We are pleased to be able to announce substantive actions at our first meeting that will help both people and fish and wildlife resources."

The 2001 drought in the Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California forced federal managers to make a choice between delivering irrigation water to local farmers and maintaining in stream levels needed to sustain threatened and endangered fish populations in the Klamath River Basin.

The new working group, which includes representatives of the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is exploring measures to prevent last summer's confrontations after irrigation water was cut off from area farmers.

Norton announced that the Bureau of Reclamation will accelerate the construction of fish screens on A Canal, the major water diversion point out of Upper Klamath Lake, once the design phase is completed. The screens will be completed by the beginning of the irrigation season on April 1, 2003, a growing season ahead of the original schedule, Norton said.

The Agriculture Department (UDSA) will provide more than $1.6 million to accelerate the delivery of conservation, technical and financial assistance for irrigation water management, filter strips and creation of wildlife habitat to improve water quality and save up to 30 percent of current irrigation water use.

The USDA will also extend the sign up period for the Emergency Conservation Program through September 2002, to give farmers and ranchers additional opportunities for financial assistance to help them obtain an adequate water supply for their livestock.

The U.S. Forest Service will begin 22 projects in the Wimena-Fremont National Forest to provide more than 20 miles of stream improvement, decommission almost 45 miles of roads and provide for meadow enhancement and spring protection.

The Commerce Department will make producing the biological opinion for operation of the Klamath Project its highest priority.

"At the Department of Commerce, we are committed to provide a scientifically sound and legally defensible biological opinion as soon as possible," said Commerce Secretary Don Evans. "To meet this obligation, I have directed Dr. Bill Hogarth, the administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, to make this his agency's highest priority."

ARMY CORPS REFORM BILL AIMS TO AID ENVIRONMENT

WASHINGTON, DC, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - Three U.S. senators have introduced a bill to reform the operations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The legislation aims to increase the Corps' transparency and accountability, ensure fiscal responsibility, balance economic and environmental interests, and allow greater public involvement in the Corps' projects.

Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, joined Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, and Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, in introducing the Corps of Engineers Modernization and Improvement Act of 2002 (S 1987).

"I want to make sure that Wisconsin and other states receive all of the benefits the Corps could offer," Feingold said. "I want a reformed Corps of Engineers, one that no longer fails to produce predicted benefits, one that stops costing the taxpayers more than the Corps estimated, one that does not have unanticipated environmental impacts, and one that builds in an environmentally compatible way. This bill will help the Corps do a better job - the job that the taxpayers and the environment deserve."

The Corps has a backlog of projects that will take more than $50 billion in taxpayer dollars to complete, and it proposes more projects every two years. Two independent watchdogs, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Army Inspector General, have determined that the agency has a bias toward large construction projects, and has on at least one occasion manipulated data to deceive Congress about the costs and benefits of a proposed project.

The reform bill would force the Corps of Engineers to reevaluate outdated projects and reduce future problems by making it more difficult for the Corps to propose projects to Congress that would cause more harm than good. The measure bars the Corps from including any economic benefits derived from the destruction of wetlands as it calculates a project's value, and requires local boosters of Corps managed projects to pay a larger share of the projects' costs.

The bill would require the Corps of Engineers to demonstrate an economic benefit of $1.50 for each tax dollar spent, up from the current 1:1 ratio. The measure would require independent peer review of all Corps analyses, and scrutiny by independent experts before the Corps could submit expensive or controversial proposals to Congress for authorization and funding.

Long standing projects would also undergo increased scrutiny. The bill would require the Corps to reevaluate projects that have been on the books for more than a decade, but that still are not built, to ensure that they meet modern project criteria.

Environmental groups applauded the measure, saying it would help put an end to the Corps' practice of justifying proposals to Congress with faulty or self serving environmental and economic analyses, and would require greater economic returns for the investment of tax dollars.

"The Corps has wasted millions of dollars on projects that destroy the environment while failing to produce promised economic benefits," said Melissa Samet, senior director for water resources at the conservation group American Rivers.

