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September
13,
2005
The Bush Administration has proposed removing Arizona's pygmy-owls
from the list of endangered species, despite the best available
science, which clearly shows this population on the brink
of extinction, with less than 20 owls left in the entire state.
This move comes solely at the behest of development interests,
and is just the latest example of this administration putting
corporate profits ahead of the public interest.
Since assuming office, the Bush Administration has ignored
its responsibility to protect our natural heritage. It has
instead engaged in a concerted effort to remove federal protections
for endangered species and open up huge tracts of protected
land for use by corporate special interests.
Please attend this public hearing and oppose Bush's latest
attempt to put politics above science and reward corporate
interests at the expense of our natural heritage.
DATE:
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
PLACE: Tucson Convention Center
(260 S. Church Ave., Apache-Greenlee meeting rooms)
If
you cannot attend the hearing, you still can provide written
comments on this proposal. Mail or fax them to:
Field
Supervisor
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office
2321 West Royal Palm Rd., Suite 103
Phoenix, AZ 85021-4951
Fax: (602)242-2513
The
public comment period ends October 3,
2005, so attend the public hearing on September 20,
or send in your comments today!
________________________________________________
SAMPLE
LETTER:
Dear Field Supervisor,
I strongly oppose this ill-conceived proposal to de-list Arizona's
pygmy-owl. This proposal blatantly ignores the best available
science, which clearly shows this population on the brink
of extinction, with less than 20 owls left in the entire state.
This move comes solely at the behest of development interests,
and is just the latest example of this administration putting
corporate profits ahead of the public interest.
The Bush Administration claims this move is in response to
a court ruling on a lawsuit filed by corporate developers;
however, the court very clearly did not strip the owl of its
endangered status, nor did it question the science behind
the owls' listing. In fact, the Bush administration's own
biologists have argued that the Arizona population of pygmy-owls
is significant and needs protection.
This proposal is politics at its worst. I strongly urge the
Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider this proposal, and
instead use the best available science to answer the courts
concerns and reaffirm the pygmy-owl's status as endangered.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
BACKGROUND:
This proposal ignores the Administration's own science: The
Administration's own biologists have argued that the Arizona
population of pygmy-owls is significant and needs protection.
According to federal policy, the significance of a population
can be determined by several factors, including:
1. Evidence that the population exists in a unique ecological
setting.
The
AZ population is found in the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, a
unique setting representing one-quarter of its total range.
While pygmy-owls in northern Sonora, Mexico are also found
in this same setting, there is ongoing and large scale habitat
loss occurring there, making the AZ population even more important
to the species' survival.
According to federal biologists: "This large-scale loss
of Sonoran Desert biome communities in northern Sonora places
the AZ [population] in a unique and unusual ecological setting."
(White Paper: Significance of the Western Population(s) of
the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl; FWS, December 2003)
2. Evidence that the loss of the population would result
in a significant gap in the species' range.
The
AZ population represents 50-60% of the owl's historical range
within the Sonoran desert. It is also found at the edge of
its range, making it especially important because these "peripheral"
populations tend to contain unique genetic characteristics.
Losing genetic diversity reduces the species' ability to adapt
to environmental changes and may well hasten extinction of
the entire species.
According to federal biologists: "The loss of the Arizona
population would represent a gap in the range of the taxon
and could represent the loss of genetic variability for the
taxon as a whole." (Id.)
The proposal is politics at its worst: The Bush Administration
claims this move is in response to a court ruling on a lawsuit
filed by corporate development interests; however, the court
very clearly did not strip the owl of its endangered status,
nor did it question the science behind the owls' listing.
In essence, the court ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service
did not adequately explain its listing decision. But, instead
of simply addressing the court's concerns and reaffirming
the owl's legal status as an endangered species, the administration
has jumped at the chance to strip the owl of its protections
for the benefit of developers.
Defenders of Wildlife recently released a report entitled
"Sabotaging the Endangered Species Act," which chronicles
the Bush administration' abuse of the judicial system with
regard to this cornerstone environmental law. Among other
attacks, the report cites the fact that the administration
has set the record for the most de-listings as a result of
industry requests or lawsuits. This attempt to de-list Arizona's
pygmy-owl is just one more in a long line of examples of the
Bush Administration playing politics at the expense of this
country's natural heritage.
The Defenders of Wildlife report
"Sabotaging the Endangered Species Act"
is available online at
www.defenders.org/wildlife/esa/report
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