Three Years Later, Panhandle Leaders Say Gulf Restoration Could Be Economic Boon

Anchor-handling tugboats battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

For more information on the state of the Gulf, check out the report Restoring A Degraded Gulf of Mexico.

Three Years Later: BP Still Needs to be Held Accountable

April 18-Three years ago, on April 20, the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and killed 11 workers. Two days later, the rig sank. Before BP finally capped the well, months later, 206 million gallons of oil had been released along with huge quantities of hydrocarbon gases.

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

“Nearly three years later, the impacts of the Gulf oil disaster continue to unfold. Dolphins and sea turtles are still dying in high numbers. Just this month scientists announced the spill’s underwater oil plume caused a massive die-off of creatures at the base of the Gulf’s food web. It’s clear that we will not know the full fallout from the disaster for years.

“BP needs to be held fully accountable. The outcome of the ongoing trial must send an unmistakable signal to every oil company that cutting corners on safety is simply not a smart thing to do.

For more on the Gulf 3 year mark, check out the blog Deepwater Horizon: The Disaster that Keeps on Harming.

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

Mike Bryan, CEO of BBI Biofuels, criticizes a recent study by researchers at South Dakota State University, which found that more than 1.3 million acres of grassland were converted to corn and soybean fields between 2006 and 2011, the highest rate of grassland conversion in the U.S. Corn Belt since the 1930s. In their study, Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly used a geographic information system to analyze USDA data based on satellite imagery, and found that many types of grasslands are being plowed up and converted to cropland — mostly to plant more corn.

Bryan writes about the loss of grasslands as if they are no more important than the grass on his lawn. But grassland loss is no joke for grassland wildlife. In addition to reducing habitat, converting grasslands to cropland increases soil erosion and surface runoff. Once prairie is plowed, restoration efforts can only regain a fraction of the land’s original ecological function. Restoring native prairie is difficult and expensive, and research shows that the habitat quality can never be fully restored.

“Grasslands to cashlands?” Tell that to this black-footed ferret. Corn fields don’t make good wildlife habitat. Photo: J. Michael Lockhart, US Fish & Wildlife Service, via flickr

What’s behind this plow-up? High corn prices, driven in part because about 40% of the country’s corn crop is being used to produce about 13-14 billion gallons of ethanol every year. Experts estimate that 20-30% of the high price of corn is due to the ethanol market.

The plowup and increased corn plantings also crowd out a future with better biofuels. As Wright and Wimberly put it, “the window of opportunity for realizing the benefits of a biofuel industry based on perennial bioenergy crops, rather than corn ethanol and soy biodiesel, may be closing in the Western Corn Belt.” The study suggests we need to be moving to greater production of cellulosic ethanol that utilizes native mixed-grass species as a feedstock, and wouldn’t require converting grasslands to plowed rows of corn or soy.

NWF supports biomass sources that minimize impacts to habitats and biodiversity. Corn ethanol, especially when its cultivation crowds out wildlife and leads to the plowing up of remaining prairies, has increasingly serious impacts that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

NWF hails reintroduction of legislation conserving Colorado’s San Juan Mountains

February 15-Colorado Sen. Mark Udall’s reintroduction of a bill that would conserve about 61,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado is welcome news to hunters and anglers, said John Gale of the National Wildlife Federation.

The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, reintroduced Thursday, would protect important fish and wildlife habitat, watersheds and hunting, fishing and recreation areas in San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties.

“Sportsmen have been strong supporters of this legislation from the start. The bill has wide, grassroots support and was developed from the ground up,’’ said Gale, NWF’s regional representative. “The National Wildlife Federation applauds Sen. Udall for his foresight in protecting one of the region’s most iconic places to hunt and fish.”

House “Sodsaver” Measure Would Protect Native Prairie Habitat

February 14-Representatives Noem (R-SD) and Walz (D-MN) today introduced legislation to save America’s grasslands through a national sodsaver provision. The Protect Our Prairies Act, which has the support of eight bipartisan co-sponsors, is common-sense legislation that would reduce taxpayer-funded incentives to destroy vital grassland resources.

Aviva Glaser, Legislative Representative for Agriculture Policy at National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“America is at risk of losing one our most iconic ecosystems. Native prairies, along with the wildlife that are dependent upon them, are disappearing at an alarming rate.”

To learn more about Sodsaver, read our Sodsaver Factsheet (pdf).

Obama Outlines Bipartisan Path to Climate Action

February 12-President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address tonight, issuing a strong call to action on climate change. “For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change,” said President Obama. “The good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth.”

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

“President Obama made it clear tonight that we need to confront the climate crisis – but that he hasn’t given up on reaching across party lines to forge a bipartisan solution. The climate-fueled extreme weather that’s battered America from Cape May to Waldo Canyon has destroyed Democratic and Republican homes and businesses with equal malice.

For more on the Climate Crisis, check out the report: Wildlife in a Warming World 

Porpoises Make Amazing Return to the San Francisco Bay, Need Help from Citizen Scientists

February 12-After a sixty-five year absence, porpoises have made an amazing return to the San Francisco Bay. To celebrate this success and to ensure the marine mammal’s continued residence in the Bay, National Wildlife Federation and Golden Gate Cetacean Research have partnered on a “Return of the Porpoise to San Francisco Bay” campaign.

Sightings of harbor porpoises have recently delighted visitors to and residents of San Francisco, yet most do not realize the significance of seeing this animal in the Bay.

“The return of porpoises to the San Francisco Bay tells us that the ecosystem is healthier than it has been in a long time,” said Beth Pratt, California Director for the National Wildlife Federation.

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.sfbayporpoises.org.

