The Danger to Animal SpeciesThe mountain, I became part of it,
The herbs, the fir tree,
I became part of it,
The morning mists,
The clouds, the gathering waters,
I became part of it,
The sun that sweeps across the earth,
I became part of it,
The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen,
I became part of it,
(Navajo chant found in Journal of American Folklore, 1950 & The Year of the Gorilla by George Schaller)
Habitat for recovery of species seen as shortchanged June 24, 2004
Whales-Norway and Japan
Whale Deaths Linked to Navy Noise
California Spotted Owl
Thousands of Australian Species Threatened
Large Predatory Fish Disappearing from Planet
Annually 308,000 Mammals Die in Fish Nets
Huge Spike in Amazon Rainforest Loss
Habitat for recovery of species seen as shortchanged June 24, 2004
The Bush administration is approving only about one of every two acres that federal biologists propose setting aside to help vanishing species recover.Between 2001 and 2003, the government cut 42 million acres from plans to create nearly 83 million acres of critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, a National Wildlife Federation study found.
The administration also more often cited economic reasons to justify decisions to reduce acreage. In 2001, that rationale was used to trim about 1 percent of the acreage; by 2003, that had risen to 69 percent.
The federation contends the administration is trying to undermine the Endangered Species Act. That conclusion is based on the group's interpretation of a study of all critical habitat plans prepared during the Bush administration by the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service and the White House's Office of Management and Budget.
The government is required by law to set aside areas that dwindling species need to survive and recover.
Whales-Norway and Japan
These two countries continue to take whales, against the moratorium on commercial whaling established in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. Even in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary the Japanese whalers are pursuing whales under the guise of "scientific whaling." [2] Both Norway and Japan are initiating action to end the moratorium on killing whales.Whale Deaths Linked to Navy Noise
Federal marine specialists said in a Washington Post article (June 15, 2000) that about a dozen healthy beaked whales died as a result of U.S. Navy tests, experimenting with underwater noise. The whales died from hemorhages found in or around the mammal's ears. The findings by the marine specialists point to the Navy noises as the cause of the hemorhaging. Darlene Ketten, an auditory specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who helped examine six of the whales for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said there was "reason for concern." The Navy has been experimenting with a variety of high-intensity and low-frequency sonar systems that send out loud blasts underwater. The Navy says these tests are being conducted in order to track a growing number of quiet submarines operated near sensitive coastlines by unfriendly nations.California Spotted Owl
In a San Francisco Chronicle article (by Jane Kay), dated February 11, 2003, the federal government decided on February 10, 2003 that the California Spotted Owl no longer needs protection under the Endangered Species Act. Environmentalists noted that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service decision to withdraw protection comes at a time when the U.S Forest Service is proposing measures that will weaken the Sierra Nevada Framework, a Clinton-era plan for managing the Sierra's national forests.Thousands of Australian Species Threatened
Thousands of Australian mammals, reptiles and bird species face extinction as landclearing gains pace, according to a government report leaked yesterday. The "Biodiversity Audit", obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corp ahead of publication, said 2,891 individual Australian ecosystems were at risk, with many beyond rescue.Environmental groups and opposition parties have denounced what they saw as government inaction. "The message on landclearing has been delivered to the government time and time again, in any number of similar reports in recent years," said Nicola Beynon, spokeswoman for the Australian branch of Humane Society International. "The national Biodiversity Audit has to be the final call to action."
The main opposition party, centre-left Labour, said 500,000 hectares (1.236 million acres) of the vast island continent, home to some of the least populated areas in the world, was lost to landclearing every year. Labour spokesman, Kelvin Thomson says, "Unless urgent action is taken now, much of Australia's unique wildlife faces the threat of extinction." See Planet Ark Article
Large Predatory Fish Disappearing from Planet
In a 10-year study, Ransom Myers, professor of ocean studies at Dalhousie University in Canada and his colleague Boris Worm report their data about depleted fish stocks in the May 16, 2003 issue of the science journal Nature.....Large predatory fish - marlin, tuna and swordfish - are disappearing from the world's oceans, with their numbers down by 90 percent in the past 50 years say Myers and Worm. "From giant blue marlin to mighty blue fin tuna, and from tropical groupers to Antarctic cod, industrial fishing has scoured the global ocean," said Myers, .....The great fish, like the one immortalised in Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea" are not only dwindling in numbers, they are also getting smaller. Top predator fish are about one fifth to one half the size they used to be. Many fish never get the chance to reproduce, according to the researchers......People had presumed there were untapped reservoirs of large fish, but Myers said that is not true. He warned that the sustainability of fisheries worldwide is being compromised. "This calls for a reduction in fishing worldwide so we can allow the natural diversity and fish species to persist in the world's oceans," he said. "A minimum reduction of 50 percent of fish mortality (the percentage of fish killed each year) may be necessary to avoid further declines of particularly sensitive species.......If stocks are restored, he added, fishermen could get more fish out of the oceans with a fraction of the effort. If they aren't, the great fish will suffer the fate of the dinosaurs. See Planet Ark ArticleAnnually 308,000 Mammals Die in Fish Nets
About 1000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die every day after getting caught up in nets and other equipment, say researchers in a World Wildlife Fund report released on June 16, 2003. U.S and Scottish biologists said that annually 308,000 marine mammals die as bycatch, the study noted, showing data from 1990 to 1999. The study's lead author, Andy Read of Duke University Marine Laboratory, noted that, "Several species will be lost in the next decades if nothing is done." (San Francisco Chronicle June 16, 2003 by Joseph B. Verrengia, Associated Press)Huge Spike in Amazon Rainforest Loss
Home to about 30% of the planet's animal and plant species, there has recently been a huge amount of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon. Preliminary 2002 figures from Brazil's Environment Ministry show a loss of forest area of about 9,840 square miles (25,476 sq km), compared to 7,010 square miles (18,166 sq km) in 2001, an increase of 40%. Behind the deforestation are increased soy farming, as well as illegal logging in rare tropical timber, gold and bauxite mining and settlement construction. See Planet Ark Article