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.

“Gina McCarthy has already been approved once by the Senate and since then has only strengthened her record as a non-partisan voice for sensible reductions in pollution to protect America’s wildlife, clean air and water, and public health,”  says Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. ”The full Senate should give her a clean vote as soon as possible. We’ve already wasted enough time watching polluter allies play political games with her confirmation process.”

The protest by polluter allies on the committee didn’t win them any friends. Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator under President George W. Bush, told Amy Harder of National Journal, “They looked like sore losers when they walked out the way they did.”

Learn more about Gina McCarthy and her work to protect wildlife and connect children with nature at StandWithGina.com.

Tell your senators you support Gina McCarthy to serve as America’s next Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

A pair of bald eaglets in West Newbury, MA (MA Energy & Environmental Affairs on Flickr)

Success Story

First, the good news. Massachusetts announced this week that bald eagles, once completely wiped out in the state, are now soaring to a strong comeback:

Officials from the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) verified 30 active nests in the Commonwealth, including eight nests along the Connecticut River, six at the Quabbin Reservoir and four along the Merrimack River during Massachusetts’ first Bald Eagle nesting survey. The survey, coordinated by the DFG’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) and involving agency staff and 35 volunteers, was conducted on April 5, 2013.

In addition to the principal bald eagle nesting territories along the Connecticut and Merrimack rivers and at Quabbin Reservoir, other active nests were observed at Wachusett Reservoir, and in the towns of Framingham, Brookfield, Pittsfield, Webster, Middleborough, Fall River and Plymouth. One nest failure was reported at Assawompsett Pond in Lakeville, where the wind blew a nest and two eggs out of the nest tree in early April. Additional eagle sightings were reported in Arlington, Carver, Lunenburg, Russell, Sandisfield and along the Housatonic River.

Bald eagles, the largest bird of prey native to Massachusetts with a body length of about 3 feet and a wingspan of up to seven feet, have increased in numbers in Massachusetts since being reintroduced to the Quabbin Reservoir between 1982 and 1988. The species was down listed from Endangered to Threatened status in Massachusetts in 2011 and removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007.

To report a bald eagle sighting in Massachusetts, email the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program natural.heritage@state.ma.us.

Mercury’s Threat to Bald Eagles

Bald eagles, our national symbol & once common across North America, were pushed to the brink of extinction by the pesticide DDT, pollution from heavy metals like mercury, hunting, habitat loss, and other factors. While we stopped using DDT, banned hunting, and restored what Aldo Leopold called our land ethic, mercury pollution remains a major threat to bald eagles.

Heavy metals are emitted through the burning of fossil fuels and are washed to our waterways, then bioaccumulate in predators at the top of the food chain:

• If a small fish eats 50 mercury contaminated plants.
• And a large fish eats 100 small fish
• And an eagle eats 100 large fish.
• 50 x 100 x 100 = 250,000. The concentration of mercury in the eagle is 250,000 times larger than it was in the plankton.

It’s not uncommon for sick bald eagles to test positive for mercury poisoning.

Presenting Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, with comments from NWF’s activists.

A Fighter for Wildlife

That’s why it’s so critical for America’s wildlife that Gina McCarthy is confirmed as Environmental Protection Agency administrator as soon as possible. She has a long track record of experience limiting mercury pollution at both the state and federal levels, working for both Democrats and Republicans. Appointed by Gov. William Weld (R-MA) to be executive director of the administrative council at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, McCarthy ran the nation’s largest pollution prevention program, called the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Program.

Then working as head of the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air and Radiation, McCarthy oversaw development of the new Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) setting emission limits for power plants in order to reduce mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution. The MATS rule will not only protect wildlife, it will deliver huge public health benefits for Americans, preventing up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks every single year.

But polluter allies in Congress are working hard to block Gina McCarthy’s confirmation. Republicans on the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee refused to even show up for a vote, delaying McCarthy’s confirmation indefinitely. “Given Gina McCarthy’s long record of non-partisan public service, it’s inexcusable for her nomination to be politicized by senators prioritizing industrial polluters over public health protection,” said Larry Schweiger, president & CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. Some of those senators did, however, make time that same morning for fundraisers with lobbyists for big polluters like BP & Exxon Mobil.

