UPDATE, 1/4/07: Yesterday, the HSUS issued a press release on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to allow the trophy hunting of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge mountain lions.

Here’s a brief excerpt:

The HSUS criticized the draft plan citing an August 31, 2006 federal court decision declaring that the federal government is violating the law by opening or expanding sport hunting at national wildlife refuges without proper environmental review.

“This plan runs counter to the basic tenets of sustainable management and sound wildlife conservation,” said Lauren Nolfo-Clements, Ph.D., wildlife scientist for The HSUS. “Opening a hunting season in an area where there is only an estimated population of five mountain lions is reckless and indefensible.”

According to the draft environmental assessment, hunting groups had expressed interest in opening the refuge to mountain lion hunting, leading the Kofa Refuge staff to draft the plan. The hunting plan also estimates an annual cost of $24,000 for the trophy hunting program.

You can read the whole statement here.

Many thanks to Ron for passing along the info!

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Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Save the desert-dwelling Yuma Puma from trophy hunters now!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to begin trophy hunting of mountain lions in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in western Arizona.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, cooperating with the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, proposes to permit the killing of one cougar per year on the Refuge or elsewhere in the region where cougar hunting is already permitted. Only five cougars are known to live on the Refuge—including a mother and two kittens. The agencies acknowledge that if the breeding female is killed her kittens might die also. Please tell the Service to back off from this reckless course and not allow this inaugural mountain lion hunt on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

These five animals constitute a significant portion — perhaps a majority — of the widely scattered mountain lions living throughout western Arizona.

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts center+for+biological+diversity puma yuma+puma hunting trophy+hunting mountain+lions Kofa+National+Wildlife+Refuge arizona conservation cougars

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Act Now! Comment Deadline This Week-Dec. 26! Protect Penguins and Whales from Industrial Fishing

In the movie “Happy Feet,” the penguins, elephant seals and other wildlife of Antarctica face starvation as a result of industrial fishing fleets depleting the fish these animals rely upon for food. Unfortunately, this part of the movie is not entirely fiction. Industrial fleets fishing for krill and toothfish (marketed in the United States as Chilean Sea Bass) ply the rich waters of the Southern Ocean, catching not just the target species, but seabirds and marine mammals as well. In some areas the fishing pressure is intense enough that food competition with penguins and marine mammals is likely.

Officials within the Bush administration apparently haven’t seen “Happy Feet” - or if they have, they’ve ignored the message. Last month the National Marine Fisheries Service completed its environmental review on a plan that would open the door to increased harvest of krill, icefish, and toothfish, essential food for penguins, seals and whales. The plan also would make it easier for illegally caught toothfish to be imported into the United States; authorizes a new toothfish longline fishery that poses a threat to albatross and whales; allows a trawl fishery that drowns Antarctic Fur Seals; and permits destructive bottom trawling.

Nevertheless, the happy ending of “Happy Feet” is still possible. The National Marine Fisheries Service is accepting comments on its management plan for Antarctic fisheries until Dec. 26. Take action today and demand that fishing for krill and toothfish be banned in Antarctic waters and that imports of toothfish into the U.S. be suspended.

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Tagged: environment environmental environmentalist environmentalism action+alerts center+for+biological+diversity fishing penguins whales overfishing conservation industrial+fishing

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Ask Governor Schwarzenegger to Get the Lead Out for Condors

Last week the Center and a coalition of conservation, health and Native American organizations filed suit against the California Fish and Game Commission and Department of Fish and Game for continuing to allow hunting with toxic lead ammunition that is poisoning rare California Condors even though safe, reliable bullets and shot are readily available.

The Commission has failed to change hunting regulations to protect condors despite our petition for urgent action filed two years ago. […]

The Commission will review the state game hunting regulations in February, and now is the time for the state of California to protect one of the world’s most endangered species and an icon of California’s natural heritage – the condor is even featured on our state quarter! Please help us build the momentum of our Get The Lead Out campaign and send a strong message to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Fish and Game Commission to end, finally, the use of toxic lead ammunition in the range of the critically endangered California Condor.

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts Center+for+Biological+Diversity california Schwarzenegger condors hunting lead+ammo

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Penguins threatened by global warming - Act Now

The Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week to list 12 species of penguins under the Endangered Species Act. Like the polar bear in the Arctic, these Antarctic and sub-Antarctic birds are threatened primarily by global warming.

Global warming threatens everything we care about, and yet we still do not have laws explicitly capping greenhouse gas emissions in this country. Please urge your senator to support the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2006, which would require greenhouse gas reductions of the magnitude that scientists tell us are necessary to avoid true climate disaster.

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts Center+for+Biological+Diversity environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist global+warming penguins Global+Warming+Pollution+Reduction+Act

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Support habitat protection for the Marbled Murrelet

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments on a proposal to gut the critical habitat designation for the Marbled Murrelet in Washington, Oregon and California. The proposal excludes 94 percent of the habitat designated in 1996, eliminating more than 3,600,000 acres from the existing designation. Given the Murrelet’s dependence on old growth forests and the significant threats to this habitat from logging and development, this proposal would greatly increase the Murrelet’s already substantial risk of extinction.

