• Snake River Dredging Halted for Salmons' Sake
  
• Largest Wildlife Group Optimistic for Second Bush Term
  
• Concentrating Solar Power Systems Funded for Western States
  
• Federal Conservation Funding Flows to 202 Watersheds
  
• Endangered Foods of North Americas Listed in New Book
  
• Fungus Found to Fight Coffee Berry Bugs
  
• Hurricane Leaves Tough Task for New Refuge Manager
  
• Animal Advocate Eisnitz Honored with Prestigious Medal
  

Snake River Dredging Halted for Salmons' Sake

“Dredging could have devastating impacts on what little salmon habitat remains in the Snake River,” said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens’ Associations, one of the plaintiff groups. “There is no such thing as salmon-friendly dredging, and tearing up the riverbed is not recovery.”

Spain says the Corps seems determined to dredge regardless of the thousands of commercial fishermen who have lost their jobs as a result of the Corps’ mismanagement of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. "The sooner we can move ahead with real salmon recovery in the Columbia, the sooner those jobs will be restored," he said.

“Dredging in the lower Snake River is environmentally risky and economically unsound,” said Jan Hasselman, Seattle counsel for the National Wildlife Federation, another plaintiff in the case. “There are better ways to manage this river that would save money and give salmon and steelhead a fighting chance to recover.”

The decision represents the second time in two years that the Corps has failed to adopt a dredging plan in the lower Snake River that can pass legal muster, said Earthjustice, a public interest nonprofit law firm representing the plaintiff groups. In 2002, the same court halted dredging until the Corps corrected serious problems in its long-term sediment management plan for the Snake River.

Today’s court ruling sends the Corps of Engineers back to the drawing board to come up with a plan that complies with the law.

Conservation and fishing groups, along with the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, had asked for a hearing on the plan, and were pleased with the ruling. “The court’s ruling today is part of a larger pattern in the past two or three years where courts have repeatedly stepped in to protect our wild salmon by holding government agencies accountable,” said Earthjustice attorney Todd True.

Last summer, a federal court in Oregon blocked a government plan to take away water flows that salmon need to survive. Before that, the courts threw out an inadequate government plan for managing federal dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers because of the potential harm to salmon. “This repeated disregard for the law hurts all of us in this region and needs to stop,” True said.

The court ruled that the Corps had violated the law by failing to prepare an adequate Environmental Impact Statement for the proposal. And the court agreed with plaintiffs that salmon and steelhead in the Snake River could not afford another insult to their already degraded habitat, characterizing the harm to these species as “irreparable.”

The injunction issued by the court prevents the Corps from dredging this winter, as currently planned. The delay adds to questions about the long-term viability of the Snake River barge transportation network, which is encountering competition from Puget Sound ports that are attracting an increasing share of the region’s business.

“Improved rail infrastructure to meet the needs of shippers should be a priority for the region,” said Bert Bowler of Idaho Rivers United. “Washington is working diligently to preserve shortline railroads in the eastern part of the state that will add certainty to the transportation system in the long run. Idaho should be doing the same.”

The plaintiffs include the National Wildlife Federation, Washington Wildlife Federation, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Wildlife Federation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, and the Sierra Club. The case is being handled by attorneys Jan Hasselman at NWF and Todd True at Earthjustice.

Largest Wildlife Group Optimistic for Second Bush Term

Larry Schweiger said Wednesday that, "Conservation progress is possible if the president delivers on commitments he and his administration have made to the American people."

"The president and his cabinet secretaries have compiled a considerable list of new commitments, pledges and statements concerning conservation over the past several months," said Schweiger, who heads the 68 year old wildlife advocacy organization.

"They affirmed for the first time that human activity contributes to global warming," Schweiger said, beginning to recite the list of administration promises.

"President Bush personally announced the goal of stopping the annual loss of wetlands and adding three million acres of new wetlands to the nation's wildlife habitat rolls. The president and numerous administration officials reached out to hunters and anglers, saying the administration is listening to their concerns."

"They announced a national conservation summit to convene early next year. They suspended oil and gas leasing in Montana's wildlife-rich Rocky Mountain Front. They pledged to restore the Great Lakes. They made commitments to pursue policies to make the nation's air and water cleaner and safer," Schweiger said.

