Photo: USFWS

But if the proposed Pebble Mine is built, it could have devastating consequences for this wilderness paradise, according to a newly revised watershed assessment on large-scale mining in Bristol Bay by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—which considered 233,000 public comments, consulted with tribes, and received input from independent scientists and peer reviewers. The report finds that even in a best case scenario—with no leaks or failures—the massive mine would destroy up to 90 miles of salmon streams and up to 4,800 acres of wetlands, and produce acidic and toxic-laden waters.

As a result, local grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, and other wildlife that consume salmon will all be impacted. So will Alaska Natives, who have relied on subsistence fishing for thousands of years. And so will the commercial fishery, which, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, provides 12,000 jobs and about $500 million annually in direct income to workers across the country.

All of this is at risk from Pebble Mine, the colossal gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay that would generate up to 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste stored in massive earthen dams covering over 10 square miles. Even under the best conditions, it would be virtually impossible to keep the toxic waste from leaking into rivers and streams, putting salmon—which are highly sensitive to the slightest increases in certain metals like copper–at great risk.

And if the dams break, it would be absolutely devastating to the river and wildlife downstream. Just last month, a massive landslide at Bingham Canyon mine in Utah—which registered as a 5.1 magnitude earthquake  and engulfed tens of millions of dollars in mining equipment and infrastructure—was a preview of the disaster that could occur if Pebble Mine is built. Incredibly, Pebble Mine would be twice the size of Bingham Canyon mine and located in an active earthquake zone.

The EPA’s review provides more than enough information to know that Pebble Mine would pose enormous, irreversible harm to this critically important watershed, and the wildlife and people that depend on it. Yet, despite these risks and the overwhelming opposition to Pebble Mine, foreign mining corporations are charging full steam ahead.

Now is the time for the Obama administration to act. We only have until May 31^st to comment on these new findings and urge the EPA to use its power under the Clean Water Act to stop this disastrous project. If we don’t speak up now, Pebble Mine could devastate this wilderness paradise and the rich community of wildlife that calls it home.

Help protect salmon and grizzlies from toxic mining waste—send a message to the EPA today.

Return to our page on May 15th to donate to National Wildlife Federation through GiveBIG!

Here are three reasons why we hope you will choose to support us through GiveBIG on May 15^th:

Photo: USFWS

* Exciting Great American Backyard Campout events this summer, including events serving people with limited resources and veterans.

* Our work with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission to increase public awareness and support of our state park system, which is being impacted by severe budget shortfalls that are leaving wildlife in jeopardy and impairing our ability to enjoy the outdoors.

* Outreach to new communities and training programs for volunteers through our Certified Wildlife Habitat® program, which helps maintain and build biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest.

2. The more you give, the more National Wildlife Federation receives! All donations made through The Seattle Foundation’s website on May 15^th will receive a percentage of the matching funds (or “stretch”) pool from GiveBIG sponsors.

3. You could be randomly selected for a “Golden Ticket” that gives NWF an extra $1,000 from The Seattle Foundation and other sponsors. You’ll also be eligible to win airline tickets, gift cards, and more!

Stay tuned for details and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for GiveBIG reminders and updates!

Bike billboards are circulating in DC to show that over 1 million comments were generated against Keystone XL. Photo: League of Conservation Voters

KXL Opponents Make Voices Heard

Following the close of the 45-day public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, more than one million comments—including  nearly 100,000 from National Wildlife Federation supporters—were delivered to the U.S. State Department. These messages came from Americans from all across the country and all walks of life, but they carried one common message: that this risky and unnecessary project puts our wildlife, water, land, and communities in jeopardy, and President Obama and Secretary Kerry should reject it.

This impressive total follows hundreds of opponents that testified—including ranchers, farmers and landowners who would be directly impacted by the pipeline—at the State Department’s lone public hearing last week in Grand Island, Nebraska, despite a spring storm that brought sleet and snow. And earlier this year, more than 40,000 people descended on our nation’s capital to call for bold action by President Obama to tackle the climate crisis and reject Keystone XL.

The EPA Weighs In

Echoing these same serious concerns, yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its own comments on the DEIS, giving the project a score of 2—meaning “insufficient” – and rating the environmental impact of Keystone XL as “environmentally objectionable.” In a letter to the State Department, the EPA urged State to conduct a more thorough analysis of oil spill risks and alternative pipeline routes, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that will result from increased tar sands production.

Oiled duck from Mayflower Ark. oil spill. Photo by Lauren Ray.

Just earlier this month, the pipeline rupture in Arkansas that spilled at least 210,000 gallons of tar sands oil—forcing evacuations, and leaving wildlife coated in toxic oil and struggling to survive—raised new concerns about pipeline safety and the risks associated with transporting corrosive tar sands oil. The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would carry almost nine times as much tar sands oil per day as the pipeline that burst in Arkansas.

What’s Next

Now, the State Department will incorporate comments from the public and federal agencies and release their final environmental report this summer, at which point President Obama will have 90 days to determine whether or not Keystone XL is in the national interest.

While momentum is on our side, the fight doesn’t stop here. Keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to speak up against the Keystone XL pipeline this summer, as well as more ways you can take action to protect wildlife from dangerous tar sands oil.

