[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

NFC: Fw: DENlines Issue 17





DENlines Issue #17
Defenders Electronic Network (DEN)
Friday June 16, 2000

1.      SHARKS: Anti-Finning Bill Passes House, Moves to Senate
2.      PYGMY OWL: Activists Help Protect Sonoran Desert Species
3.      CONGRESS: Conservationists Fight Sneak Attack on the Environment
4.      RED WOLVES: Legal Victory in North Carolina
5.      CREATURE FEATURE: Florida Black Bear
6.      FOR THE RECORD: Global Warming and Climate Change

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

1.      SHARKS: Anti-Finning Bill Passes House, Moves to Senate

By a vote of 390 - 1, the U.S. House of Representatives approved 
the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (H.R. 3535) which prohibits, in 
waters off the U.S. coast, the inhumane and wasteful practice of 
cutting off the valuable fins of a shark and throwing the animal 
back in the water to bleed to death or drown. The bill now moves to 
the Senate where it is expected to meet more opposition. Urge your 
Senators to pass this important legislation. Send them a free e-mail 
by going to the DEN Action Center at  http://www.denaction.org .

2.      PYGMY OWL: Activists Help Protect Sonoran Desert Species

Since our last DENlines, President Clinton announced the designation 
of the expanded 129,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument to 
protect permanently some of the last remaining stands of ironwood 
trees, a species found only in the Sonoran desert. Hundreds of 
Arizona DEN activists sent e-mails pushing for more than the initial 
96,000-acre proposal in order to protect additional critical habitat 
for the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. Thanks to all who  
responded. You made a real difference!

3.     CONGRESS: Conservationists Fight Sneak Attack on the Environment

This week on the House floor, conservationists were successful in 
striking four anti-environmental riders attached to a number of 
federal spending bills. Riders are an increasingly popular back-door 
tactic for members of Congress to push through controversial 
legislation, often without hearings, floor votes or media attention. 
Nearly 30 other environmentally destructive riders are still pending, 
including provisions that would limit funding for endangered species, 
destroy pristine beach habitat in coastal North Carolina, prohibit 
funding for America's wild rivers and block efforts to combat the 
impact of global warming. For a complete list of all FY2001 
anti-environmental riders and their current status, visit our 
website at http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/riders/riders.html  

4.      WOLVES: Legal Victory in North Carolina

A federal appeals court upheld a regulation that forbids the 
indiscriminate killing on private property of the approximately 
60 remaining endangered red wolves. Two North Carolina counties 
and local landowners filed the suit in an attempt to have the 
regulation declared unconstitutional. In 1987, Defenders helped 
lead recovery efforts to release endangered red wolves into two 
national wildlife refuges in North Carolina in a bid to save the 
species, which had been driven to the brink of extinction.

For more on this story click here: 
http://www.defenders.org/releases/pr2000/pr060700.html 

5.      CREATURE FEATURE: Florida Black Bear

Most people are surprised to learn that a unique subspecies of the 
American black bear lives in Florida. The bear faces serious threats 
related to Florida's growing human population including habitat loss 
and fragmentation and fatal collisions with vehicles. At one time, 
up to 12,000 black bears roamed Florida from the Keys to the 
panhandle. Today, an estimated 1,500 struggle to survive. To learn 
more about the Habitat for Bears Campaign, a joint effort by 
Defenders of Wildlife and the Florida Sierra Club, see an online 
slide show or find out what you can do to help, visit our web site 
at http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/flbears/flbears.html

6.      FOR THE RECORD: Global Warming and Climate Change

"Sea-level rise will very likely cause further loss of coastal 
wetlands ... and put coastal communities at a greater risk of storm 
surges, especially in the Southeast. Reduction in snowpack will 
very likely alter the timing and amount of water supplies, potentially 
exacerbating water shortages and conflicts, particularly throughout 
the western US. The melting of glaciers in the high elevation West 
and in Alaska represents the loss or diminishment of unique national 
treasures of the American landscape. "

	-- conclusions on the effect of globalnwarming from the June
           12 report entitled "Climate Change Impacts on the United 
           States." The report represents four years of research by 
           the U.S. Global Change Research Program including input 
           from more than 300 scientists. For more information 
           on global warming, visit our web site at: 
          
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/globalwarming/globalwarming.html 


      * TELL YOUR FRIENDS!! FORWARD THIS ISSUE AND HELP SPREAD 
              THE NEWS ABOUT WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION *

As a thank you for taking action and staying informed on important 
wildlife and conservation issues through DENlines, Defenders invites 
you to send a FREE wolf e-card to your friends telling them about 
DEN. The e-cards feature a photo of a wolf and a personal message 
from you. 

To send a free wolf e-card go to: 
http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/ecard.pl?dir=defenders&group=wolves


==================================================================== 
To subscribe, visit Defenders' website at

		http://www.defenders.org/den 

or send an e-mail to denlines at defenders_org and put 
the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.  
==================================================================== 
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to denlines at defenders_org and put the
word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. 
==================================================================== 
If your e-mail address has changed, send an e-mail to 
changeaddress at defenders_org and put your new e-mail address in the 
subject line. Make sure you put nothing in the subject line other 
than your new e-mail address.
==================================================================== 
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 more than 380,000 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.