"Billions of federal taxpayer dollars have been spent on questionable projects that destroy America's wetlands and degrade our rivers and coastal areas," added Lois Schiffer, the National Audubon Society's senior vice president for public policy. "It's time to put the brakes on the senseless destruction of aquatic wildlife habitat."

CALIFORNIA'S DILEMMA: CLEAN AIR OR CLEAN WATER

SACRAMENTO, California, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - The Association of California Water Agencies has called on Governor Gray Davis to protect the state's water resources by standing firm on plans to phase out the use of the oxygenate MTBE in gasoline by the end of this year. The statewide association's 440 members are responsible for about 90 percent of the water delivered in California.

Since 1992, oxygenates have been required for use in California gasoline to help achieve compliance with federal and state air quality regulations. Several oxygenates are available but methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has been the oxygenate of choice due to its compatible blending properties and lower cost.

In a March 8 letter signed by ACWA executive director Stephen Hall, the association urged Davis to resist pressure to delay the ban on MTBE, a gasoline additive that has been detected in groundwater and surface water sources throughout California. Davis issued an executive order in 1999 calling for a ban on MTBE by the end of December.

"Delaying the ban on MTBE by even one more day is another opportunity for MTBE to find its way into another community's water supplies," ACWA said in the letter. "We believe that given the choice between continued MTBE use or protection of our water supplies, the public would put our water supply sources first - even if it means paying a little more at the pump for a short time."

Supporters of MTBE said it would reduce polluting auto emissions by 15 percent and was worth the considerable cost to improve air quality. But unlike gasoline, MTBE does not readily evaporate and is soluble in water. A miniscule amount can make an entire water source taste foul.

MTBE contamination has forced the closure of drinking water wells in South Lake Tahoe, Santa Monica, San Jose, Cambria, Kern County and other locations. It has resulted in millions of dollars in water treatment, cleanup and replacement water costs, and has diminished the public's confidence in the safety of water supplies.

Although one consultant's report suggests gasoline prices will rise if MTBE is banned at the end of this year, ACWA cautioned that any increases in gas prices would pale in comparison to the cost of ongoing cleanup and replacement of contaminated water supplies.

The association expressed support for the governor's efforts to obtain an Environmental Protection Agency waiver for California from the Clean Air Act's oxygenate requirement.

Recent MTBE contamination in Ventura County is evidence of the need to remove MTBE from gasoline as soon as possible, the association said.

"It is patently obvious that MTBE is a threat to our state's water resources," the association wrote. "It is an expensive problem that will only grow more expensive in the future, and it is costing us precious water supplies that California simply cannot afford to lose."

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SPREADS TO WISCONSIN

MADISON, Wisconsin, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - Wisconsin wildlife and conservation experts are scrambling to find out how a mad cow type disease that attacks deer and elk invaded their state from the western part of the country.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was alerted on February 28, by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa that chronic wasting disease was detected from three deer registered in Mt. Horeb during the 2001 nine day gun season.

Chronic wasting disease belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. It attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions and die.

Chronic wasting disease has been known to occur in deer and elk in North America for decades. It occurs in wild deer and elk primarily in northeastern Colorado and adjacent parts of Wyoming and Nebraska. The disease has also been found on elk farms in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Saskatchewan. State officials note that the disease is not a threat to cattle or sheep.

All three samples were taken from deer killed in the Dane County Town of Vermont. The Mt. Horeb station registered 1,486 deer during the various gun and bow seasons last fall, and DNR biologists believe in all likelihood more area deer may be infected with chronic wasting disease.

Altogether, DNR staff sampled 82 deer for chronic wasting disease at Mt. Horeb and 445 deer statewide during the 2001 deer hunting season. Officials are still waiting final test results from deer sampled around the state.

Biologists and conservation wardens, in cooperation with other state agencies, are establishing a chronic wasting disease surveillance area in the vicinity of Vermont Township.

They are putting a deer sampling mechanism in place following Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection protocol that will help define the extent to which chronic wasting disease has spread in the area.

Officials are contacting all hunters who submitted deer tissue samples at Mt. Horeb over the gun deer season's opening weekend to learn where they shot their deer. They will be holding a public meeting in the Mt. Horeb area in the near future after state agencies have firmed up their response plans and can answer specific questions.

