National Research Council Reports Higher Water Levels Not Needed for Klamath Basin Fish, by Gretchen Randall
BACKGROUND: Last year both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service issued "biological opinions" claiming more water needed to be released from Upper Klamath Lake to protect both the sucker fish and coho salmon. The National Research Council's just-released interim report on the scientific issues ...
Cattle Growers’ Association Wins Suit Against Endangered Species Act Enforcement, by Gretchen Randall
BACKGROUND: Arizona rancher Jeff Menges and the Arizona Cattle Growers' Association won an appeal against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over "incidental takings" in an endangered species case. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted 3-0 to uphold ...
In the Klamath Basin, Farmers and Ranchers are Becoming the Real Endangered Species, by Gretchen Randall
In the public mind, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) protects species close to extinction, such as the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. It does not endanger family farms. 1,400 farmers in the Upper Klamath Lake region of Oregon and California beg to differ. Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...
Unnecessary Salmon Protection Regulations Destroy Widow’s Resort, by John Carlisle
For nearly ten years, Lani Odenthal and her husband Bob worked hard to develop their 80-acre golf course in Washington's Okanogan County into a beautiful, prosperous resort. After Bob passed away, Lani, now 75, had no desire to run Sunny Meadows and decided to sell it for $1.3 million and ...
Nature, Not Man, is Responsible for West Coast Salmon Decline, by John Carlisle
On March 16 1999, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Marine and Fisheries Service (NMFS) added nine populations of West Coast salmon to the endangered species list, bringing the total number of federally-protected salmon subspecies to 24. The recent designations are especially significant because for the first time federal protection has ...
Will Republicans Provide Grist for Environmentalists’ Mill? Senate Consideration of New Endangered Species Bill Bad News for Species and People
Environmentalists who have accused the Republican Congress of conspiring with powerful industry groups to protect corporate profits at the expense of the environment may soon have some solid evidence to back up that claim. Over the next several months, the U.S. Senate could take up an Endangered Species Act (ESA) ...
