Weekly News Roundup – February 24, 2012

Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news:

February 21 – The National Wildlife Federation today received a cease and desist letter from the Heartland Institute demanding that all references to Heartland’s so-called “Denialgate” leaked internal documents be scrubbed from the National Wildlife Federation website. However, the letter makes no specific legal accusations and the Heartland Institute continues to refuse to say whether the documents are legitimate, whether its reported plan to infiltrate America’s schools is true, or who is funding it.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog discussed the documents posted to other sites in two posts, Koch-Funded Plan in Development to Teach K-12 Kids Global Warming isn’t Real and From the Heartland: An Inside Look at the Extreme Right’s War on K-12 Climate and Environmental Education. The Associated Press reported that David Wojick, the contractor cited in the documents as the author of a proposed climate disinformation campaign targeted at K-12 students, confirmed “the document was accurate about his project to put curriculum materials in schools that promote climate skepticism.”

EPA Permit Too Weak to Protect Great Lakes, U.S. Waters from Ballast Water Invaders

February 21 – The U.S. EPA is failing to uphold its federal Clean Water Act duty to protect the Great Lakes and other U.S. waters from the introduction and spread of invasive species via ships’ ballast water discharge, conservation groups say in comments(pdf) to the agency today.

The organizations call on EPA to strengthen a proposed permit to regulate ballast water discharges from commercial vessels. The comment period on the permit ends today.

National Hunting, Angling Groups Applaud Move to Finalize Clean Water Act Guidance

February 23 – This week, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers submitted revised Clean Water Act guidance to the Office of Management and Budget. Sportsmen applaud this critical step in restoring important protections for America’s waters.

“These rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands are essential for hunting and angling, providing fish and wildlife habitat and an economic boost to local economies,” said Steve Moyer, vice president of government relations for Trout Unlimited. “Every year, millions of anglers spend $45 billion to fish in rivers, lakes and streams across the country. Together, hunting, angling, and wildlife watching contribute an estimated $122 billion to the economy annually.”

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• HTRnews.com: Groups say EPA ballast proposal too lenient
• Sheboygan Press: Environmentalists threaten suit over ballast rule
• Bridge MI: A plan to curb carp, before it’s too late
• Nola.com: Gulf of Mexico oil spill partial settlement would give Louisiana $13.5 million

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News