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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
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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
http://www.defenders.org
http://www.kidsplanet.org
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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