Tag Archives: Endangered Species Act
House committee blasts Endangered Species Act peer review process
A United States House of Representatives committee issued a scathing report Monday on the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered Species Act listing process, alleging numerous issues with peer review and transparency protocols. “Under the microscope: An examination of the questionable science and lack of independent peer review in Endangered Species Act listing decisions”. Read the rest here 18:01
NMFS Caves to the Enviro Quackeroos on Right Whale federally designated “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act
In 2009, a coalition of environmental and animal protection groups formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to significantly expand habitat protections to include all of the whales’ nursery and breeding and feeding grounds.,, protected area more than tenfold, from roughly 4,000 square miles to more than 50,000 square miles.,vulnerable to threats that include commercial fishing gear, ship strikes. Read the rest here 12:20
Feds Flex Muscle: Oregon charter captain sentenced for harvesting protected salmon
A Warrenton, Oregon, charter boat captain pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month for harvesting federally protected wild coho salmon on charter trips with sport fishing clients. The year-long investigation by federal and state officers also led to state fish and wildlife charges against the captain of the Hawk II. Read the rest here 09:43
Oregon charter captain sentenced for harvesting protected salmon
A Warrenton, Ore., charter boat captain pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this month for harvesting federally protected wild coho salmon on charter trips with sport fishing clients. Read the rest here 14:31
North Carolina Commercial fishing groups file complaint regarding Endangered Species Act
Litigation was filed today alleging that several agencies and their representatives have failed to abide by the Endangered Species Act, (ESA), in the. Plaintiffs are the North Carolina Fisheries Association, Inc,; and the Carteret County Fisherman’s Association, Inc., both non profit trade associations of commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and processors. <Read the Press Release here> 16:43
How Endangered Species Act litigation means big money for environmental groups
For most people, an hourly wage of $125 would be an awfully good deal, especially in this economy. But President Obama and environmental groups are warning that it is not nearly enough for one group: lawyers engaged in Endangered Species Act litigation. They would prefer that these attorneys continue to get the $300 to $450 an hour they are typically paid now. <Read more here> 12:28
Feds say no to fish-kill preventive water releases from Trinity Lake used to cool the Klamath and Trinity rivers
Federal officials today told local tribes and North Coast officials that extra water releases from Trinity Lake used to cool the Klamath and Trinity rivers for fish may only occur in an emergency — when enough fish begin to sicken. Public Affairs Officer Mat Maucieri of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that due to the ongoing statewide drought,,,Read more here 07:41
Who Let the Fish Out: Fish Hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest – vigilante fisherman? or some eco crazed fanatic?!!
Early in the morning of May 13th, 2014, an unknown fish vigilante stole into the Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery in the suburbs of Seattle and cut the padlocks on the juvenile steelhead trout pens, opening the passage between the hatchery and the river. Read more here 10:20
House passes bill to amend Endangered Species Act
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would modify the Endangered Species Act. Republicans said that making the data publicly available would result in a more transparent process. (We want transparency!) But Democrats said the changes would only slow down the process of designating whether species are endangered. (We don’t want transparency!) “These bills will instead increase the amount of red tape,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). (Think National Ocean Policy) Read more here 09:50
Garden State Seafood Association supports reform of the Endangered Species Act
The GSSA supports the following bill’s HR 4315, HR 4316, HR 4317, HR 4318. Read the letter to their delegation here, and visit the GSSA website here. 14:29
Congressman Walter B. Jones takes action to reform Endangered Species Act
Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) is taking action to modernize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in order to prevent the waste of taxpayer money and implementation of unnecessary, economically harmful regulations. This week, Congressman Jones is cosponsoring seven pieces of legislation that would bring transparency to ESA processes and reduce the law’s impact on economic growth. Read more here 16:19
House Natural Resources Commitee Hearing Tuesday, April 8, 2014 10:00 AM To amend the Endangered Species Act
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 Legislative Hearing on H.R. 4315, H.R. 4316, H.R. 4317, and H.R. 4318 Information and link to Watch Live here 09:16 Click the link to watch archived footage 20:54
Fishing does not threaten sea lions in Aleutians, says new NOAA Bi-Op
Proposed changes to fishing restrictions in the Aleutian Islands are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered western population of Steller sea lions or adversely modify Steller sea lion critical habitat, according to a biological opinion issued today by NOAA Fisheries under the Endangered Species Act. Read more here Laine Welch 15:50
Big Green’s ‘sue-and-settle’ strategy draws pushback from states, Congress
Scott Pruitt is Oklahoma’s attorney general and he’s fed up with Big Green’s outrageously destructive sue-and-settle attacks using endangered species as a weapon to obliterate America’s burgeoning oil and gas production. (OUR INDUSTRY?) Read more here washingtonexaminer 11:25
The End of the U.S. Shrimping Industry – Execution by Electrocution? Public comments end 3/31/14
In 2010, WildEarth Guardians petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the lesser electric ray (also commonly called the Caribbean electric ray) under the ESA, but that petition was denied in a 90-day finding in March 2011. If the lesser electric ray is listed under the ESA, it could mean the end of shrimp fishing as we know it throughout the ray’s range, which includes all the Gulf states, as well as states along the east coast from Florida to North Carolina. Read more here thegoodcatchblog 23:17
