Here’s Who’s Getting Paid to Destroy the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Posted on July 30, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: The 1973 U. S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) should have been a first step on the path to effective nature conservation. If the corporatists hadn’t been in charge of our country, the Act would have formed the core of a true nature conservation program. Instead, the Act has always been too subject to political influence to be very effective. It only protects a small percentage of truly endangered species.

The leaders in the impending attack on the ESA aren’t the only members of congress receiving money from the extractive industries; they’re just the ones that were chosen to lead the attack. However, they top the list of nature’s enemies. And by extension, they are the enemies of us all. Here’s a link for ideas on removing them from positions of power.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY.), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industries.

“A small yet vocal group of congressmen are gearing up this summer to dismantle the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Campaign finance records of these lawmakers reveal that they have all taken significant money from extractive industries frustrated by the law’s protection of critical habitat for endangered species.

“The ESA has proven to be a powerful, effective conservation safeguard. More than 99 percent of species that have been designated for federal protection continue to exist in the wild today, including the bald eagle, grizzly bear, the leatherback sea turtle and the Florida manatee.

“But the work of the ESA has only grown more urgent as many scientists agree that the planet is either on the cusp of or already experiencing a sixth mass wave of extinction. A study last week by Stanford scientists found that a significant number of plant and wildlife populations are growing dangerously thin.

Earthjustice is working with coalition partners to oppose efforts on Capitol Hill to weaken protections for endangered species. The public can also make a difference in this fight—despite the big money from fossil fuel industries funding opponents of the ESA—by contacting their Congressional offices (use this call-in tool to reach your Senator).

The Anti-ESA Effort and the Money Behind It

“The assault on the ESA comes in the form of dozens of legislative proposals and amendments tacked onto spending bills. One bill that’s expected to be introduced in a matter of weeks is the handiwork of Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.” –Rebecca Bowe (Continue: Here’s Who’s Getting Paid to Destroy the Endangered Species Act.)

Endangered and Threatened Arizona Species Qualifying for Endangered-Species-Act Protection

Posted on July 22, 2015 by GarryRogers

A Small Subset of Arizona’s #EndangeredSpecies

The Arizona Game and Fish Department provided this photo of an endangered ocelot.

Many Arizona species with shrinking populations will never receive protection under the U. S. Endangered Species Act. Some are doing well outside Arizona, but the principal reason for the absence of protection is that many Arizona species have not been identified. Of those that biologists have identified, most have not been studied in enough detail to know how well they are doing. This tragic lack of data is true of most wild species worldwide.

Click here for lists of some of Arizona’s other endangered species.

According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the list below, updated 02/13/2015,

shows listed species or populations believed to or known to occur in Arizona
does not include experimental populations and similarity-of-appearance listings.
includes species or populations under the sole jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The list includes 21 plants and 44 animals. The links for the species scientific names connect to official details for the listing. The linked pages include maps and some photos. More species photos and other information are found at: FWS Digital Media Library. However, the best resource for photos is a simple Google Image search.

E = Endangered

T = Threatened

Arizona #Endangered and #Threatened Animals (44)

