Online Messenger #295
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Yellowstone Bison Listing Petition
WWP and Buffalo Field Campaign submitted an Endangered Species Act listing petition to the US Fish and Wildlife Service today. Yellowstone bison are the only remaining wild population of plains bison with genetic integrity and still roams freely in the United States; nearly all other bison are genetically interbred with domestic cattle.
The petition is available to be read online here. Thanks especially to WWP’s California Director Dr. Michael Connor for this excellent review!
Idaho’s Predator Derby
Together with our allies, WWP filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block the ill-conceived event. Read more here.
A Victory in Arizona! WWP calls out vague grazing plans on the Tonto National Forest
The Tonto National Forest had to concede to WWP’s Arizona attorney Erik Ryberg on a grazing decision for the Tonto Basin, Walnut, and 7K allotments. The decision was not specific about how and when “adaptive management” would be applied in response to ongoing degradation. Read the Objection and win here. These types of vague promises of change are common throughout the west, and they ensure that its impossible to enforce or even understand the remedial measures the agency will take. WWP’s objection included many photographs and the full text of a recent Counterpunch article. Wins such as this will hopefully influence the Forest Service to address issues rather than delaying real change!
Court Ruling Favors Meaningful Protection for Greater Sage-grouse
Last week, a federal judge denied the BLM’s motion to dismiss WWP’s litigation regarding BLM’s failure to protect sage-grouse. This order puts BLM on notice that it must prepare meaningful land use plans or be prepared to lose in court.
Yesterday’s decision from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to list Gunnison sage-grouse as threatened doesn’t go far enough to protect the bird, whose total population numbers less than 5,000.