Ask your senators to protect wildlife by giving Gina McCarthy a clean vote.

Coming on Earth Day, it’s welcome news that the agency is trying to protect Americans and wildlife from a huge mistake.

A blue heron covered in tar sands oil from the Kalamazoo River pipeline disaster (Photo: Michigan DEQ)

This isn’t a new position for EPA — at several key points during the Keystone XL saga, officials have made it clear that their colleagues at the State Department need to go back to the drawing board. Partly, this is due to the fact that State isn’t used to leading big environmental studies; it’s only a quirk of the system that put them in charge of Keystone. But with a decision this important, with so much riding on a thorough analysis, we can’t afford growing pains.

Americans speak out

In addition to the environmental review, the government is also conducting something called a “National Interest Determination,” which will help decide whether or not Keystone is a good idea, based not just on environmental factors but also on things like diplomacy, energy security, and jobs (or lack thereof). Americans are already letting the White House know what they think: on Tuesday, a coalition of conservation groups, indigenous peoples, public health advocates and landowners along the pipeline route will deliver over a million comments from the public opposing construction of this risky project.

As NWF’s Jim Murphy put it in the Los Angeles Times:

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s letter shows that despite multiple tries, the State Department is incapable of doing a proper analysis of the climate, wildlife, clean water, safety and other impacts of this disastrous and unneeded project. President Obama has more than enough information to determine the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is not in America’s national interest and he should reject it.”

President Obama gets to make the ultimate decision, but John Kerry (the U.S. Secretary of State) is a long-time champion against climate change, and could still sway his agency’s ultimate recognition. A million anti-Keystone comments, plus a timely assist from EPA, could tilt the balance in our favor.

Your donations make a big difference in our efforts to protect wildlife from habitat loss and the effects of global warming.

To learn more about Keystone XL and how you can help, visit NWF.org/tarsands

Susquehanna River. Flickr photo by Nicholas A. Tonelli.

The introduction of WRDA this year could be considered an accomplishment, but I completely disagree. Yes, it’s great that after five years Congress is finally initiating another WRDA. This bill offers an opportunity to improve Corps practices and protect taxpayers. Unfortunately, this bill does not adequately address the significant water resource challenges facing America. As with most things in life, the devil is in the details…

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Provisions

White ibises in the Turner River, in the Florida Everglades. Flickr photo by Chauncey Davis.

The most alarming provisions streamline the environmental review process (section 2032 and 2033), including reviews mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. Do not be fooled by this terminology, ‘streamlining’ in this case does not imply efficiency.

These changes will actually make it harder to protect the environment and public safety by forcing resource agencies, such as the Corps and EPA, to wade through a bureaucratic nightmare every time they object to any element of a project.  These provisions are a clear attack on the critically important National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws.

Yes, more projects would get out the door, but how many environmentally destructive and wasteful projects would be rubber-stamped? If there isn’t meticulous and timely examination of Corps projects, we could jeopardize our nation’s water quality, floodplains, and vital fish and wildlife habitat. In the end, a policy that was designed to speed up the process and reduce costs could very well cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars to clean up the mess

Another disconcerting provision is Fish and Wildlife Mitigation (Sec. 2005) which creates a significant mitigation loophole by allowing the Secretary of theCorps to ignore an existing requirement to replace the right kind of habitat for wetlands and other resources damaged by Corps projects. The Corps continues to adopt mitigation plans that will not work, in part because they ignore expert recommendation made by federal and state fish and wildlife agencies. This section must be amended so that we use the expertise of resource agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and habitat.

How Can You Help?

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) spoke up at the March 20 WRDA vote expressing concerns about the provisions in the bill that would undermine critical environmental reviews. We applaud his efforts and hope that other congressional members follow his lead. Please join us today in thanking Senator Cardin on Twitter. His handle is @SenatorCardin and you can also use the hashtag #WRDA.

