• Biopharming Lawsuit Claims Field Tests Threaten Hawaiian Species
  
• U.S., Mexico Sign Pact to Cooperate on Agricultural Research
  
• Senate Would Keep States from Setting Small Engine Emissions Levels
  
• Florida Merges National Defense with Land Conservation
  
• Central Hudson's Cleanup Plan for Newburgh Criticized
  
• Port of Los Angeles Begins Artificial Reef Project
  
• Public Welcome to Comment on Medicine Bow Timber Sale
  
• Boulder to Remove Invasive Buckthorn
  

Biopharming Lawsuit Claims Field Tests Threaten Hawaiian Species

The organizations - Friends of the Earth, the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance (KAHEA), Pesticide Action Network North America, and Center for Food Safety - are seeking a court order requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to better control the open air trials of biopharmaceutical test crops in Hawaii and throughout the United States.

They claim that USDA lack of oversight violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

USDA has authorized corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont, ProdiGene, and Dow to conduct hundreds of field tests of biopharm crops genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and other medical and industrial products, including a blood clotting agent, a blood thinner, various blood proteins, experimental animal vaccines, industrial enzymes, antibodies, and an abortion inducing compound once considered for use as an AIDS drug.

"The shroud of secrecy surrounding biopharming is unacceptable," said Paul Achitoff an attorney with the nonprofit, public interest law firm Earthjustice who represents the plaintiffs. "Members of the public have the right to know about these potentially harmful substances being grown in their backyards."

More than 4,000 field tests of genetically engineered crops have been conducted in Hawaii, more than anywhere else in the world, including more than two dozen tests of biopharm crops.

"Open air testing of genetically engineered plants in vulnerable ecosystems presents unacceptable risks to Hawaii's fragile biodiversity," said Cha Smith, executive director of KAHEA. "Pollen from plants that are engineered to produce powerful chemicals will assuredly be carried by trade winds and eaten by insects and birds. There is no way to prevent the spread of genetic material to native plants and animals."

Hawaii has over 300 endangered species - more than a third of all U.S. endangered species and more per square mile than anywhere else on earth - and about 97 percent of all native species in Hawaii are found nowhere else.

The lawsuit points out that none of these biopharm crops has been approved for human or animal consumption, or even for general release into the environment. Despite 12 years of open air field testing, not a single plant-produced biopharm drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Yet USDA allows these tests to be conducted in open fields, conceals the trials' locations from the public, and in most cases refuses to disclose the substances being grown, Achitoff argues.

The tests typically use food crops like corn and soybeans, which the lawsuit contends increases the risk of contaminating the food or livestock feed supply with powerful, biologically active chemicals.

Farmers are kept in the dark about biopharm experiments taking place in their vicinity, and other members of the public are unaware that experimental drugs and chemicals could contaminate their food.

Neither the USDA nor any other government agency has prepared an Environmental Impact Statement or assessed the risk to endangered species. The suit contends that the USDA's regulation of field testing is "inadequate to assure that biopharm crops do not contaminate soil or food supplies, harm humans or wildlife, or cross-breed with wild or other farmed plants."

In August, the USDA issued interim rules requiring companies growing genetically engineered crops that contain industrial chemicals to get a permit. The Biotechnology Industry Organization supports the new rules. The National Food Processors Association and the Grocery Manufacturers of America have expressed concerns that simply requiring a permit is not adequate to protect the food supply.

A 2002 study by the National Academy of Sciences found the environmental impacts of biopharm agriculture cannot be predicted, and that the novel compounds being produced by these plants may contaminate human and animal food supplies.

In July, Earthjustice, on behalf of Center for Food Safety, filed a suit in First Circuit Court, State of Hawaii, against the Hawaii Department of Agriculture seeking public access to state records regarding biopharm field tests in Hawaii.

The suit claims these records may contain important information about the kind of substances being produced, how and where these substances are being released, and what the responsible authorities are doing to control them. The agency has refused to release any information, in what the plaintiffs claim is violation of the state open records law.

U.S., Mexico Sign Pact to Cooperate on Agricultural Research

The research will focus on ways of improving trade for both countries and protecting the environment, especially natural resources within the U.S.-Mexico border area.

Edward Knipling, acting administrator for ARS, signed the agreement at ARS headquarters, along with Jaime Parada Avila, director general of CONACyT, Mexico's preeminent funding agency for research and higher education.