"The National Wildlife Federation remains optimistic that much good can be accomplished in the next four years. After all, the quality of life for all Americans and the legacy to future generations is at stake," Schweiger said. "Our optimism, however, is tempered by resolve to oppose vigorously any efforts by the administration or Congress to turn back the clock on conservation progress."

Schweiger also has a list of legislative questions for the second Bush administration.

• Will President Bush endorse the McCain-Lieberman bill to reduced global warming pollution and adopt a more balanced energy plan that protects the nation's most cherished wild landscapes like Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming's Red Desert and New Mexico's Otero Mesa?

• Will he fully enforce Clean Water Act wetlands protections and abandon the current policy that ends those protections for up to 20 million wetland acres?

• Will he strengthen the current proposal to reduce mercury emissions so that all Americans, including anglers and pregnant mothers, can safely consume fish from the nation's lakes, river and streams?

• Will he put real money into cleaning up and restoring the great waters of our country?

Concentrating Solar Power Systems Funded for Western States

Federal Conservation Funding Flows to 202 Watersheds

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Tuesday that the eligible watersheds represent one-eighth or nearly 208,000 of the nation's potentially eligible farms and ranches.

CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested land if it is an incidental part of an agriculture operation.

"This voluntary program supports ongoing stewardship of working agricultural lands by providing payments for maintaining and enhancing natural resources," Veneman said. "Resource conservation improves water, air and soil quality, gives us healthier landscapes and promotes wildlife habitat."

Authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill, the 2005 CSP will include a renewable energy component. Eligible farmers will receive compensation for converting to renewable energy fuels such as soy biodiesel and ethanol, and for recycling 100 percent of on-farm lubricants.

Farmers will also be compensated for implementing energy production, including wind, solar, geothermal, and methane production.

A signup announcement will be published along with the final rule that will detail specific program requirements in the watersheds. The program will be offered each year on a rotational basis in as many watersheds as funding allows.

The funds that will be dedicated to CSP are part of the $1.6 billion in mandatory funding that Veneman announced last week to help farmers and ranchers better plan their conservation efforts.

Veneman says that the USDA released these funds to help farmers and ranchers better plan their conservation efforts by knowing the initial mandatory program funding and technical assistance levels well before the next planting season begins, thus helping to connect their business decisions to protecting water, air, soil and wildlife.

Additional information on CSP, including a map of the fiscal year 2005 watersheds and eligibility requirements for the signup to be held this winter, is on the web at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.

Endangered Foods of North Americas Listed in New Book

The list of endangered traditional foods includes 81 fish and shellfish, 26 native wild food plants, 51 rare livestock and poultry breeds, 234 heirloom vegetables, 248 fruits and berries and 55 grains and nuts.

The list was compiled as a result of research and recommendations from dozens of food historians, farmers, plant explorers, genetic conservationists and agricultural activists.

In an unprecedented effort to rescue endangered foods, seven organizations have formed the coalition Renewing America’s Food Traditions.

“As we bring in our harvests and prepare for the winter holidays, it is fitting to recognize the diversity of foods lost from our holiday tables which could be returned if consumers, chefs, conservationists, and producers begin to more effectively collaborate with one another,” said Gary Nabhan, director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University.

Nabhan facilitates the coalition, which includes the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Chefs Collaborative, Cultural Conservancy, Native Seed/SEARCH, Slow Food USA and Seed Savers Exchange in addition to the Center for Sustainable Environments.

The group is launching its national campaign with the release of book, "Renewing America’s Food Traditions." In addition to the first redlist of America’s endangered foods, the book highlights the stories of 20 authentic American foods.

“These foods have declined as their wild habitats or agricultural landscapes have been degraded and destroyed,” Nabhan said. “Hybrids and GMOs [genetically modified organisms] have usurped their markets, while ethnic communities have lost traditional ecological and culinary knowledge about their harvesting and preparation.”

“The peoples of the Americas were diverse in their use of locally available ingredients,” says Fernando Divina, award winning chef, advisor to Renewing America’s Food Traditions, and co-author of Foods of the Americas. “A resurgence of demand for heirloom varieties of produce may engender new, more effective means of distribution.”

The list is available online at: http://www.environment.nau.edu/raft

Fungus Found to Fight Coffee Berry Bugs

The tiny borer spends its entire larval life inside the coffee berry, which encases the seed, commonly known as the coffee bean.

