Volume 21, Issue 11 | November 2011

Editor: Christine Carmichael
Reporters: Erin Shaw and Charlotte Weaver 

Wildlife Policy News is intended to foster the exchange of information about policy issues among Society leaders. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official policy of The Wildlife Society unless so stated. Please share this publication with your colleagues. Contents may be reprinted with credit to Wildlife Policy News. We welcome comments and suggestions for future issues at ccarmichael@wildlife.org.

In this Issue:

• Ozark Hellbenders Listed as Endangered
• Hawai‘i Hosts Hearing on Invasive Species
• Proposal for Canadian Seal Cull Creates Controversy
• Judge Denies Petition to Ban Toxic Lead in Ammunition
• Sonoran Desert Draft Resource Management Plan Released
• Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Proposal Deadline Approaching
• News Updates:
  • Democrats Plan Second Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Hearing;
  • DOI-Wyoming Gray Wolf Delisting Agreement
• TWS Updates:
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Final NWRS Vision
  • Captive-Hunting Facility in Vermont to Close After Ruling

On 7 November 2011 the Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) will be officially designated as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act. A subspecies of the hellbender, this aquatic salamander is found in the Ozark streams of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri and grows to about two feet in length. Known as one of the largest salamanders in the world, it is characterized by a flattened body, a greenish-brown color, and fleshy folds on the sides of its body. The hellbender is in decline largely due to the spread of Chytridiomycosis (chytrid fungus), a fungal disease that is decimating amphibian populations globally. Other threats to this salamander include habitat loss, poor water quality, sedimentation, and the introduction of pharmaceuticals into the water supply that disrupt hormone levels and decrease reproduction rates. The Ozark hellbender was federally listed as a candidate species in 2001 and gained endangered status under Missouri state law in 2003. Despite newly gained federal protections the FWS will not designate critical habitat for the hellbender due to concerns that collectors from the international pet trade would abuse this information. The Ozark Hellbender, as well as another subspecies, the eastern hellbender, will also gain international protection as a decision was finalized to list the two subspecies under Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Sources: Federal Register, FWS, Scientific American, E&E Publishing LLC (E&E News PM).

 On 27 October 2011 the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee addressed invasive species management at a field hearing in Honolulu titled “Safeguarding Hawai‘i’s Ecosystem and Agriculture Against Invasive Species.” The hearing highlighted Hawai‘i’s extensive invasive species issues, following the introduction of the Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2011 (S. 1673) in the Senate on 6 October 2011 by co-sponsors Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). S. 1673 targets regulations on the importation of invasive species through agricultural trade in order to limit the number of plant and animal pests introduced into the U.S. At the hearing Akaka noted that invasive species often arrive at U.S. ports hidden in shipping containers carrying agricultural cargo, or concealed in the imported goods themselves, and that failure to detect and prevent the spread of these non-native pests and diseases imposes serious economic and social costs on all Americans. Representatives from Customs and Border Control, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, FWS and from the state of Hawai‘i also spoke at the hearing, emphasizing the need to mitigate the impacts of invasive species on U.S. agriculture and the environment.

Sources: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, E&E Publishing LLC (E&E Daily).

Lines have been drawn around a proposal to remove up to 146,000 gray seals over 5 years in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in eastern Canada. The debate is divided over whether or not the seals are responsible for the slow recovery of the cod fishery industry and if management of the seal population is warranted. Two of Canada’s leading marine biologists and a conservation group oppose the plan which would eliminate 70% of the gray seal population, which stretches from the Gaspe Peninsula to the east side of Cape Breton. The proposal comes in the form of a recommendation in a report from the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, a federal advisory panel consisting of scientists and fishing industry representatives appointed by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. The panel urged The Honorable Keith Ashfield to approve the cull proposal as an experiment to see if cod stocks would recover.

