Wildlife Weekly Wrap-Up

Too Soon to Delist Yellowstone Grizzlies
This week, we told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that its proposal to remove Yellowstone grizzlies from the list of protected species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) should be withdrawn. First, the Service needs to strengthen protections for grizzlies in its proposed rule. Grizzly bears are one of the slowest reproducing land mammals in North America. And, this population is isolated from other grizzly populations with which they will need to reconnect to ensure long-term genetic diversity and full restoration. The Service should strengthen habitat protections and reduce the number of bears that are allowed to be killed under the proposed delisting rule. Second, state and federal management plans detailing how this population will be managed are incomplete, and must be updated to provide enforceable protections. While we hope to see surrounding states and national forests develop and implement management plans that are protective of bears, it’s ludicrous to delist these bears under just the assumption that this will happen. In other words, it’s one big gamble to make on one of the most beloved animals in the American West! We’re telling the Service that it needs to take the time to get this right. We can’t afford to be careless with this species we’ve spent the last five decades trying to restore.

Shooting Wolves May Impact Sightings and Tourism
It’s just common sense, but now this statement is supported by a research published this month which found wolf shooting and trapping outside national park boundaries reduce chances of tourists seeing them inside the park. That’s bad news for tourists visiting Yellowstone, 44 percent of whom cite wolves as the species they most want to see. Thankfully, this week wildlife managers rejected a proposal to triple wolf harvests near Yellowstone this year. There should be no wolf hunting allowed on lands adjacent to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks! Wolves in the Northern Rockies generate enormous economic revenue for the state and are also heavily monitored by wildlife biologists for research. Other wildlife species are managed at far greater numbers. Wolves should be managed to support their continued recovery, not in ways that accelerate their decline.

A Sad Turn for Famed Colorado Wolverine M56
The number-letter combo “M56” holds special meaning among wildlife advocates. M56 is the name of the only wolverine to be documented in Colorado since the species was eliminated there more than 90 years earlier. Last week we shared with you that a rare wolverine was killed in North Dakota by a ranch hand who didn’t recognize what it was and thought it could threaten livestock. In a very sad turn of events, DNA tests confirmed the wolverine killed in North Dakota – the first wolverine documented in that state since the 1800s – was intrepid M56. Wildlife officials started tracking M56 in 2008 in Wyoming. He wandered more than 500 miles into Colorado in 2009 and stayed until at least 2012 when his GPS device stopped transmitting, leaving his last location in Colorado. Patchwork protections afforded by different states – which allowed this ranch hand to kill M56 in North Dakota – are insufficient to protect wolverines, as this story proves. This sad tale is yet another reason why we continue to fight for their federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

First Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nest on Georgia’s Cumberland Island
Last week, the National Park Service confirmed Georgia’s first loggerhead nest of 2016 at Cumberland Island, the state’s southernmost barrier island. Nesting female sea turtles come ashore at night to dig their nests and lay their eggs, which hatch about 60 days later. The tiny hatchlings emerge from the nest as a group, orient themselves to the brightest horizon, and rush towards it. On natural beaches, the brightest light comes from reflections from the moon and stars over the water, which guide the turtles towards the ocean. Unfortunately, beachfront lighting from houses, condos, hotels, street lamps and many other sources can disorient hatchlings, as well as adults, and lead them inland instead of toward the ocean. That’s why our national seashores, protected from development as part of the National Park Service, are important refuges for sea turtles and other wildlife. Though loggerheads are the most abundant of all marine turtles in U.S. waters, declines from pollution, shrimp trawling, and development in their nest areas have kept them on the threatened species list since 1978. But on Cumberland Island, people are expecting another banner year, perhaps like 2015, for the number of loggerhead nesting sites. The Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative, a network of volunteers, researchers and agency employees, will patrol Georgia’s barrier island beaches daily during nesting season to keep a watchful eye on the sea turtle nests.