Viewpoints: 40-year-old Endangered Species Act sets a high standard in forbidding extinction
More than 40 years ago I began studying California’s amazing freshwater fish fauna, made up mostly of species that lived nowhere else. Back then few people cared about these species. Only a handful of biologists had studied the native fishes, aside from trout and salmon. That all changed with the birth of the federal Endangered Species Act, 40 years ago Saturday. Read more here sacbee 12:47
Judge orders Oregon hatchery to release fewer fish
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A judge has ordered federal fish managers in Oregon to release fewer young salmon into the Sandy River this year to ensure that hatchery fish don’t harm wild fish – but has left other hatchery operations intact. Read more here 12:23
Improving the Endangered Species Act for the 21st century
Over forty years ago, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with the noblest of intentions – conserve and recover wildlife facing preventable extinction. This is a moral obligation on which we can all agree. But with a species recovery rate of only two percent, the ESA has proven to be ineffective at protecting truly imperiled species and has unnecessarily hurt people’s livelihoods in the process. Read more here dailycaller 11:20
N.C. Fisheries Association, Carteret County Fisherman’s Association consider legal action
Two area organizations representing commercial fishermen are willing to take their efforts from local waterways to the courtroom in order to get an accurate stock assessment to gauge the recovery of the sea turtle population. Read more here jdnews 12:09
To be Served Today: Commercial fisheries groups plan to sue over turtle regs
The N.C. Fisheries Association teamed with the Carteret County Fisherman’s Association for the action and will be represented by local attorneys at Wheatly, Wheatly, Weeks, Lupton and Massie, a Beaufort firm. Those served notice of the intent to file legal action are several high profile individuals, including John Skvarla, secretary to the N.C. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources; Dr. Louis Daniel, executive director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries; Gordon Meyers, head of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission; Sally Jewel of the U.S. Department of the Interior; Daniel Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; NOAA head Dr. Kathryn Sullivan; and Penny Pritzker, secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Read more here carolinacoastonline 13:56
Alaska joins Hawaii to have central North Pacific humpbacks struck from endangered list
Lawsuits could lead to changes at Northwest fish hatcheries
PARKDALE, Ore. (AP) – People on the West Coast have counted on fish hatcheries for more than a century to help rebuild populations of salmon and steelhead decimated by overfishing, logging, mining, agriculture and hydroelectric dams, and bring them to a level where government would no longer need to regulate fisheries. Read [email protected] 12:55
Examiner Editorial: Big Green lawyers have hijacked the Endangered Species Act
“Federal law allows tax-funded reimbursement of attorneys fees incurred by advocacy groups bringing environmental litigation.” Read more here 18:33
Feds enforcing Endangered Species Act keep data behind policies hidden from public
Federal agencies administering the Endangered Species Act often issue justifications for their actions that are filled with badly flawed or even fabricated data, according to a congressional report being released today. A related problem, according to the report, is that “most of the federal agencies that administer ESA are unable to make basic and legitimate data” underlying their policies and procedures available to the public, as required by law. Read more@washexaminer 07:32
Rocky Barker: The Endangered Species Act survives, but not all species will
Aldo Leopold’s seed of wisdom grew into the law that has become the foundation of ecosystem protection for 40 years. President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law Dec. 28, 1973. It put into U.S. statutes what Leopold’s classic 1940s essay, “Round River,” called for — saving all the parts of the natural world. “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering,” Leopold wrote. Read more@idahostatesman 09:50
The Endangered Species Act Turns 40—Hold the Applause – Schiff and MacDonald – Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise
The badly administered law has had a limited effect on wildlife while inflicting great social and economic costs. Forty years ago, on Dec. 28, 1973, the Endangered Species Act became law. If you want to celebrate, you’ll need to close your eyes to hard truths. Read more @facebook.com 16:26
Gang Green expects the NMFS to fix Global Warming to save the coral, and they agree to it!!
September 13 – In a settlement filed in federal court today, the National Marine Fisheries Service committed to developing a recovery plan for elkhorn and staghorn corals that live in Florida and throughout the Caribbean. The agreement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the federal agency ensures that the Fisheries Service will publish a draft plan by 2014 and promptly finalize it in the following months. These corals were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2006 because of threats from global warming and ocean acidification but, before today’s settlement agreement, had still not received the legally required recovery plan needed to save them from extinction. more@ganggreen 17:40
Hawai’i Fishermen’s Alliance Petition To Delist the North Pacific Population of the Humpback Whale from Endangered Species Act
NMFS announce a 90-day finding on a petition to identify the (Megaptera novaeangliae) as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and delist the DPS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The humpback whale was listed as an endangered species in 1970 under the Endangered Species and Conservation Act of 1969, which was later superseded by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We find that the petition viewed in the context of information readily available in our files presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. more here 13:44
Endangered Species Act Marks Fortieth Anniversary
The Endangered Species Act celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year. It has been hailed by some as the strongest environmental law we have, decried by others as an impediment to economic growth. listen@wcai 12:05