They are flying aerial surveys to identify deer concentration areas, and collecting heads from deer killed on roads in the area as another source of tissue samples. A website with up to date information on chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin is in the works.

In spite of ongoing surveillance for similar disease syndromes in humans, there has never been an instance of people contracting a prion disease from butchering or eating meat from animals infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD).

"Certainly, this is reassuring," noted Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services epidemiologist Jim Kazmierczak, "but no one can say with absolute certainty that CWD will never cause human disease. What is clear is that if there is a risk of human disease, it must be exceedingly small. Ultimately, whether or not you continue to eat venison harvested in the area of these positive CWD findings is up to you and your family."

NEW YORK PROTECTS BIRDS ALONG LAKE CHAMPLAIN SHORE

ALBANY, New York, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - New York state has designated a new Champlain Marshes Bird Conservation Area, along Lake Champlain, protecting 2,800 acres of waterfowl and migratory bird habitat. The area contains a variety of large marshes, forested swamps, and shrub swamps as well as upland forests, grasslands, and shrublands.

"Our successful Bird Conservation Area program is helping to protect critical bird habitat, while focusing needed attention on protecting New York's bird populations," Governor George Pataki said. "Bird watching is a fun and educational pastime that the whole family can enjoy and today's announcement creates new opportunities for New Yorkers and visitors to learn about and appreciate the many species of birds that populate this area of the Champlain Valley."

The new Champlain Marshes Bird Conservation Area (BCA) is located along a 90 mile stretch of the western shore of Lake Champlain, starting near the Canadian border and continuing to the southern tip of the lake. The area encompasses six State Wildlife Management Areas. Because of its shoreline location, the newly designated Champlain Marshes BCA is an important waterfowl, marsh bird, wading bird and migratory bird concentration site.

These diverse habitats serve as important breeding and stop-over grounds for a variety of upland birds and many wetland dependent species, including several species of management concern, such as: least bittern, american bittern, osprey, upland sandpiper, black tern, northern harrier, pied-billed grebe, short-eared owl, vesper sparrow and grasshopper sparrow.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will continue to manage the six areas that make up the Champlain Marshes BCA for wildlife conservation and recreational use, with an increased emphasis on bird conservation and management.

Governor Pataki signed legislation in 1997 establishing New York's Bird Conservation Area program, designed to safeguard and enhance bird populations and their habitats on selected state lands and waters. The legislation authorizes the designation of state lands that are of particular importance to the conservation of birds. New York now has 17 bird conservation areas.

The bird conservation areas are selected by state and private wildlife experts because they support an exceptional abundance and diversity of birds. The focus of the program is to provide a basis for the establishment of model stewardship programs and the development of interpretive and educational programs for bird conservation.

A brief history and detailed site map of each of the six Wildlife Management Areas that comprise the Champlain Marshes BCA can be found on the DEC website at: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg5/wmamaps/index.html

ORANGUTAN SHOW OWNER ORDERED TO PAY LAWYERS

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - The former executive director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will have her legal bills covered by court order.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt has ordered former Las Vegas showman Bobby Berosini and his wife Joan to pay more than $250,000 to three law firms that represented Jeanne Roush, who they sued for defamation in 1990.

Berosini's "Lido de Paris" show, starring performing orangutans played at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas in the late 1980s. Roush and PETA were slapped with a $3.1 million defamation suit by Berosini who claimed PETA members altered a videotape to make it appear as if he had struck one of the orangutans backstage.

PETA distributed the undercover video showing Berosini beating orangutans with a metal rod. The U.S. Department of the Interior revoked Berosini's captive bred wildlife permit, making it illegal for Berosini to buy or sell orangutans.

A Nevada jury decided in Berosini's favor, but the Nevada Supreme Court later reversed the decision and awarded court costs and legal fees to PETA.

In March 1998, Roush filed a federal lawsuit against the Berosini's charging that they had engaged in fraudulent transactions to conceal their assets and avoid paying court costs awarded by the state supreme court in the failed defamation suit.

In February 2000, Judge Leavitt ordered the Berosinis to pay $2 million to the United States. In May 2000, the Berosinis resolved the state court case by paying $340,230 to cover court costs and interest owed to PETA and Roush.

