Wildlife Weekly Wrap-Up

Vieques National Wildlife Refuge under Attack!
This past week has not been so much fun under the Puerto Rican sun for Vieques National Wildlife Refuge and the wildlife that call it home. On April 13, Representative Robert Bishop (R-UT) introduced a bill in the House Natural Resources Committee called the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) that would offer up 3,100 acres of the refuge to private development. The Vieques National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding waters hosts Antillean manatees, fisherman bats and hundreds of birds, from the little blue heron to the great egret, as well as the highest percentage of green sea turtle nests in the Archipelago of Puerto Rico. “Promesa” is Spanish for “promise.” While Representative Bishop promises to attack our nation’s public lands, we promise to do everything we can to protect them for wildlife and for future generations.

Déjà vu — Izembek National Wildlife Refuge under Attack Again
On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to revisit a proposal we have long opposed: building a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Izembek is an international treasure that provides essential habitat for rare and iconic wildlife such as brown bears, caribou and hundreds of species of migratory birds. One of America’s most unique and ecologically significant wildlife refuges, this extraordinary landscape in Alaska is almost entirely designated wilderness. Cutting a road through the heart of the refuge would cause irreparable damage and set a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes the integrity of our National Wildlife Refuge System and wildlands across the country. Our stance on this issue is unwavering: egregious congressional attacks on our Refuge System are unacceptable. Izembek must remain protected from the destructive road.

Glowing gillnets may keep sea turtles safer
Scientists at the University of Exeter have discovered that attaching green LED lights to fishing nets can reduce green sea turtle bycatch (when turtles get entangled in the nets) by a whopping 64 percent, with little impact on effectiveness in catching fish. The study was conducted in a Peruvian bay, home to several populations of endangered green sea turtles. While the control nets with no lights caught 125 sea turtles, the lighted nets only caught 62. Each LED light cost about two dollars, making the cost of saving a turtle about $34. The next step? Testing out the lights in other fisheries and with many different net types, and seeing if it works for other sea turtle species like loggerheads and leatherbacks as well.

A Record Low: 100 Attacks on the Endangered Species Act
Congress’ assault on the Endangered Species Act has reached a new milestone. We’ve been keeping count, and we’ve just hit the 100th attack on protections for America’s wildlife. This week, legislative language was included in the energy and water spending bill that undermines Endangered Species Act protections for salmon and other endangered fish in California’s Bay-Delta ecosystem. The detrimental language is just the latest attack on the Endangered Species Act and America’s land, water and wildlife that it protects. In less than 16 months, members of the 114th Congress have found 100 different ways to undermine the ESA, putting America’s declining wildlife at greater risk of extinction. Collectively, these 100 anti-ESA proposals represent the largest wave of attacks on this conservation law since it was passed 43 years ago.