Here are some sample tweets:

• Thanks @SenatorCardin for standing up for #cleanwater, #wildlife, and people in #WRDA markup
• .@SenatorCardin champions the #environment in #WRDA markup. I stand with him!
• .@SenatorCardin: Keep standing strong & require full environmental reviews for Corps of Engineers projects in #WRDA
• Thanks @SenatorCardin for protecting endangered species at #WRDA markup.
• .@SenatorCardin protects Marylanders from harmful Army Corps projects at #WRDA markup.
• Thanks @SenatorCardin! Saving taxpayer $ and preventing environmentally bad #WRDA projects.

Feel free to make up your own personalized tweets, like, “Thanks to @SenatorCardin for standing up for water and wildlife at #WRDA markup.” Just a few minutes of your time here will go a long way!

What’s next?

Project and study acceleration provisions in this WRDA would create layers of bureaucratic red tape including paperwork, reviews, and fines that will pressure the resource agencies to quell legitimate objections to destructive projects.  Stakeholders across the nation rely on these resource agencies as key partners to prevent damaging and ill-conceived Corps projects from going forward.

As this bill makes its way to the Senate floor, we will be working to make sure that members of Congress realize the flaws and loopholes in this bill and rectify the many problems with it. This bill should protect our valuable water resources, not play Russian roulette with them.

A small cascade along the Pemigewasset River in Franconia Notch State Park. Photo by Avelino Maestas.

To reverse this water quality degradation in our rivers, lakes, and bays, we must protect and restore the millions of small streams and wetlands that store and filter pollutants upstream, before they enter major waterways. Office of Water Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner put it best in announcing the study results (emphasis added):

 “The health of our Nation’s rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters depends on the vast network of streams where they begin, and this new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure.” As she went on to say, “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

These headwater streams and wetlands serve important ecological functions. They trap floodwaters, recharge groundwater supplies, filter pollutants, and provide fish and wildlife habitat. These streams and wetlands are also economic drivers because of their key role in providing agricultural and industrial water supplies, and support for fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor recreation and tourism industries. They also provide approximately 117 million people – one-third of the U.S. population – with some or all of their drinking water. Protecting these small streams and wetlands is essential to protecting downstream waters and the communities and economies that depend on them.

It is of the utmost importance for these waters to be protected now!

What’s truly in jeopardy?

About 60 percent of stream miles in the continental U.S. only flow seasonally or after rain. Approximately 20 percent of the wetlands – roughly 20 million acres – in the continental U.S. are not visibly connected to other waterways but have critical groundwater connections and provide many other benefits.

These streams and wetlands are the very foundation of our nation’s water resources and are absolutely vital to the health of waterways and communities that are downstream. Because they are often small, unnamed, not on maps and not always wet, these streams and wetlands are very vulnerable. With each mile of stream and acre of wetland destroyed, we are losing critical resources we depend on.

Next Steps

Last February, the Obama Administration was poised to issue its final Clean Water Act guidance, which will clarify protections for millions of wetland acres and stream miles. Then, suddenly, progress stalled at the White House. A process that should have taken 60 days has gone on more than a year! These guidelines are crucial for at-risk wetlands and streams to regain critical protections from polluters and developers.

Now more than ever, we must encourage officials to protect our iconic waters and important tributaries. Contact the Obama Administration today>>

NWF Celebrates New Certified Sustainable Biofuel Flight Route Across The Atlantic

March 8 – The National Wildlife Federation and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) are pleased to announce a milestone in the sustainable biofuels industry and commercial air travel. A new KLM Royal Dutch Airlines route between Amsterdam and New York’s JFK is the first ever to use RSB certified fuel.

The fuel is supplied by SkyNRG, the first worldwide biofuel operator to achieve the RSB certification for their entire supply chain—“from feedstock to flight.” SkyNRG is the only fuel operator that can supply sustainable jet fuel into wing at any airport in the world. The inaugural flight and this new RSB biofuels route demonstrate that there is a market for next generation sustainable biofuels.