"The United States and Mexico have a long-standing history of collaboration in agricultural science. The changing face of agriculture and bilateral trade between our two countries provides even stronger motivation for us to partner in identifying problem areas and to resolve them through joint research and the open exchange of information," said Knipling.

The agreement follows a year during which representatives from a dozen Mexican research organizations and universities, ARS, other federal agencies, and state universities participated in five workshops.

They identified agricultural research projects in five areas: agriculture's impact on water and the environment; food safety; pest problems, including phytosanitary issues; animal health; and plant biotechnology and biosafety.

Participants designated 100 potential projects for cooperation, some of which have already started. Mexican graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientists will be able to visit ARS laboratories, and U.S. scientists will travel to Mexico where they will conduct research related to the five project areas.

One project is taking place at ARS' Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania where a cooperative agreement between Mexico's Research Center for Food and Development and Drexel University allows graduate student Francisco Javier Molina Corral to work with ARS chemical engineer Peggy Tomasula.

The project is to characterize the chemical, textural, sensory and microbiological properties of Chihuahua and other prized Mexican cheeses, which are traditionally made with raw milk. Corral's aim is to improve the quality, safety, shelf life and marketability of the cheeses by using pasteurized milk and novel processing methods.

Senate Would Keep States from Setting Small Engine Emissions Levels

The provision was adopted as part of the Veterans Administration-Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill (S. 1548), which sets the annual budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies.

The provision, offered as an amendment by Senator Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, overturns 25 years of Clean Air Act law that permits states to reduce pollution from these non-road engines.

In 1977, Congress provided states with the option of choosing between federal engine standards or more protective California standards for these engines. However, states were preempted from regulating new engines used in farm or construction equipment less than 175 horsepower (hp).

"This provision is nothing more than a special interest kick-back that violates states' rights to provide cleaner air and better health for their residents," said Rich Kassel, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's National Vehicles & Fuels Project.

Bond has acknowledged adding the amendment at the request of Briggs & Stratton, a company that manufactures small engines at two plants in his home state of Missouri.

To re-tool all the Briggs & Stratton plants in Poplar Bluff and Rolla, Missouri as well as in Wisconsin, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky would be, Bond said, an economic disaster, as it would drive jobs to other countries such as China.

"Tthere are better ways to improve air emissions," said Bond on a tour of the Briggs and Stratton plant in October. He suggested it be done by using better hoses and preventing the escape of emissions in other ways, the way all terrain vehicles and snowmobiles have been changed.

But Briggs & Stratton says that the measure restates current law, which allows only the EPA, and not states, to set emission standards for new engine models of less than 175 horsepower that are used in a farm and construction equipment.

It does not prevent the EPA from setting more stringent emission standards for these engines, nor does it prevent California from regulating more powerful engines, nor does it prevent California or any other state from requiring the retrofit of emission control devices on existing engines, the company said.

But environmentalists are not persuaded that the amendment is a good thing. "Senator Bond's pre-holiday gift to one company could have health impacts for millions of Americans," Kassel said.

Bond's original amendment, which passed the appropriations committee in September, covered all non-road engines less than 175 hp. Although today's revised amendment was limited to engines less than 50 hp, it covered 93 percent of the engines covered by the original amendment.

It also added a new prohibition against existing state regulations that cover lawn and garden equipment, forklifts, outboard engines, and off-road motorcycles.

There are still two procedural hurdles that the Bond amendment must clear before it can be finalized as law. Another Senator could offer a "motion to strike" the language in the Senate. Or, if such an effort fails, the provision could be changed or removed from the final bill during the upcoming House-Senate conference committee.

Florida Merges National Defense with Land Conservation

The Department of Defense is committing $1 million this year to the proposed Northwest Florida Greenway. Stretching from the Apalachicola National Forest to Eglin Air Force Base, the greenway creates 100 miles of open space following the flight path of military aircraft on training and testing exercises.

Around the state, Florida is acquiring land around military bases through Florida Forever, the 10 year, $3 billion land conservation program established by Governor Bush. The state has invested $640 million to place nearly one-half million acres in public ownership, which the Jeb Bush administration says protects natural resources and benefits military operations at the same time.