Comments will be accepted only until Monday, November 13, so please, take action today to help protect this unique seabird!

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Tagged: environment environmentalism action+alerts center+for+biological+diversity conservation Marbled+Murrelet habitat+loss seabird

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Border ‘Berlin Wall’ will harm endangered species! Call your Senators now!

The Senate is about to vote on a bill that would build a ‘Berlin wall’ on the US-Mexico border creating an enormous wildlife barrier, spanning 700 miles of the international boundary and nearly the entirety of Arizona’s southern boundary. This would be an environmental disaster, utterly preventing wildlife migrations between the two countries, blocking Jaguar, Sonoran Pronghorn, and Mexican Gray Wolf recovery and fragmenting the habitats of myriad border species. This bill MANDATES construction of double-layered fencing no later than May 30, 2008 and trumps efforts like wildlife-friendly vehicle barriers along public-lands boundaries that have been effective in mitigating cross-border traffic. […]

It is essential that you write and call your Senators and urge them to say no to HR 6061 and to the Berlin Wall on our boundary with Mexico. This could go to vote as early as Monday, Sept. 25, so please write and call today!

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Update: “cooperative conservation” sessions continue

The Bush administration is mid-way through its series of “listening sessions” to promote its so-called “Cooperative Conservation” agenda. The administration may have hoped to hear support for its recent, deceptively titled proposals to weaken the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. But instead it’s heard from thousands of people who support strong environmental laws at the hearings and through public comments like yours.

The tour continues through the end of September, and it’s important to ensure that a clear, pro-conservation message persists. If you haven’t already done so, please submit a public comment letter to let the administration know that voluntary conservation efforts complement – but absolutely cannot replace – strong environmental laws. You can also click here to check for listening sessions in your area that you may be able to attend in person.

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Tell Paris Hilton No! Help Free Exploited Wildlife!

Alleged singer and celebutante Paris Hilton, desperate for attention – any attention – has recently inflicted her lifestyle on a succession of exotic pets as a publicity ploy. The latest victim of Paris’s affections is a captive “pet” kinkajou cloyingly named “Baby Luv,” which has appeared in public draped across Paris as if it were the latest fashion trend. […]

Fortunately, the state of California recognizes the serious threats that the international wildlife trade poses, both to wild animals from other countries and to U.S. species when these animals are imported and then abandoned or released. Due to these threats, it is illegal to import or possess kinkajous or other wild animals in California without a valid permit.

But unfortunately, Paris Hilton does not seem to understand or share these serious concerns – and it’s unlikely she will unless she knows a growing number of people think her “fashion statements” are barbaric and tragically unhip. Please send a letter today to demand that Paris Hilton stop collecting and exploiting exotic wildlife and that she immediately free Baby Luv, the kinkajou!

See the new Paris Hilton kinkajou video at www.TellParisNo.com

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Support Pesticide Injunction to Protect CA Red-Legged Frogs

A Center lawsuit resulted in a court ruling in September 2005 that found the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it registered pesticides for use in California without considering how they might impact the threatened California Red-legged Frog. The Center has negotiated a positive settlement agreement to correct these violations, and we need your help to make sure the EPA signs it!

Pursuant to the 2005 court decision, the EPA must now determine whether 66 of the most toxic and persistent pesticides authorized for use in California may adversely affect the Red-legged Frog. It must also complete formal consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure these pesticides are not jeopardizing the frog or contributing to its decline. For pesticides found to harm or jeopardize the frog, the EPA would be required to implement restrictions on their use or cancel certain pesticide registrations.

The proposed settlement agreement we negotiated with the EPA would impose a three-year schedule to complete these consultations. During this time, interim injunctions would prohibit the use of the 66 pesticides within the frog’s designated core recovery areas to minimize harm to them.

Additionally, the settlement would cancel the EPA’s authorization of use of the 66 pesticides in all aquatic and upland critical habitat areas for the California Red-legged Frog, in certain other aquatic features and upland habitats occupied by the frog, and in adjoining buffer zones. It would also require the EPA to distribute an educational brochure to the public and pesticide applicators that describes the California Red-legged Frog, the impacts of pesticides and environmental contaminants on frogs generally, and the interim restrictions on pesticide use.

The EPA has opened a public comment period on whether the agency should agree to the settlement. Please send an e-mail to the EPA encouraging approval of the settlement and interim pesticide restrictions to protect the Red-legged Frog. Comments must be received by September 18.

Via the Center for Biological Diversity:

Speak up for environmental protections

The Bush administration is holding a series of “listening sessions” across the country as it promotes its so-called “Cooperative Conservation” agenda. Please help ensure that these sessions are not used to undermine environmental laws. Submit a public comment letter to let the administration know that voluntary conservation efforts complement, but absolutely cannot replace, strong environmental laws. You can also click here to check for listening sessions in your area that you may be able to attend in person.

Tell me more.