Last week Judge Leavitt ordered the Berosinis to pay the three law firms that represented Roush: Hirschkop & Associates of Virginia will receive nearly $185,000; the Las Vegas firm of Wright, Judd & Winkler will receive nearly $59,000; and Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell of Florida will receive about $12,000.

RESTORING SUMMER SALMON, ONE FISH AT A TIME

SEATTLE, Washington, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - The juvenile salmon released March 4 from the University of Washington's Big Beef Creek Fish Research Station are offspring of 900 summer chum salmon that returned to the stream last year. They represent the reversal of an extinct population of chum.

Located near the town of Seabeck on Hood Canal, Big Beef Creek's original run of summer chum went extinct in 1984 after years of dwindling populations.

Last fall, for the first time in decades, hundreds of summer chum returned to Big Beef Creek, the result of five years work to re-establish the run. The effort involved the University of Washington (UW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the citizens of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.

From the early 1970s, the run had fewer than 300 fish most years, says research scientist Steve Schroder of the state fish and wildlife agency. Schroder was a UW doctoral student 30 years ago working at the Big Beef Fish Research Station, a UW aquatic and fishery sciences facility.

The new summer chum run has been fostered using eggs from nearby Quilcene, which has a natural run bolstered in recent years by a small spawning program. Only a handful of summer chum - 20 or 30 - had returned to Big Beef Creek each of the previous two years, according to Gordon George, manager of the UW facility.

Last fall, 64 of Big Beef Creek's 894 returning summer chums were captured and artificially spawned while the rest passed upstream to spawn naturally, George said.

Those hatchery fish have a thermal mark so that scientists can tell them from the naturally spawning fish when they return from the open ocean in two, three or four years to spawn.

The cause of the previous decline and extinction of summer chum in Big Beef Creek is unknown, but it is suspected that overfishing was a major contributor, as well as dredging, building of dikes, road construction and reduced water quality.

Similar factors may have been at work in Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Summer chum salmon have been recognized as a threatened species in Puget Sound since 1994.

Big Beef Creek's fall chum never went extinct although the size of the run, with an average of 600 fish a year, is way down from the thousands that used to return to spawn each year. Coho, steelhead and cutthroat trout also spawn in the creek.

The release of juvenile summer chum this week is the first of three that will be followed by releases in mid-March and early April.

SEASHELLS ACT AS OCEAN ANTACID

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - Shells on the ocean floor appear to act as a buffer against chemical change over thousands of years.

v Writing in the March 7 issue of "Nature" magazine, David Anderson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Paleoclimatology Program, and David Archer of the University of Chicago, developed a new method to determine the carbonate ion concentration of seawater, using shells on the ocean floor deposited over thousands of years. By studying the concentration of carbonate ion, the scientists are able to understand the amount of alkaline versus acidity, or pH, of the ocean over time.

Low tide along South Carolina shoreline with sea shells (Photo Richard Mieremet, courtesy NOAA)

"Our results indicate that the calcium carbonate that lines the ocean floor can act as a buffer against chemical change, much the same as an antacid works in the stomach," Anderson said.

"We know from ice cores that atmospheric carbon dioxide was 30 percent lower during the last ice age 20,000 years ago, and while we speculate the ocean must have played a role in the atmospheric CO2 lowering, changes in the ocean appear to be buffered by the presence of calcium carbonate, so that any change in carbon dioxide is not apparent," Anderson added.

The study will be important in helping climate researchers understand the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle, Anderson said.

"Prior to this study, large changes in ocean carbonate chemistry had been proposed to explain the changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide," he said. "Over thousands of years, calcium carbonate compensation appears to be the dominant variable controlling the ocean carbonate (and carbon dioxide) inventory. When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is added to the oceans, the calcium carbonate on the seafloor dissolves to minimize the carbon dioxide change in the ocean."

By reconstructing past climates, scientists are better able to understand today's climate.

"The climate system changes slowly over thousands of years," Anderson said. "By understanding past and present climates, we will be able to predict future climates."

More information on the Paleoclimatology Program is available at: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html