Also today Governor Bush and the Cabinet approved the latest addition to the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie. The purchase offers added protection to Perdido Bay while keeping the U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola (NAS Pensacola) freer of citizen encroachment.

The local land development process is the battleground of encroachment, explained Joseph Schilling, director of community and economic development for the International City/County Management Association based in Washington, DC. Sprawl is the root cause of encroachment by private citizens on military lands, he said.

“This significant purchase further merges our mission of environmental protection with that of national defense,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Struhs. “Today’s acquisition preserves the environmental integrity of Perdido Bay and enlarges the land buffer that protects this important military installation from encroachment.”

In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, DEP has acquired more than half of the 7,661 acre conservation project adjacent to NAS Pensacola. While providing recreation, the purchase of an additional 226 acres protects two and a half miles of Perdido Bay from development and maintains the viability of naval aviation training essential to NAS Pensacola.

Located west of Pensacola, Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie supports one of the largest stands of white-top pitcher plants in Florida. The rare and carnivorous white-top pitcher plant is unique to the Gulf Coast and found only between the Apalachicola and Mississippi Rivers.

Almost 100 other rare plants and animals depend on the unusual wet prairie habitat, including the alligator snapping turtle, sweet pitcher plant and Chapman’s butterwort.

Today’s vote brings state ownership of the prairie to 4,070 acres. DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks will manage the property as part of the Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park.

Central Hudson's Cleanup Plan for Newburgh Criticized

Critics claim it is an inadequate response to an environmental problem caused by a former Central Hudson manufactured gas plant. They are asking state agencies to ensure proper removal of contaminants.

Central Hudson's plan is the latest in a series of proposed cleanup actions resulting from its 1999 legal settlement with the City of Newburgh, valued at more than $20 million.

Under the settlement, Central Hudson must remediate its manufactured gas wastes at its sole expense in accordance with the state Department of Environmental Conservation's directions, and protect the city against third party claims due to the wastes.

The city's lawsuit against Central Hudson was triggered by the detection of oily, tarry wastes in the ground at the city's wastewater treatment plant in August 1994, during construction of new treatment facilities.

Construction was halted while Central Hudson carried out an investigation, which revealed widespread contamination on the city's property, including underwater sediments in the Hudson River. Under a separate agreement signed in July 2000, construction of the new facilities was resumed, with Central Hudson picking up the cost, estimated at $2.8 million.

The contaminated property includes several acres of underwater lands in the Hudson River, city owned land, public streets, two sets of CSX railroad tracks and Central Hudson's site.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, a New York Democrat, and environmental organizations such as the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Scenic Hudson, the Hudson Riverkeeper, says there are problems with Central Hudson's proposed plan.

They oppose the plan's use of so-called "institutional controls" to prevent public access to portions of the Hudson River waterfront and limit recreational use of the river.

The critics say its reliance on small, widely spaced monitoring wells to capture tar in the ground and its failure to include a containment wall to keep wastes from flowing onto City property are inadequate.

The plan's failure to consider active remedies, such as heat injection, to remove wastes from the ground, and its proposal to place caps over some ontamination in the river, as opposed to removing it entirely, are not acceptable to the city.

"Throughout this lengthy litigation and negotiation process, our top concern has been to ensure the continued restoration of one of the City's greatest assets, its waterfront, and the protection of its citizens," said Newburgh City Manager William Ketcham. "This latest plan does not make the grade. We urge New York State to require Central Hudson to carry out a real cleanup of its wastes."

Port of Los Angeles Begins Artificial Reef Project

Two proposed artificial reef sites were chosen. Site 1, the preferred site, is 1,700 feet southeast of the Point Fermin area and is approximately 57 acres in size. Site 2, at 41 acres in size, is approximately 5,000 feet south of the San Pedro Breakwater, west of the Angels Gate Lighthouse and approximately 1.2 miles southeast of Point Fermin.

"The artificial reef project is another example of an innovative project initiated by the Port to enhance and revitalize the environmental health of the Port," said Executive Director Larry Keller.

Artificial reef construction is one component of the California Department of Fish and Game's Nearshore Sportsfish Habitat Enhancement Program for restoring or enhancing a fish habitat.

Tom Raftikin of the United Anglers Association said the artificial reef will be good for fishing. "We are ecstatic about the opportunity the reef provides. Hard bottoms have been shown to be nine to 16 times more productive than mud or sand. This is quite encouraging for fishermen and the fish."

