       
"This is a victory worth celebrating (cont from
Home page)
Today, the FWS estimates there are over 7,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles
in the continental United States.
and protecting," adds
Flicker. "How fitting that our nation's symbol soars off the Endangered
Species list as we prepare to celebrate America's independence."
RESURGENCE OF A
NATIONAL ICON. Bald eagle populations declined dramatically in the last
century, attributed mostly to the accumulation of the pesticide DDT in fish,
a staple of the eagle's diet. The pesticides gradually poisoned females,
causing them to produce thinly-shelled eggs that broke easily, preventing
the embryos from growing. Years of hunting, accidental poisoning and habitat
loss took an additional toll.
In 1960, Audubon
took the lead in studying the eagle's declines through its' Continental Bald
Eagle Project. The project revealed that DDT was in large part responsible
for population declines among several raptor species including the bald
eagle.
The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) in 1967 listed the bald eagle as endangered, a
designation that gave the bird legal protection from harmful human
activities and in 1972, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned most
uses of DDT.
Listing the bald
eagle afforded greater protection for important habitat, and saw the
beginning of intensive monitoring and management of bald eagle populations
in the wild as well as introduction of eagles from Alaska, Wisconsin, and
other state to areas of the country where they had disappeared.
By the mid-90's,
the eagle was well on the road to recovery and the FWS "downlisted" the bald
eagle from endangered to threatened in most states under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA).
From the Audubon Web Page |
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Federal Judge Restores ESA (cont)
“This is a victory for good science and for Oregon’s future,” said
Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman, who argued the case for the groups.
“Restoring protections for these salmon today means a greener and
economically vibrant Oregon tomorrow.”
“Oregon coast coho are still on life support, and recovery depends on
protecting and restoring the rivers and streams these fish depend on,” said
Dr. Chris Frissell, former Oregon State University salmon biologist and
Senior Staff Scientist with Pacific Rivers Council. “This decision restores
vital habitat protection so that the coho can begin moving toward recovery.”
Once a staple of Oregon’s salmon fishing fleet but now off-limits to
commercial fishermen, coastal coho runs have sharply declined from their
historical abundance. Fishermen look forward to rebuilt coho stocks which
once constituted a substantial part of their income. They know this means
rebuilding the streamside spawning habitat needed by the fish.
“For the sake of our fishing families and communities, now is not the time
to slack off on habitat protections for coho salmon,” said Glen Spain, with
the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “Eliminating these
protections shifted the conservation burden onto the backs of fishermen,
without protecting the rivers and streams the coho depend on. With federal
habitat protections restored, coho have a chance to recover and, one day,
draconian fishing restrictions can be lifted.” Coast Range Association
Director Chuck Willer said "let's put the legal issues behind us and get on
with the work of restoring coastal freshwater habitat and returning the coho
to abundance."
Historically, more than 2 million coho salmon spawned in Oregon’s coastal
rivers. Due to decades of aggressive logging and poorly managed fishing,
those numbers collapsed. Runs bottomed out at about 14,000 in 1997, a
decline of more than 99 percent from historic levels. The runs were listed
under the Endangered Species Act the following year. Coast coho returns
showed some improvements in the early 2000s but have generally declined
since then, and still remain at a small fraction of historic levels.
The slight rebound between 2001 and 2003 prompted the state of Oregon to
prematurely declare Coast coho sufficiently recovered to be stripped of
federal protection. The federal agency charged with administering the
fishery, National Marine Fisheries Service overruled its own scientists—who
raised grave doubts about Oregon’s novel population analysis as well as the
status of the species—to remove federal endangered species protections in
2006.
The plaintiffs include the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Pacific Rivers Council,
Trout Unlimited, Oregon Wild, Native Fish Society, and Umpqua Watersheds.
They were represented by attorneys Patti Goldman and Jan Hasselman of
Earthjustice in Seattle.
Contacts:
Patti Goldman or Jan Hasselman, Earthjustice, (206) 343-7340
Glen Spain, PCFFA, (541) 689-2000
Dr. Jack Williams, Trout Unlimited (541) 772-7724
Dr. Chris Frissell, Pacific Rivers Council (406) 471-3167
From the Portland Audubon
Society |
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| Congress Enacts Ecosystems Law In
Historic Veto Override
More than five years in the making, the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA), which contains billions in funding to
restore ecosystems became law after Congress overrode President
Bush's veto by a staggering margin. Two-thirds of the House and
Senate must vote to override a veto and WRDA drew a bipartisan
vote of 361-54 in the House and 79-14 in the Senate. A longtime
Audubon priority, the bill provides unprecedented ecosystem
restoration funding authority in areas like the Everglades, the
Great Lakes, coastal Louisiana, and the Mississippi River.
Audubon activists from around the country have been aggressively
lobbying in favor of the bill, particularly in recent months. In
total, the $23 billion piece of legislation authorizes funding
for navigation, flood protection, and $6 billion in ecosystem
restoration. This is the first veto override of the Bush
presidency. The law authorizes funding for the projects, and the
funding must be approved in the 2009 appropriations process.
Click here to read the details in Audubon's
press release.
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