Opponents of the recommendation suggest the report is flawed in that it does not first examine baseline seal and cod interaction, and ignores the positive effects of seals as top predators in the ecosystem. Those opposing the proposal also argue that other components of the ecosystem rely on seals and a dramatic reduction in seal numbers could upset natural ecological balances. The nitrogen expelled by seals, for instance, allows for the growth of algae, the foundation of the food web. Seal hunting is an already controversial topic in Canada and the proposed cull will likely face great opposition from conservation groups, animal rights groups, and activists. The proposal calls for an initial removal of 73,000 seals, and up to the same amount over the following 4 years, in order to maintain a population of 31,000 grey seals in the designated area.

Sources: CBC News, Canadian Press, Fisheries Resource Conservation Council.
 

Environmental groups have been temporarily thwarted in an attempt to ban the use of toxic lead in ammunition and fishing tackle. On 30 September 2011 Judge Emmett Sullivan issued a ruling dismissing the petition filed in August 2010 by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and Project Gutpile asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act to regulate the use of lead in ammunition. The ruling stated that the groups had waited too long to appeal the EPA’s refusal to regulate lead in ammunition, but that their appeal concerning the use of lead in fishing tackle was still viable.

The petition originally included both ammunition and tackle, but the EPA effectively split the petition into two parts by denying the lead ammunition portion in August 2010, and then separately denying the fishing gear request in November 2010. Following Judge Sullivan’s September 2011 decision, CBD conservation director Peter Galvin said in a press release that this was not a ruling on the merits of the petition to ban lead hunting ammunition. The lawsuit related to lead in fishing gear will continue.

A partial federal ban on the use of lead in ammunition currently exists, but extends only to lead shot used for hunting waterfowl. There is currently no federal regulation on lead in fishing tackle. CBD finds that long-established science on the dangers of lead poisoning in the wild suggests the use of toxic lead hunting ammunition and fishing gear frequently poisons and kills millions of birds each year across the country. Furthermore, lead ingested by game species also poses a threat to human health as it contaminates meat and can be transferred to the human body when consumed. There are many nontoxic ammunition and tackle alternatives that can be used in lieu of traditional toxic lead shot and gear. Some states have created additional bans on lead ammunition to supplement the partial federal ban, but very few have any regulations for lead fishing gear. The petition was signed by over 120 organizations in 30 states representing birders, conservationists, hunters, scientists, and veterinarians.

TWS recently released a fact sheet concerning the dangers of lead poisoning in wildlife. Please see TWS’ position statement on Lead in Ammunition and Fishing Tackle for more details.

Sources: E&E Publishing LLC (Greenwire), Center for Biological Diversity.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement for nearly 1.4 million surface acres and 1.5 million subsurface acres of public land it manages, a significant portion of which lie within the Sonoran Desert National Monument (SDNM). The RMP will direct management actions on these lands for the next 15-20 years. Proposed actions within the SDNM include: designating roads and trails; addressing recreational target shooting; a grazing compatibility analysis for livestock grazing; proposing lands managed to protect wilderness characteristics; defining wildlife habitat areas; and identifying lands suitable for disposal.
The RMP was created based on the results of many scoping sessions to determine issues most important to the public. Six of 18 issues made up 95% of the comments, which include travel management, the management of areas with wilderness characteristics, wildlife, livestock, energy development, and recreation.

The BLM encourages public review of the plan and welcomes comments, which will be accepted until 25 November 2011, and can be submitted online through the BLM eplanning tool, via facsimile to 623-580-5580, or mailed to: BLM, Phoenix District Office, Attn: LS-SDNM RMP, 21605 North 7th Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85027.

Sources: Bureau of Land Management.
 

The FWS announced on 26 October 2011 that it is accepting proposals from states and territories for federal financial assistance from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF). The fund, authorized under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, provides $100 million for voluntary conservation activities facilitated by states that benefit candidate, proposed, or listed endangered species. Since more than half of all species currently listed spend at least a portion of their lives on private lands, the FWS finds that the most successful conservation efforts involve collaboration with private landowners, communities, and tribes. In order to receive a grant, states must have a current cooperative agreement with the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (or have entered into one) and must provide a 25% non-federal match of the grant amount.