Development activities in and around the Port generate excess concrete construction materials or require the removal of demolished concrete structures such as wharves and foundations. Historically, these types of materials are crushed and used as building materials, disposed of in landfills, or disposed of at permitted underwater artificial reef sites.

The proposed project creates an underwater artificial reef structure, which increases fish, invertebrates, and algae, while at the same time provides a site for the suitable reuse/recycling of clean construction materials.

Artificial reef construction would begin this year and continue over time as material becomes available from the Port and other approved entities. The Port of Los Angeles with other state and regulatory agencies will develop and implement biological and physical surveys to monitor the artificial reef.

Public Welcome to Comment on Medicine Bow Timber Sale

Described as a "link" to the forests of Colorado, the forested connections of the Wyoming- Colorado Border Region of the Medicine Bow National Forest are vital to the health of many wildlife species in the region, including northern goshawk, pine marten, and others, the alliance says. Recently, four lynx were sighted in the Border Region, emphasizing the importance of this forested connection.

But the Forest Service has also proposed a timber sale for the region, that the conservationists say would be detrimental to the forest and the wildlife that inhabit it.

Named for nearby Blackhall Mountain and McAnulty Creek, the Blackall/McAnulty timber sale will leave 234 acres of clearcuts and log an additional 1,949 acres, the Forest Service says in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The Forest Service predicts the northern goshawk, pine marten, lynx, and boreal owl will continue to lose habitat if the timber sale goes ahead.

In addition, the Forest Service is proposing salvage logging in an area burned by the Bear Mountain South Fire of 2002, which would reduce habitat for sensitive woodpeckers. The logging could also prevent lynx, which is listed under the Endangered Species Act, from restoring themselves on the Bow because of increased fragmentation that prevents migration, the alliance warns.

Nearly 13 miles of road building are also proposed, which the Forest Service predicts will lead to increased sediment pollution in streams.

The alliance favors Alternative 4 on the DEIS which proposes only to close and decomission roads and to undertake a small prescribed burn. Alternative 4 proposes no logging, no road building, and no harm to wildlife.

The Forest Service is asking for public comment on the Blackhall/McAnulty timber sale by November 17. Submissions can be sent to: Terry DeLay, ID Team Leader, PO Box 249, Saratoga, WY 82331; Email: tdelay@fs.fed.us; Tel: 307-326-2518; Fax: 307-326-5250

Boulder to Remove Invasive Buckthorn

The tree-like shrubs will be cut down to the ground and herbicides applied to the stumps using a syringe. The application of herbicides in this area was approved by the City's Iintegrated Pest Management Task Force last spring. The buckthorn seeds will be bagged to ensure that they do not spread during removal. Staff will monitor the area to determine the success of this removal and control project.

Gregory Canyon contains a wide variety of native species, including some that are on the Colorado Natural Heritage Program list. Removing the buckthorn and other noxious species will allow these desirable species to thrive, city officials say.

Gregory Canyon, a popular area with visitors, located at the west end of Baseline Road, provides access to the Saddle Rock Trail, Realization Point, Crown Rock and the Sunrise Amphitheater. Hikers and climbers frequent the area.

Black bears, mountain lions, mule deer and coyotes inhabit this area, as do numerous bird species. It is also habitat to the Preble's Meadow jumping mouse, a federally threatened species.

Staff has scheduled this project late in the season to avoid bears and other wildlife. The project targets only those plants slated for removal and will take place away from the trail. The many recreational activities that occur in Gregory Canyon should not be impacted by this project.

"We are very concerned with the increase of ornamentals we see moving into our native plant communities," said Laurie Deiter, an integrated pest management specialist for the Open Space and Mountain Parks Department. "Half of the invasive species we manage on Open Space and Mountain Parks are ornamentals and they are very difficult to control once established. They degrade the quality of our natural areas."

Clearing out the buckthorn will also aid in forestry management efforts by thinning the undergrowth which helps the more desirable plants to grow. Area gardeners can help prevent the spread of non-natives by making informed decisions when selecting landscaping materials.

Information and a list of native plants recommended by the Colorado Native Plant Society are available at www.conps.org. Information on selecting appropriate plants, as well as those to avoid, is also available at: www.ci.boulder.co.us/openspace/nature/gardens/gardens.htm.