CONSERVATION NOTES

by Dave Johnson

     ßThe 108th Congress is off to a very bad start with the selection of Richard Pombo as chairman of the House Resources Committee oversees millions of acres of public lands including National Forests, National Parkland and BLM lands.

     Rep. Pombo is a sworn enemy of the Endangered Species Act and has vowed to “reform” it. He is a champion of the Wise Use Movement, off-road vehicle advocates, logging and mining interests, and other “property rights” issues. Among his other recommendations, he advocates continued hunting of elephants for ivory.

     Pombo is a rancher from the Central Valley of California who always wears a white Stetson in Congressional photos. His major opponent for the committee chairmanship was Rep. John Duncan, who once compared an environmental campaign to Nazi propaganda, was considered, by far, the more moderate and reasonable candidate.

     ßThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will be coming under attack again this year. AVAS members must again gird their loins and be ready to join battle in defense of this priceless national treasure. Letters and phone calls will be requested when the time comes.

     ßPro-development anti-wildlife forces have already begun to take a toll from this repressive administration. 33,000 salmon and steelhead trout were killed on the Klamath River in California last fall. The California Department of Fish and Game blamed the federal government for diverting too much water from the river for agriculture.

     The California subspecies of the spotted owl has been denied protection under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged areas of decline

but stated “the numbers remain healthy.”

     ßGray wolves in the Northern Rockies are also in danger of being deleted as an Endangered Species. Even though the three established populations appear to be holding their own, their long range outlook remains tenuous. It would be premature to remove the ESA protections.

     ßInterior Secretary Gail Norton negated findings of her own department’s study when she overturned the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The massive amount of air pollution and the threat to park employees’ health is irrefutably documented. But let’s face it: the snowmobile industry puts a lot of money in Republican Party coffers!