Wildlife cops investigating Golden Eagle killings in/near Utah

This case focuses on the deaths of at least 12 Golden Eagles. And the shooting of eagles, Bald or Golden, is a federal crime. So now we wait for the killer/killers to be found and prosecuted. It’s bad enough that fish and wildlife habitat itself continues to be killed, from coast to coast. Read about the Golden Eagle case.

National wildlife refuge in Nevada to remove all ‘wild’ horses

The refuge manager of Sheldron NWR in northwestern Nevada has signed off on a new management plan that calls for all so-called “wild” horses to be removed from refuge lands. Finally, a land-management agency shows some spine. Read about it here.

Citizens or government scientists: Who does better in selecting candidates for Endangered Species Act protection?

American citizens seem to do as good a job as government scientists in selecting candidates for federal protection. That’s the gist of this article. The statistics may say one thing, but that’s hardly the whole story. Still absent from most mainstream media reporting is this: What led to a given species’ population dive? In the balance of things, more imperiled flora and fauna benefits through citizen participation. After all, there are only so many fisheries and wildlife biologists on the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And Republicans’ non-ending desire to de-fund, as much as possible, agencies like Fish and Wildlife, only makes the campaign that much harder.

Idaho gets federal grant to inventory rare species

And, then, after the inventories are done and the data published in binders that will collect dust in some archival dungeon somewhere, F and G will go ahead and hawk licenses and tags for some of the same species, all in a bid to bring in more dollars for its budget. This story that reads like a news release tells the story of the federal grant.

Nev. panel OKs strategy to keep sage grouse off endangered species roster

And that strategy, implied but not directly indicated in this article, revolves around political considerations, not actual, real science. This is yet another case of “junk” science masquerading as the real thing. I would respect the politicians a little bit more if they simply said it’s about politics, instead of what PR flak tells them to say.

Who pays conservation groups’ legal counselors, and do they get rich?

As some politicians have famously said over the years: Let me make on thing perfectly clear. If Congress would simply adequately fund the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies involved with the Endangered Species Act, there were would be far fewer court cases filed by conservationists. But some right-wing wackos in Congress see it the other way around: Cut the agencies’ funding and then raise hell when conservationists file a lawsuit. This article has lots of background on the tussle.

 

Record high of sea turtle nests on Cape Hatteas beaches

Now if we could just get those damn off-road cow boys and cowgirls off the barrier island beaches . . . Read about the sea turtle nesting survey here.

EPA’s greenhouse gas rules upheld by court

The Burlington Free Press here in Vermont did a nice job of covering this story, nothing up front that Vermont helped defend the federal agency’s proposed rules. I can’t help but doubt the same effort was expended by the state of Pennsylvania.

Billionaire’s donation of land jumpstarts wildlife preserve for Fish and Wildlife Service

This donation of 90,000 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a really big deal, especially when considering just closely the region in southern Colorado has been eyed as “raw land” by developers, road-builders and other assorted land rapists. This is the sort of thing that legitimately takes space on page one, rather than the latest celebrity marriage or crime spree or free advertising for a fast food chain disguised as a news story.

Lizard in Southwest gets some protection, but not via the ESA

The dunes sagebrush lizard’s habitat includes parts of New Mexico and Texas, where elected officials and the oil and gas industry said endangered species status would threaten jobs. This is the same old tired line spouted by PR mouthpieces and industrial typists for years now. You can view a nice photo of this species and read more about it and the legal goings-on right here.