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NFC: Fw: DENlines Issue 12





--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Defenders of Wildlife" <denlines at den_defenders.org>
To: denlines at defenders_org (DENlines Activist)
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 17:14:55 -0400
Subject: DENlines Issue 12
Message-ID: <RAA21815.955142095 at defender_reply.net>

DENlines Issue #12
Defenders  Electronic Network (DEN)
Friday April 7, 2000

1.      CONGRESS: Arctic Refuge Drilling Squeaks By Senate
2.      ON THE TUBE: 60 Minutes To Investigate Farm Bureau
3.      ENDANGERED SPECIES: Nations Meet on International Wildlife
4.      SALMON: Comment Period for Salmon Recovery Extended
5.      WILDLIFE CALENDAR: Beavers Start Spring Cleaning
6.      WILDLIFE TRIVIA: Flying Heavyweight

=================================================================     

1.     CONGRESS: Arctic Refuge Drilling Squeaks By Senate

By the narrowest of margins, the United States Senate yesterday voted 
to support opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's 1.5 million-
acre coastal plain to oil drilling. This is the only pristine area 
left on Alaska's Arctic Slope, 95 percent of which is already open 
to oil development. An amendment to strike a provision buried in the 
mammoth FY2001 Budget Resolution failed by a vote of 51-49 after two 
hours of contentious debate. Under the guise of combating high gas 
prices, the Senate Budget Committee included $1.2 billion in revenue 
in next year's proposed budget for oil drilling activities that have 
not yet been authorized. A similar backdoor proposal was rejected by 
the American public and vetoed by President Clinton in 1995. 

However, conservationists are encouraged by several senators who for 
the first time voted to protect the refuge. The close vote will send 
a strong message to the House of Representatives and the President, 
who have yet to approve a budget bill. DEN activists sent more than 
2,000 targeted e-mails urging selected senators to oppose drilling 
in the refuge. Thanks to all who responded. You made this vote a 
close one!

The coastal plain is often called "America's Serengeti" because of 
its abundant caribou, polar bear, grizzly bear, wolf and other 
wildlife. It includes the nation's most important onshore denning 
habitat for polar bears and the calving grounds for the huge 
Porcupine caribou herd, one of the largest in North America with 
more than 130,000 members. 

2.      ON THE TUBE: 60 Minutes To Investigate Farm Bureau

The CBS news program "60 Minutes" is scheduled to take a critical 
look the at the American Farm Bureau Federation this Sunday evening, 
April 9 (Check your local listings for air times). With 4.9 million 
members nationwide, the Farm Bureau ranks among the richest and most 
powerful nongovernmental organizations in America. While it purports 
to serve America's family farmer as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, 
in reality the Farm Bureau is a gigantic agribusiness and insurance 
conglomerate. The majority of its members are not farmers, but 
customers of Farm Bureau insurance companies and other business 
ventures. Most recently, the organization was the primary force 
behind legal efforts opposing the recovery of endangered gray wolves 
in Yellowstone National Park. The Farm Bureau and its state and 
county affiliates regularly oppose not only measures to recover 
endangered species such as the wolf but many important environmental 
protection efforts. 

After the show, log on to http://www.defenders.org for more facts 
about the Farm Bureau.

3.     ENDANGERED SPECIES: Nations Meet on International Wildlife

From April 10 to 20, more than 2,000 representatives from governments, 
conservation groups and trade organizations will attend the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora (CITES) in Nairobi, Kenya. Participants will determine a 
number of international policies protecting more than 60 of the 
world's threatened and endangered species, including African 
elephants, gray and minke whales and basking and great white sharks.

The Species Survival Network, which includes Defenders of Wildlife, 
is working to ensure that the international ban on ivory trading in 
Africa is not overturned at the meeting. India, Kenya and other 
countries fear opening up ivory trade will increase illegal poaching 
of the fewer than 500,000 surviving African elephants. Japan and 
Norway want to lift the ban on commercial hunting of gray and minke 
whales. Defenders is fighting these efforts and seeking to ban global 
trade of the great white shark and to place strict controls on the 
hunting of declining basking and whale sharks. The practice of 
killing sharks has increased dramatically to satisfy the demand for 
shark fin soup in some Asian countries. 

4.     SALMON: Comment Period for Salmon Recovery Extended

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has extended the deadline for 
commenting on efforts to recover endangered Snake River salmon in 
the Pacific Northwest until April 30. Tens of thousands of 
conservationists have already sent in comments supporting the 
breaching of four dams on the river as the best way to restore the 
imperiled salmon runs. However, dam-removal opponents are stepping 
up their grassroots efforts to take advantage of the extended 
comment period. Send an e-mail to federal salmon managers supporting 
salmon recovery (if you have not already) through the DEN Action 
Center at http://www.denaction.org .

Two hundred years ago, the combined Columbia and Snake River basins 
were the greatest salmon watershed in the world with 10 to 16 million 
salmon migrating from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in streams farther 
inland. Today, habitat degradation, over harvesting and the impact of 
dams on the natural hydrology have led to the listing of all four 
Snake River salmon species under the Endangered Species Act. One 
species is believed to have already gone extinct!

5.     WILDLIFE CALENDAR: Beavers Start Spring Cleaning

As April arrives announcing the advent of spring, beaver families 
emerge from hibernating in their lodges in streams, ponds and lakes 
across North America. Their first task is to repair the damage 
winter's harsh conditions and varying water levels have done to their 
lodges and dams. A typical lodge can provide shelter for as many as 
12 to 15 family members, protecting them from predators such as 
coyotes, bears and lynxes. The repair work is a group effort, as 
family members cut through trees and drag them into the water, using 
them to enforce weak areas of the lodge and dams. Plant material, 
mixed with mud is used as plaster to make necessary repairs. As the 
beavers reinforce their homes, the lodge begins to transform into 
a cone shape and be easily recognized from the water's edge. Beavers 
play an important role in maintaining the natural balance of their 
habitat by constructing dams that regulate flooding, create marshland 
and prevent erosion. (Source: The Wildlife Year)

6.     WILDLIFE TRIVIA: Flying Heavyweight

What is the heaviest flying bird in North America?

	A) Peregrine Falcon			B) Trumpeter Swan	
	C) California Condor 			D) Bald Eagle

(Scroll down to the end of this e-mail for the answer)



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DENlines is a biweekly publication of Defenders of Wildlife, a 
leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the 
nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat and 
known for its effective leadership on saving endangered species such 
as brown bears and gray wolves, Defenders advocates new approaches 
to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become 
endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) 
organization with 400,000 members and supporters.

                       Defenders of Wildlife
                  1101 14th Street, NW, Suite 1400
                       Washington, DC 20005
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           Copyright (c) 2000 by Defenders of Wildlife. 








TRIVIA ANSWER: (B) Trumpeter Swan - Ranging from 20 to 38 pounds and 
boasting a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet, the majestic Trumpeter Swan is 
not only the heaviest flying bird in North America but also the 
largest swan in the world. Because of its size, simply taking off 
requires running across the water to build up speed while flapping 
its enormous wings. Landings are equally challenging, using its 
large webbed feet to ski across the water before finally coming to 
rest. Found only in North America, the trumpeter swan is also the 
rarest of the world's seven swan species. From just 69 individuals 
known to exist in the lower 48 states in 1932, the majestic bird has 
boosted its numbers into the thousands, primarily along the Pacific 
flyway. However, conservation efforts are still needed to preserve 
habitat and expand populations in the Rocky Mountain region and the 
mid-west and to reestablish a population in the eastern U.S. where 
they have been missing for more than 180 years. (Source "American
Nature")








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