Males mate with females inside the berry but never leave it. Mated females emerge to fly to a new berry and bore into it, lay eggs and start the cycle anew. Only while outside the berry are the adult female borers vulnerable to pest management methods.

One potential pest management method is the application of Beauveria bassiana, a fungus that is pathogenic to insects. The challenge is to get the fungus in contact with an insect pest that spends most of its life inside the coffee berry.

Agricultural Research Service entomologist Fernando Vega and his colleagues at the Insect Biocontrol Laboratory in Beltsville, found the fungus can become established within plant tissue. The goal is to make the fungus thrive in the coffee plant, exposing the borer to it, Vega says.

Certain microscopic worms called nematodes may also offer a method to control the borer. In collaboration with scientists in Mexico, Vega found that when the females of a particular nematode genus parasitized female coffee berry borers, the result was not death, but a reduction in reproductive efficiency.

Non-parasitized insects laid an average of 10 eggs, but parasitized borers laid just two eggs on average. Over time, this control method may help reduce the overall borer population.

Worldwide, coffee berry borers cause about $500 million in damage to the crop annually. They eat holes in the beans, lowering the crop's quality and reducing the income of coffee growers.

Hurricane Leaves Tough Task for New Refuge Manager

The refuge, located west of Gulf Shores, Alabama, was directly in the path of Hurricane Ivan which blew through in mid-September and now, six weeks later, it is still closed to the public. Cail and his staff are repairing structures, removing downed trees, and clearing hazardous materials that had washed ashore from other locations including propane tanks, boats, and construction debris.

A team from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hauled away 1,200 gallons of hazardous materials in the first few days after the hurricane - herbicides, pesticides, and propane gas. An additional 25 truckloads of hazardous materials have been removed since then, but there is still more to be done.

The Service says the refuge's two nature trails - the Pine Beach Trail and the Jeff Friend Trail may be closed for months. But two beach access points on the refuge are expected to open to the public soon.

"Robert and his staff are doing a thorough job, working to ensure that the refuge is completely safe before it re-opens to the public," said Sam Hamilton, the Service's southeast regional director. "He is facing tough circumstances at the start of a new job, but Robert and his staff are meeting their challenges, and we know the refuge is in capable hands."

A six-year veteran of the Service, Cail was refuge manager at the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in Georgia before coming to Bon Secour. He oversaw Harris Neck, Blackbeard, Wassaw, and Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuges.

"I'm excited about being here at Bon Secour," said Cail. "Although my plans for the refuge are skewed because of Hurricane Ivan's aftermath, we will continue to play a pivotal role in Alabama beach mouse and sea turtle recovery efforts."

"Another main focus will be trying to use land acquisition, leases, and other land management agreements as a means to foster habitat conservation within our approved refuge acquisition boundaries," Cail said.

Animal Advocate Eisnitz Honored with Prestigious Medal

The award, given by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the advancement of animal protection. Previous winners of the award include Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall and Senator Hubert Humphrey.

Eisnitz is author of the 1997 book "Slaughterhouse," which exposed violations of the Humane Slaughter and Federal Meat Inspection Acts inside USDA inspected slaughter plants. She wrote the book after years of investigating slaughterhouses across the country.

AWI President Cathy Liss said of Eisnitz, "In the course of her work as an investigator, she has been chased, harassed and threatened with bodily harm. She has earned the respect of and negotiated strategic alliances with slaughterhouse workers and their union representatives during her tireless efforts to expose egregious crimes against animals."

Eisnitz has worked in the animal protection field since 1983. As chief investigator for the San Francisco based Humane Farming Association since 1992, she not only documented and exposed the use of deadly steroids by the U.S. veal industry but also revealed brutal violations in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cattle by the nation's largest meat producer.

Her efforts, in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, were responsible for halting construction of what was slated to be the third largest pig factory farm in the world.

In addition, Eisnitz helped secure an annual appropriation from Congress of $5 million to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act - the first funding ever allocated to implement the 45-year-old law. Currently, she is fighting to prevent the appropriation from being derailed by the livestock industry.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, will present the medal. Whole Foods Market is the world's largest natural and organic foods supermarket chain with 145 stores in North America and the United Kingdom.