Two More Lobos in the Wild!
A litter of five Mexican gray wolves were born at the Brookfield Zoo on April 25, and two of them have been released in the wild by adding them to a mother wolf’s litter in a den in Arizona. This is good news for Mexican gray wolf recovery. Cross-fostering pups like these brings new genes from captivity into the wild population, which is facing a genetic crisis. Zoos and conservation centers play an important role in Mexican gray wolf recovery, as there are about 270 lobos in captivity that could be released into the wild. That wouldn’t just help boost numbers; it would also increase their limited genetic diversity. The Service needs to keep up their work to boost genetic diversity in the wild lobos by releasing many more wolves, hopefully adult wolves, and by developing and quickly implementing a scientifically-sound genetic rescue plan.

Bats in Trouble
Defenders of Wildlife has filed a complaint against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for denying the northern long-eared bat endangered status. Why does the bat need to be listed? Three words: white nose syndrome. This devastating fungal disease has been killing millions of bats throughout the eastern and Midwestern United States, which is one reason why protecting the northern long-eared bat is a primary focus of our Southeast program. FWS originally proposed to list the bat as endangered, but ultimately only granted it threatened status, ignoring the best available scientific data. The FWS issued a special 4(d) rule exempting almost all activities that affect bat habitat from incidental take protections, rendering the ESA’s statutory protections almost entirely meaningless for this critically imperiled species. Meanwhile, the disease has continued to spread westward; a bat colony in Washington was recently found to be harboring the deadly fungus. We’re calling on FWS to give the northern long-eared bat the protection it desperately needs.

Wildlife Safe and Sound in Senate’s Defense Bill…For Now
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has been reviewed by the Senate Armed Services Committee and so far is free of the harmful anti-wildlife riders that mark the House version, though that may change when the legislation hits the Senate floor. The House version of the bill includes riders that block and strip away protections for the lesser prairie-chicken and American burying beetle, nullifies an unprecedented federal greater sage-grouse conservation strategy, and transfers control of half of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the Air Force. The Department of Defense has not requested any of these riders. The House version is set to be debated by the full chamber next week, and could become burdened by even more unnecessary riders designed to weaken the Endangered Species Act and interfere with public lands management. Both the House and Senate NDAA bills ought to be clean and free of riders that have nothing to do with military preparedness, and we’re working to support our conservation allies in Congress to remove them from the final legislation.

SB 1386 Passes California State Senate
Over the last several weeks, we’ve been keeping you updated on a bill that Defenders has sponsored in the California legislature, SB 1386. This week, on a bipartisan 26-7 vote, California’s state senate approved Senator Lois Wolk’s (D-Davis) bill to promote the protection and management of natural and working lands as part of California’s ongoing efforts to meet its climate change goals. Natural and working lands—which include forests, farms, rangelands, wetlands, parks and other open spaces—are unique in that they can actively remove carbon from the air and store, or sequester, that carbon in in plants and trees, roots, and other organic materials in the soil. The protection and restoration of these lands is a key strategy to meet our ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. SB 1386 codifies this important premise and would help ensure appropriate investments in our natural and working lands. The bill now moves to the California State Assembly before going to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature.

Being Smart (and Strong) from the Start on Ten West Link
On Monday, Defenders and our partners submitted comments on a proposed transmission line called Ten West Link. The same line was proposed in 2006, but was never completed. Now, another company wants to build it. The current proposal would construct the line through Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. Our national wildlife refuges are a unique system of public lands dedicated to conservation of wildlife and their habitat. Transmission lines are not compatible with the purposes of wildlife refuges. Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is the second largest refuge and wilderness area in Arizona, and home to a herd of highly endangered Sonoran pronghorn, the fastest land mammal in the U.S. Approximately 100 pronghorn use the refuge. We have recommended an alternative route for the line that avoids the refuge and important wildlife habitat in the area. Our smart from the start approach helps ensure that proposed transmission projects have relatively low impact on wildlife and scenic landscapes.

Public Lands Day is Official in Colorado
On Monday, the Colorado state legislature passed SB 21, establishing “Public Lands Day” for the state. The day celebrates the importance of public lands to Colorado’s wildlife, communities and economy, and is welcome news in light of the latest round of attacks on our public lands, spanning from Oregon to Puerto Rico. The bill proclaims the third Saturday of May as Public Lands Day, meaning that if Governor Hickenlooper signs the legislation before May 21, Coloradans can celebrate their first Public Lands Day this year!