Tweet it! 45 days, 1 million comments, 1 movement. The message #NoKXL couldn’t be clearer to @barackobama: Reject #KeystoneXL!

President Obama is expected to make a final decision on Keystone XL this year, and right now, we have a critical opportunity to stop this project. The U.S. State Department’s public comment period for their environmental review of Keystone XL ends April 22nd, and it’s crucial they hear widespread opposition to the risks this project poses to wildlife.

Speak up for wildlife TODAY by urging President Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all.

 
WATCH OUR NEW VIDEO on the impacts tar sands oil poses to wildlife from Canada to the Gulf coast of Texas and beyond:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of National Wildlife Federation, as he reacts to the vote from the Platte River in Nebraska–a vital stopover for hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes threatened by toxic oil spills from Keystone XL:

Click here to view the embedded video.

At a time of record-breaking temperatures and increasingly devastating extreme weather events, our leaders need to stand up against dirty and dangerous energy projects. With your voice today, we can hold the senators accountable who sided with Big Oil over their constituents interests.

On Twitter?

Find your senators in the list below and remind them that Americans don’t want the Keystone XL pipeline by tweeting at them:

Protect caribou by telling the Obama administration to address Keystone XL’s impacts on wildlife, habitat and climate change.

The decision came after Ambre Energy initially refused to provide key information requested by Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL), including the project’s impacts to fish and wildlife. Knowing that DSL would likely deny the permit without this information, Ambre was forced to ask for an extension—pushing back the final decision on the permit by five months.

Dangers to Local Fish and Wildlife

Orcas like this one are at risk from toxic coal pollution. Source: Minette Layne/WikiMedia Commons

In addition to the impacts from toxic pollution to endangered orcas and other imperiled Northwest species, once the coal is exported overseas and burned, it would drive climate change, ocean acidification, mercury deposition, and other crises that affect species like salmon and steelhead, upon which orcas depend.

If approved, the Morrow Pacific project would be the first of five proposed coal export facilities in Oregon and Washington to get a green light. If all of them are built, over 150 million tons or more of coal would be moved by rail, barge, and tanker every year through those states—making it one of the world’s largest coal export regions.

Coal Exports Meet Rising Opposition

Public Opposition to Coal Exports, Seattle. NWF Photo by Michael O’Leary.

Tens of thousands of public comments, packed public hearings, and letters to the editor in local newspapers have turned up the pressure on decision makers by exposing the dangers of coal to the environment and communities. The Morrow Pacific delay is the second since the permit was filed just over a year ago, and just last week, two of the three investors of another proposed coal export terminal at Coos Bay, Oregon announced they are backing out.

Take Action for Northwest Wildlife!

Governor Kitzhaber and his Department of State Lands now have until September 1^st to approve or deny the Morrow Pacific permit. While the governor has recently called on federal officials to do a sweeping review of proposed ports, he’s also coming under heavy pressure from the coal industry. Before a final decision is made, it’s critical that Governor Kitzhaber knows his constituents support him in standing strong against coal export from Oregon’s shores.

There are countless reasons why we must stop coal exports: to sustain the diverse habitats and wildlife of our region, to keep our waters and air clean, to fight climate change—just to name a few.

TAKE ACTION! In the comment box below, tell us why stopping Northwest coal export projects matters to YOU, and we’ll share your messages with the Governor!

But, as in previous years, big polluters and their allies in Congress are desperately trying to insert additional measures unrelated to the budget that would weaken protections for our wildlife, air, water, and climate.

Your senators need to hear from you TODAY—urge them to oppose anti-wildlife amendments in the budget.

Among the dozens of reckless amendments being considered are proposals that could:

• force the approval of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, despite the disastrous impacts it would have on the climate crisis and wildlife, including woodland caribou in Canada;
• undermine the federal government’s authority to move forward with limiting carbon pollution that causes climate change;
• slash funding for programs that safeguard crucial habitat for wildlife and prevent endangered species like ocelots from heading for extinction;
• increase oil and gas drilling on federal lands, which will increase our dependence on dirty fuels and endanger critical habitats;
• prevent the administration from moving forward with clean water safeguards that are critical for healthy fish and wildlife

At a time of record-breaking temperatures and increasingly devastating extreme weather events that are putting wildlife and our communities at risk, it’s crucial that we shift away from high-carbon fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources. Yet some members of Congress are allowing big polluters to misuse the federal budget to approve their pet projects such as the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline, at the expense of wildlife and ecosystems.

It is urgent that your senators hear from you TODAY so they know the grassroots base will hold them accountable if they side with polluters over their constituents’ interests. With your voice, we can win this critical fight and continue to create a brighter future for America’s cherished wildlife.

Now, it’s up to us to send a signal to the Obama administration they can’t ignore. The 45 day public comment period starts TODAY, and your voice is needed to keep up the fight for caribou and many more wildlife at risk from this catastrophic project.

Protect caribou by telling the Obama administration to address Keystone XL’s impacts on wildlife, habitat and climate change.