The FWS is accepting proposals for three grant types: (1) the Recovery Land Acquisition Grant, which allows for acquisition of threatened and endangered species habitats, (2) the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grant, which supports the development of habitat conservation plans and protection of suitable habitat while allowing for economic growth planning, and (3) the Habitat Conservation Planning Acquisition Grant, which provides funds to acquire habitat land for threatened and endangered species associated with an approved habitat conservation plan.

Proposals will be accepted until 27 January 2012. For more information about these grants and the application requirements please contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Consultation, HCPs, Recovery, and State Grants, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203, 703-358-2171. You can also learn more about the grants program and review a list of past awards granted.

Source: FWS.

Democrats from the House Natural Resources Committee received approval from Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) to hold a second hearing on the future of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in response to the 21 September 2011 hearing titled “ANWR: Jobs, Energy, and Deficit Reduction.” Democrats claim that the September hearing’s witness panel was dominated by those invited by the majority and did not adequately represent the views of the scientific community. Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote to Chairman Hastings, asking that hearings of the joint committee include topics proposed by the Minority as well as witnesses invited by the Minority. The second hearing will focus on alternative plans for deficit reduction, including oil industry tax hikes, offshore royalty reforms, and new leasing and inspection fees.

Sources: House Natural Resources Committee, E&E Publishing LLC (E&E Daily).

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is proceeding with delisting procedures for the gray wolf population in Wyoming. The FWS released a notice in the Federal Register to propose delisting on 5 October 2011. If the Wyoming State Legislature agrees to the proposed plan, the FWS will create a final rule for the delisting.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission released the revised Gray Wolf Management Plan on 8 August 2011 that would allow delisting of the gray wolf in Wyoming and return it to state management, which the DOI agreed to. The management plan stipulates a minimum population size of 100 wolves with 10 breeding pairs, and allows for regulated and limited trophy hunts, management of problem wolves, and wolves to be taken without a hunting license as predators.

The proposed rule, which mirrors the August 2011 plan, is open for public comment until 13 January 2012. You can review the proposed rule (Docket #: FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039) in the Federal Register, and submit comments electronically to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Comments can also be submitted in hard copy to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM, Arlington, VA 22203. A public meeting will also be held 15 November 2011 in Riverton, WY.
 

On 8 September 2011, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) issued a permit to Mr. Doug Nelson to reduce the native game to zero at his facility by 1 September 2014. Mr. Nelson had previously been granted private rights to any illegally possessed native deer and moose that entered his 700-acre private “game farm” through a Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations bill (Act 156). On 21 March 2011, TWS wrote to the Vermont House of Representatives arguing that this was a giveaway of public wildlife resources purely to benefit Mr. Nelson and a clear violation of the Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine establishes a trustee relationship whereby the government must manage wildlife and fish for the benefit of the resource and the public. In the letter, TWS also expressed support of the Vermont Wildlife Public Trust Act (H.91), which would enshrine public ownership of the state’s wild animals in statute and return regulatory authority over Vermont’s “captive hunt” facilities to the VFWD, thereby addressing the transfer of wildlife ownership to the private game farm owned by Mr. Nelson in Irasburg, Vermont. The Vermont Legislature passed H.91 and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed the Act into law on 31 May 2011.

The FWS released its final 10 year vision document for the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) on 20 October 2011 titled Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation. TWS submitted comments on the draft NWRS vision and TWS Executive Director/CEO Michael Hutchins attended the NWRS Conserving the Future conference in Madison, Wisconsin in July 2011 to further promote TWS’ recommendations. TWS’ comments included improvements such as: emphasizing landscape level habitat management; a “beyond boundaries” approach; leveraging resources through partnerships with government agencies, conservation groups, and private landowners; a national collaborative conservation strategy; establishing an urban refuge program; and expanding the network of community partners and refuge friends. The final document appears to reflect some of these comments.