AR-News: Fwd: Earth Action, 8/20/03

[jim robertson]

>
>Speak out to ensure the future of Yellowstone's grizzly bears
>
>The fact that the grizzly bear still survives in Yellowstone National Park 
>is
>an endangered species success story. Just 200 years ago, more than 100,000
>grizzlies roamed the American West, but hunters, poachers and habitat loss
>nearly caused these majestic bears to completely vanish from the lower 48
>states. Then in 1975, facing imminent extinction, the grizzly was added to 
>the
>endangered species list, allowing the last remaining bears to survive to 
>the
>present. But to ensure the population's continued existence, the last few
>hundred bears that inhabit the greater Yellowstone area must be able to 
>connect
>and breed with healthier populations in Canadian forests.
>
>The Bush administration, however, has proposed removing Yellowstone's 
>grizzly
>bears from the endangered species list by 2004-2005. Besides once again
>allowing grizzlies to be hunted, delisting also would open up millions of 
>acres
>of prime grizzly habitat to oil and gas development, logging and 
>roadbuilding.
>The move would further isolate Yellowstone's last few hundred remaining 
>bears
>from other populations, limiting their genetic diversity and increasing 
>their
>risk of extinction.
>
>Before the administration can move forward with delisting the grizzly, it 
>must
>show that it is taking steps to ensure the bear's protection once it is 
>removed
>from the endangered list. To that end, the Forest Service, which manages 
>about
>75 percent of the area currently occupied by Yellowstone grizzlies, has
>submitted a proposed management plan for the region. As currently written, 
>the
>plan contains huge gaps and would fail to protect the bears' habitat and 
>ensure
>their survival.
>
>The Forest Service is accepting public comments on its proposed plan 
>through
>September 2nd.
>
>== What to do ==
>Send a message, before the September 2nd comment deadline, urging the 
>Forest
>Service to protect Yellowstone grizzlies' current habitat, and to include
>additional protections that the bears need to achieve a long-term recovery.
>
>== Contact information ==
>You can send an official comment to the Forest Service directly from NRDC's
>Earth Action Center at
>http://www.nrdcaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=10059
>Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own
>message, and please include your own reasons why you want to see these
>magnificent symbols of the American West protected and permitted to thrive.
>
>Dave Cawrse, Team Leader
>Grizzly Bear Habitat Amendments
>Shoshone National Forest
>808 Meadow Lane Avenue
>Cody, WY 82414-4549
>Email:  Comments-rocky-mountain-shoshone at fs.fed.us
>
>== Sample letter ==
>
>Subject:  Increase protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears
>
>Dear Mr. Cawrse,
>
>I am concerned that the Forest Service's proposed changes to the 
>Yellowstone
>forest plans, combined with prematurely removing the Yellowstone grizzly 
>bear
>from the endangered species list, would risk the grizzly's future in the
>nation's oldest park.
>
>Instead of opening up the bear's habitat to development, I urge you to 
>redouble
>efforts to protect the bear and its ecosystems. Specifically, I ask that 
>you
>protect remaining national forest wildland from energy and other 
>development
>and from use by four-wheelers in Yellowstone forests, and in adjacent 
>habitat
>needed to connect Yellowstone to bear populations in Canada. The Forest 
>Service
>should also prohibit oil and gas development and further roadbuilding and
>logging in the Palisades, Centennials, Wind Rivers and Wyoming ranges. 
>These
>lands will be critical for the bears' need to compensate for the 
>anticipated
>loss of key foods, particularly whitebark pine, and for habitat destroyed 
>by
>development.
>
>The threatened grizzly *can* still recover, but only if we allow its 
>numbers to
>grow significantly by increasing habitat protections in the wild places it 
>can
>occupy. Please ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to 
>see
>the magnificent grizzly in the wild.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>[Your name and address]
>
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>==========
>About NRDC
>==========
>
>The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental 
>organization
>with more than 550,000 members nationwide and a staff of scientists, 
>attorneys
>and environmental experts. Our mission is to protect the planet's wildlife 
>and
>wild places and ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living 
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>
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>
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>212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
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>
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>
>===========
>

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