NWF: EPA Nominee a Strong Advocate for America’s Conservation Heritage

March 4 – President Barack Obama will reportedly nominate Gina McCarthy to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy is currently Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“Gina McCarthy has decades of experience working across party lines with officials at the local, state and federal levels to protect our air, water, wildlife, public health and the jobs that depend on them. Whether as serving as Mitt Romney’s top environmental advisor or as the key broker of a historic agreement between unions, industry, states and environmental groups to boost fuel economy, Gina McCarthy has proven herself to be fair and pragmatic while determined to carry out her responsibilities under the law.

A New Frontier for Sustainable Style

Each of the sustainable leather bags comes with its own Passport, detailing the products sustainable credentials and traceability.

The GCC, Gucci and the NWF have worked to create an exemplary supply chain that ensures all Brazilian cow hides for the line are legally produced from the Amazon region of Brazil and do not cause deforestation. Each Gucci for the Green Carpet Challenge bag carries a passport containing the precise history of the chain of supply, from the birth of the cow to the beautiful final product. The bags are made using leather from cattle ranches that have achieved Rainforest Alliance certification, covering environmental and social justice criteria as well as the ethical treatment of cattle. The range becomes the first ever leather line to achieve this.

• For more, read our blog post: “Gucci Goes Green at Paris Fashion Week“

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• Politico: Jewell nomination hearing today
• Arizona Daily Star: Town of Ajo is awarded wildlife-friendly title
• The Melissa Harris Perry Show (MSNBC): BP Put on Trial 3 Years Later 
• E! Online: Gucci Launches Sustainable Line of Luxury Handbags
• New York Live: Exotic Animals with David Mizejewski & The National Wildlife Federation
• Associated Press:  Advocates ask Congress to spare Great Lakes funds
• Times Picayune: New Orleans, state officials and National Wildlife Federation to discuss spending BP oil spill money on coastal issues
• Columbus Dispatch: National Wildlife Week, March 18-24, Celebrates Branching Out for Wildlife

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson addresses reporters during Great Lakes Week, October 2011 (Photo: Celia Haven)

During her tenure, the administration finalized a new rule doubling fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. The requirements will be phased in over 13 years and eventually require all new vehicles to average 54.5 mpg, up from 28.6 mpg at the end of last year.

She shepherded another rule that forces power plants to control mercury and other toxic pollutants for the first time. Previously, the nation’s coal- and oil-fired power plants had been allowed to run without addressing their full environmental and public health costs.

Jackson also helped persuade the administration to table the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought carbon-heavy tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.

“Administrator Jackson has been one of the most effective leaders in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency. Her legacy will be cleaner air for all Americans, and she has set the Environmental Protection Agency on a new course to tackle climate change by establishing the first standards to reduce carbon pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes,” Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today. ”We thank her for her exceptional service and wish her well.”

Who might President Barack Obama nominate to follow Jackson as the next EPA administrator? The Houston Chronicle’s Jennifer Dlouhy has a rundown of the top candidates.

Delivery of hundreds of thousands of messages in April, 2012, as they continued to pour into the Environmental Protection Agency.

Support Heating Up for Wildlife

Over the past few months, over three million people officially voiced their support for landmark first-ever limits on carbon pollution  from new coal-fired power plants.

The record-breaking number of messages to the Environmental Protection Agency is sending a strong message to our leaders that Americans want an end to the unlimited pollution that drives rising global temperatures with increasing negative impacts for our wildlife and our communities.

As the heat blazed across the country, National Wildlife Federation supporters have been taking action on solutions to global warming–voicing support for Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to limit carbon pollution, speaking at public hearings, and spreading the word to help more people protect wildlife.

Big Polluters Attack Environmental Protection Agency

The fight continues as Big Polluters fund members of Congress who are attempting to cripple the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect us from harmful carbon pollution.

With each new attack, National Wildlife Federation supporters have immediately spoken up for wildlife–contacting their legislators to urge action on global warming and giving generous donations to continue the campaign for wildlife.

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First-Ever Limits on Carbon from Coal-Fired Power

The first-ever rules on carbon pollution from new coal fired power plants are expected to be completed by the Environmental Protection Agency and approved by the Obama Administration this year. These ground-breaking carbon pollution limits pave the way for moving forward with limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants–the largest source of carbon pollution in the nation.

credit, Susanne Miller/USFWS

Throughout the Midwest, this summer’s heat waves fueled by climate change worsened summer temperatures in streams and rivers, driving them to impossibly high temperatures. Already, tens of thousands of fish have been reported dead–including sturgeon, bass, catfish and carp.

