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NFC: Fw: DENlines Issue 21





DENlines Issue #21
Defenders Electronic Network (DEN)
Friday August 11, 2000

1.  SEA OTTERS: California Relocations Unsuccessful
2.  OCEANS: President Signs Landmark Protection Bill
3.  AIR QUALITY: Diesel Trucks and Buses Are Polluting our Air
4.  FORESTS: Roadless Proposal Receives a Huge Response
5.  ENDANGERED SPECIES: Agreement May Help Protect Silvery Minnow
6.  NATURE TRIVIA: Wetlands

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1.  Sea Otters: California Relocations Unsuccessful

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will host two public hearings 
in California this month on its proposal to reevaluate its current 
practice of relocating sea otters to reduce competition with commercial 
fishermen for shellfish.  Unfortunately, FWS' current relocation  
practice has been unsuccessful and the otter population has suffered. 
Defenders wants to ensure that FWS's management of southern sea otters' 
original range along the southern coast in California allows for the 
recovery of a healthy population.  However, the commercial fishing 
industry want to see certain areas free of otters so that fishing is 
unaffected.

To learn more about sea otters, click here: 
http://www.saveseaotters.org 

For more information on the hearings in California, click here: 
http://www.denaction.org

2.  Oceans: President Signs Landmark Protection Bill

President Clinton has signed a bill establishing a national advisory 
board designed to balance coastal areas, the U.S. economy and the 
ecological needs of our oceans. The 16-member group will include 
diverse interests such as scientists, commercial fishermen and 
environmentalists and will begin work in January by studying current 
federal ocean policy and ways that it can be improved.  One important 
issue will be how commercial fishing affects marine species such as 
loggerhead turtles and sharks.

To learn more about our coasts, click here:  
http://www.noaa.gov/coasts.html

3.  Air Quality: Diesel Trucks and Buses Are Polluting our Air

Diesel trucks and buses are two of the worst polluters and account 
for 27 percent of smog and soot produced by all of the nation's motor 
vehicles.  This pollution threatens air quality of wildlife habitat 
in urban and suburban landscapes. Now, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency is proposing regulations to clean up these heavy-duty vehicles.  
Defenders needs your help urging the EPA to get tough on big trucks 
and buses and ensure that needed actions are taken -- such as making 
available low-sulfur diesel fuel and assuring that big trucks meet 
emission standards.  

To take action, click here: http://www.denaction.org

4.  Forests: Roadless Proposal Receives a Huge Response

The proposal by the U.S. Forest Service to protect the nation's last 
remaining wilderness areas received a record number of comments -- 
more than one million in favor of strong roadless protections by the 
July 17 deadline. The Forest Service is deciding whether to protect 
up to 60 million acres of national forest land from the environmentally 
damaging effects of road construction. Although the proposal prevents 
future road construction, it exempts the nation's largest national 
forest, the Tongass in Alaska, and places no restrictions on logging 
in areas that do not rely on roads. Thanks to the 3,500 DEN activists 
who sent an e-mail to Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck.  A final 
proposal is expected to be released this fall.

For more information on the roadless proposal, click here:    
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/roadless/roadless.html

5.  Endangered Species: Agreement May Help Protect Silvery Minnow

An interim agreement was reached by Defenders of Wildlife and other 
conservation groups and the federal government to provide much needed 
water for the Rio Grande and one of its endangered inhabitants, the 
silvery minnow.  The agreement provides 85,000 acre feet of water, 
including 36,000 acre feet for irrigation.  The water not only provides 
water for the silvery minnow but also will help the farming community 
that surrounding the Rio Grande, hard hit by drought this summer.  

For more information, click here:  
http://www.defenders.org/releases/pr2000/pr080200.html

To find out more about anti-environmental riders, click here: 
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/riders/riders.html


6.  NATURE TRIVIA: Wetlands

What is the largest wetlands area in the United States?

A.  Atchafalaya Bay, LA
B.  Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, AK        
C.  Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, GA
D.  Everglades National Park, FL

Scroll down to the bottom of DENlines 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) 
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           Copyright (c) 2000 by Defenders of Wildlife. 




TRIVIA ANSWER: (D) Fed by the waters of Lake Okeechobee, the 
Florida Everglades encompass nearly 4,000 square miles in the 
southern end of the state.  The Everglades actually sit on a 
limestone shelf that slopes towards the Gulf of Mexico. This marsh 
is home to a multitude of animal and plant species, including a 
variety of wading birds, the American alligator, the endangered 
American crocodile and acres of marshland described as a  "sea of 
grass."  Today, the Everglades is in serious need of restoration 
due to decades of drainage and development.  
(Source: American Nature)

To learn more about Florida Everglades restoration, click here: 
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/eglades/everglades.html