	..
E	Ambersnail, Kanab Entire (Oxyloma haydeni kanabensis)
E	Bat, lesser long-nosed Entire (Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae)
E	Bobwhite, masked (quail) Entire (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)
T	Catfish, Yaqui Entire (Ictalurus pricei)
E	Chub, bonytail Entire (Gila elegans)
E	Chub, Gila Entire (Gila intermedia)
E	Chub, humpback Entire (Gila cypha)
T	Chub, Sonora Entire (Gila ditaenia)
E	Chub, Virgin River Entire (Gila seminuda (=robusta))
E	Chub, Yaqui Entire (Gila purpurea)
E	Condor, California Entire, except where listed as an experimental population (Gymnogyps californianus)
T	Cuckoo, yellow-billed Western U.S. DPS (Coccyzus americanus)
E	Ferret, black-footed entire population, except where EXPN (Mustela nigripes)
E	Flycatcher, southwestern willow Entire (Empidonax traillii extimus)
T	Frog, Chiricahua leopard Entire (Rana chiricahuensis)
T	gartersnake, northern Mexican (Thamnophis eques megalops)
E	Jaguar U.S.A(AZ,CA,LA,NM,TX),Mexico,Central and South America (Panthera onca)
E	Minnow, loach Entire (Tiaroga cobitis)
E	Mouse, New Mexico meadow jumping (Zapus hudsonius luteus)
E	Ocelot U.S.A.(AZ, TX) to Central and South America (Leopardus (=Felis) pardalis)
T	Owl, Mexican spotted Entire (Strix occidentalis lucida)
E	Pikeminnow (=squawfish), Colorado Entire, except EXPN (Ptychocheilus lucius)
E	Pronghorn, Sonoran Entire (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis)
E	Pupfish, desert Entire (Cyprinodon macularius)
E	Rail, Yuma clapper U.S.A. only (Rallus longirostris yumanensis)
T	Rattlesnake, New Mexican ridge-nosed Entire (Crotalus willardi obscurus)
E	Salamander, Sonora tiger Entire (Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi)
T	Shiner, beautiful Entire (Cyprinella formosa)
T	Snake, narrow-headed garter (Thamnophis rufipunctatus)
E	Spikedace Entire (Meda fulgida)
T	Spinedace, Little Colorado Entire (Lepidomeda vittata)
T	springsnail, San Bernardino Entire (Pyrgulopsis bernardina)
E	Springsnail, Three Forks Entire (Pyrgulopsis trivialis)
E	Squirrel, Mount Graham red Entire (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis)
E	Sucker, razorback Entire (Xyrauchen texanus)
E	Sucker, Zuni bluehead (Catostomus discobolus yarrowi)
E	Tern, California least (Sterna antillarum browni)
E	Topminnow, Gila (incl. Yaqui) U.S.A. only (Poeciliopsis occidentalis)
T	Tortoise, desert U.S.A., except in Sonoran Desert (Gopherus agassizii)
T	Trout, Apache Entire (Oncorhynchus apache)
T	Trout, Gila Entire (Oncorhynchus gilae)
E	Vole, Hualapai Mexican Entire (Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis)
E	Wolf, Mexican gray Entire, except where an experimental population (Canis lupus baileyi)
E	Woundfin Entire, except EXPN (Plagopterus argentissimus)

Arizona Endangered and Threatened Plants (21)


E	Blue-star, Kearney’s (Amsonia kearneyana)
E	Cactus, Acuna (Echinomastus erectocentrus var. acunensis)
E	Cactus, Arizona hedgehog (Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus)
E	Cactus, Brady pincushion (Pediocactus bradyi)
T	Cactus, Cochise pincushion (Coryphantha robbinsiorum)
E	Cactus, Fickeisen plains (Pediocactus peeblesianus fickeiseniae)
E	Cactus, Nichol’s Turk’s head (Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii)
E	Cactus, Peebles Navajo (Pediocactus peeblesianus var. peeblesianus)
E	Cactus, Pima pineapple (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina)
T	Cactus, Siler pincushion (Pediocactus (=Echinocactus,=Utahia) sileri)
E	Cliff-rose, Arizona (Purshia (=Cowania) subintegra)
T	Cycladenia, Jones (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii)
T	Fleabane, Zuni (Erigeron rhizomatus)
E	Ladies’-tresses, Canelo Hills (Spiranthes delitescens)
E	mallow, Gierisch (Sphaeralcea gierischii)
E	Milk-vetch, Holmgren (Astragalus holmgreniorum)
E	Milk-vetch, Sentry (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax)
T	Milkweed, Welsh’s (Asclepias welshii)
T	Ragwort, San Francisco Peaks (Packera franciscana)
T	Sedge, Navajo (Carex specuicola)
E	Water-umbel, Huachuca (Lilaeopsis schaffneriana var. recurva)

Conservation Groups to Sue Over Wolverine Decision

Posted on August 13, 2014 by GarryRogers

GR: The FWS decision yesterday reversed earlier plans to protect the species. FWS claimed the change was due to uncertainty over the effects of climate change. This is nonsense. The wolverine could be extinct by the time we know how climate change will affect the species.

According to the Associated Press, a coalition of 13 conservation groups has filed notice that it will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision to withdraw proposed protections for the wolverine (phys.org).

Having to sue for protection for a species that is down to a few hundred individuals should not be necessary. Perhaps we need some new faces in the FWS.