Reducing the carbon pollution that fuels global warming is necessary to ensure wildlife habitats do not become uninhabitable–giving hope to the future of polar bears, moose and fish.

Thanks for all you do for wildlife—keep up the great work!

TAKE ACTION BY JULY 23rd: Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to protect Bristol Bay’s grizzlies from Pebble mine. Photo: USFWS.

A: The Pebble gold and copper mine would be both an underground and open pit mine (click here to see amazing images of open pit mines from space)–about two miles wide and several thousand feet deep. Most of the rock removed from the pit will be waste rock, which often contains acid-generating sulfides, arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide. Once the minerals are processed and recovered, the remaining rock becomes another form of mining waste called tailings, which also can contain up to three dozen dangerous chemicals.

The Pebble mine will discharge up to 10 billion tons of these toxic tailings that will need to be stored forever behind massive earthen dams. The largest of the dams containing these toxic slurry lakes would be over 700 feet tall and 4 miles long.

Q: What makes Pebble mine so much more dangerous than other mines?

A: The Bristol Bay region in southwest Alaska–the proposed location of Pebble mine–is one of the worst places on earth for a mine (see some spectacular photos of Bristol Bay here). Remaining virtually undeveloped for thousands of years, this wildlife paradise is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run, as well as healthy populations of grizzly bears, wolves, moose, caribou and waterfowl.

Large copper mines are notorious for polluting waters while they are in operation, leaving the area toxic long after they are gone. If Pebble mine is built, toxic wastes will inevitably leak into surface and groundwater, causing serious pollution that threatens salmon and other wildlife. Plus, because Pebble mine would be built in one of the most active earthquake zones on earth, there’s a serious risk of the dams breaking and funneling massive amounts of mining pollution directly into the river systems.

Q: The mining industry may have gotten away with polluting our waters 20 to 30 years ago, but don’t they face stiffer penalties now?

A:  Mining practices have improved, but are far from perfect. Unfortunately,  two “loopholes” in the Clean Water Act  have allowed mine developers to circumvent the purpose of this critical law, making it common industry practice over the last 30 years for mines to dam up the nearest river valley and treat wetlands and streams impounded by the dam as a toxic waste dump. According to the EPA, the hard rock mining industry is the single largest source of toxic waste and one of the most destructive industries in the country.

One recent example is the Kensington mine in southeast Alaska, which was recently allowed to completely drain a beautiful alpine lake in the Tongass National Forest and fill it with mining waste–killing all fish and destroying the aquatic habitat.

Q: In these difficult economic times, shouldn’t we be careful about stopping mining projects?

A:  While discharging wastes into wetlands, streams and lakes may be convenient for mining companies, it is not a necessary way of doing business. By stopping mines from dumping their toxic wastes in our lakes, rivers, and wetlands, it’s possible to reduce some of the negative environmental impacts of hard rock mines without prohibiting all hard rock mining.

Controversial projects such as the proposed Pebble mine in Alaska, Montanore mine in Montana, PolyMet mine in northern Minnesota, Mt. Emmons mine in Colorado, Haile mine in South Carolina, and numerous existing mines in the West and Appalachia are relying on the Clean Water Act loopholes to cut costs and justify extensive environmental damage. What’s more, the public is generally on the hook for the clean-up of abandoned mines. It is estimated that there are a half million abandoned mines across the country and that taxpayers will have to pay $32 – $72 billion to clean up the sites.

Q: How can the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) affect development of the Pebble mine?

A: Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA can veto permits if the agency determines the discharge will have “unacceptable adverse impacts on water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas.”

Right now, the EPA is taking public comment on their assessment of impacts from large-scale mining on Bristol Bay–which highlights the significant threats from a project like Pebble mine–and they need to hear from you by July 23rd.  If we don’t speak up now, Pebble mine could devastate this wilderness paradise and the rich community of wildlife that calls it home.

Urge the EPA to protect grizzlies from Pebble mine!