Photo: Flickr/peupleloup

State Department Analysis is Fatally Flawed

The State Department’s review ignores the massive impacts to wildlife from the Keystone XL pipeline by failing to:

• examine the effects on the boreal forest and its wildlife by enabling further tar sands development in Canada. If development continues unchecked, some caribou herds in the tar sands region could disappear in as little as 30 years.

• consider the enormous contributions to climate change. The expansion of tar sands extraction in Canada is exacerbating the climate crisis, which is fueling extreme weather events and putting wildlife in danger.

• adequately address the threats from pumping 800,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day along its route through America’s heartland. The pipeline would pass through the same migratory corridor that endangered whooping cranes use each spring–putting the rivers and wetlands on which they rely at risk of toxic oil spills.

Keystone XL Decision Looming

The fight to stop Keystone XL has been more than three years in the making. From emails, to hearings and rallies, to phone calls, and letters in your local newspapers–the efforts of dedicated people like you have been critical in halting this dangerous project thus far, and now we must see it to the end.

We’re expecting a final decision on Keystone XL by President Obama this year. Fortunately, we have a critical opportunity right now to make sure the effects on wildlife, habitat, and climate change are included in the final review. Our wildlife and future generations are depending on it.

Plover nests usually contains three tiny eggs, which are camouflaged to look like sand and are extremely difficult to see. Photo: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region.

Historically, western snowy plovers were widely distributed along the Pacific coast, but in recent years their populations have steeply declined and they are now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and endangered by Washington State. Climate change is placing these and other beach-nesting birds in further jeopardy, as rising sea levels threaten to inundate their habitat.

Today, Washington’s only population of western snowy plovers nest along a 60-mile stretch of ocean beach in the Seashore Conservation Area, extending from the mouth of the Columbia River to the southern boundary of the Quinault Indian Reservation—an area managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.  But severe budget shortfalls are making it increasingly difficult for State Parks to continue their important work—placing plovers and many more wildlife in peril.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Lisa Lantz, Stewardship Program Manager at the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, who has worked with western snowy plovers for more than 11 years:

What do you see as the biggest threats to the survival and recovery of western snowy plovers?

Habitat loss is the biggest threat. When you visit our beaches, you see a series of dunes, but those did not historically form here. In the early 20^th century, the Natural Resources Conservation Service introduced non-native invasive plants, including European beachgrass, to bind the sand and form the dunes. This caused loss of habitat for snowy plovers, which need unvegetated, open sand above high tide for nesting.

Human activities such as jogging, running pets, and kite flying can frighten plovers and destroy nests, which are very difficult to see. These disturbances, along with garbage left on the beaches which attracts nest predators such as crows and ravens, are key factors in the ongoing decline in breeding sites and populations.

What are the conservation efforts that State Parks is working on to protect western snowy plovers?

For the last decade, State Parks has worked cooperatively with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to recover and protect western snowy plovers. We have been posting signs and putting up fencing in nesting areas, which are effective in discouraging people from disturbing important habitat for plovers.

We’ve also recently begun restoration work that includes removing invasive dune grasses that encroach upon the open sandy areas plovers need for nesting.

How have budget cuts already impacted State Parks’ work and what impacts would further cuts have?

Some of our Beach Ranger positions have already been eliminated and we expect to see additional staff reductions and potentially closure of some parks unless we receive funding to support our core operations. Beach Rangers are critical to restoring and protecting plover nests, educating the public, and organizing volunteer efforts. Without additional support, we cannot maintain our parks, which will have a cascading effect on our natural resources and wildlife throughout the state.

The work to protect and recover western snowy plovers is just one example of many important services that State Parks provides all across the state. But without adequate funding for the agency to continue their work, these unique habitats and species are at risk of disappearing forever.

Live in Washington? Help protect western snowy plovers by urging your state legislators to support critical funding for Washington’s state parks.

Can’t be in Washington, DC for the “Forward on Climate” rally? No problem!

Thanks to a tool called Thunderclap, you can join this nationwide display of solidarity on social media by clicking here.

Your message will be compiled with thousands of others from across the country, and automatically delivered to the President as the rally begins at noon on February 17th. Together, we’ll echo the stream of signs people will be carrying down the National Mall with this clear and undeniable message, amplified across the internet:

“I call on @BarackObama to move #ForwardOnClimate. Pls RT & watch the largest rally for climate action live: http://forwardonclimate.org”

One of the most immediate actions President Obama can take is to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline—a project that would drive production of tar sands oil in Canada, which has three to four times the carbon footprint of other oil produced in North America. In addition to fueling climate change that is melting sea ice for polar bears in the Arctic, the expansion of tar sands in Canada is pushing entire herds of caribou to extinction as their forest habitat is destroyed.

Rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is the first step for the climate, but it must be followed by many more—including critical federal standards to limit carbon pollution from our nation’s dirty power plants. Together, we can deliver a clear message to President Obama that Americans from coast to coast are ready to chart the course for a cleaner energy future.

Join the “Forward on Climate” rally online to be the voice for polar bears, caribou and many more wildlife!

Note: When you get to the website, just click “Support with Twitter” or “Support with Facebook” and follow the steps to accept the permission request. The application will only post one message on your behalf and you can opt out at any time.