Tester Bill “A Win-Win” for Clean Energy, Public Lands

February 11-Conservation and clean energy leaders today welcomed the reintroduction of the Public Lands and Renewable Energy Development Act of 2013, championed by Montana Senator Jon Tester, Nevada Senator Dean Heller, Idaho Senator Jim Risch and bipartisan champions in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would create the framework for more efficient, responsible renewable energy development on public lands and would strategically direct the revenue from development to pay back local communities, fish and wildlife resources, and hunting and angling access potentially impacted by this clean energy development.

“This is a win-win strategy to facilitate needed renewable energy development on suitable public lands,” said Tom France, Senior Director of Western Wildlife Conservation of the National Wildlife Federation’s Rocky Mountains and Prairies Regional Center. “This bill works because it balances the need to expand our renewable energy base and still protect key fish and wildlife habitats.”

Learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s work to promote safe development of renewable energy on public lands.

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• The Washington Post: Farmers, environmentalists await seventh analysis of 60-year-old Mississippi levee plan
• The Washington Post: Climate change could burn a hole in the government’s finances, GAO says
• Reuters: Pressure builds for Keystone decision after Obama speech
• The Voice: Columbus Township property certified as Wildlife Habitat
• Great Falls Tribune:  Beetle Outbreak worst ever, professor says
• North Andover Citizen: North Andover Wildlife Team forms
• sctimes.com: Groups Rally behind benefits of recess
• YNN: App Wrap: “Ranger Rick’s Treehouse,” “GeoDash”
• The Times and Democrat: Making the most of the wind
• dallasnews.com: Water experts weigh in on financing, project priority
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Obama must act on climate change
• The Mercury: Global warming effects on the planet

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

Koontz’s suit ignores the public’s strong interest in wetlands protection and the state and federal laws protecting that public interest.  It is critically important for people and wildlife that the Court does not, and that the Supreme Court justices understand and respect the public’s strong interest in wetlands protection and the state and federal laws protecting that public interest.

A white heron with a tiny catch. Flickr photo by Marc Banks.

What the Science Says

The real “friends of the Court” on whose behalf this brief was written are distinguished wetland scientists, academics, and professionals who are former members of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Mitigating Wetland Losses. Their 2001 NRC report, “Compensating for Wetland Losses under the Clean Water Act,” concluded that the widely accepted policy goal of “no net loss” of wetlands was not being achieved. The report recommended policy reforms to ensure that permit conditions reflect a tight nexus between wetland functions lost as the result of permitted activity and wetland functions gained through compensatory mitigation projects.

In our brief, and in our on-going wetlands work, we emphasize:

• Wetlands provide essential ecosystem services and economic value to people, businesses, and communities. These ecosystem services include improving water quality, providing flood control and coastal storm mitigation, supporting fish, shellfish, avian, and other wildlife populations, and sequestering climate-harming carbon.
• The destruction and degradation of wetlands trigger a cumulative loss of wetland functions and services, harming people, communities, and wildlife.
• Consequently, “no net loss” of wetland function is a widely accepted objective of federal and state water law.
• To achieve “no net loss,” wetland impacts must be avoided and minimized to the extent practicable. Any remaining impacts should then be eliminated or offset through compensatory mitigation projects: restoration, enhancement, creation, and/or preservation of other wetlands.
• There must be a tight nexus between wetland functions lost due to permitted activity and wetland functions to be gained through wetland mitigation in order to achieve “no net loss” of wetland functions and services and protect the public’s interest in the water quality, flood protection, and fish and wildlife habitat services that wetlands provide.

Wetland scientist Joy B. Zedler, past chair of the NRC Committee on Mitigating Wetland Losses, sums it up best: “There is no excuse to continue to allow wetland losses, now that we know how effective wetlands are in providing clean water and other essential services.”

The wetland scientists have spoken. Let’s hope the Supreme Court will listen.

Sen. Tom Carper with NWF's Brenda Archambo

Across America, hunters and anglers contribute more than $10 billion to fish and wildlife conservation, and in a typical year pump another $75 billion into the economy.

The EPA is acting now to limit carbon pollution. They need to hear from you that Americans support limits on carbon pollution to protect wildlife at risk.

Archambo Testifies in U.S. Senate Subcommittee

Click here to view the embedded video.

Positive Action on Industrial Carbon Pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent action to crack down on mercury pollution from power plants coupled with the proposed first-ever national limits on industrial carbon pollution is a milestone in the fight to rein in air pollution that is causing a warming climate that seriously threatens people and wildlife. These actions will provide certainty to businesses and investors, spur innovation and deployment of clean technologies, and help to ignite the revitalization of our manufacturing sector.

In addition to the threat of climate change to game species, sportsmen and women like me are particularly concerned about mercury. This harmful air toxic settles from the air onto our lakes, rivers, and forests, polluting the environment and accumulating up the food chain as fish and wildlife consume the contamination. This is a game changer that directly affects many species which are revered as part of our state’s angling, hunting and conservation heritage.

Last December, over 14,000 Michigan conservationists participated in a tele-town forum on the impacts of mercury pollution and the importance of the Environmental Protection Agency’s EPA’s new mercury and air toxics standards to protect our nation’s people and wildlife. The extent and effects of mercury pollution in the Great Lakes region is an issue of going concern among sportsman as there are over 204 fish consumption advisories in Michigan.

Take Action for Wildlife

Please, join me today to help create a better future for wildlife by sending a message to the EPA in support of limits to industrial carbon pollution and ensure that the legacy we leave our children is a clean and healthy planet.

Clearly, I’m not alone in seeing this atypical pattern. A recent study found that the mild winter has set the clock ahead for nesting season throughout much of the nation. And that means many of us could have a treasure trove of some of nature’s finest eggs hidden in our yards this holiday.

Not Your Typical Eggs

Ostrich and Egg by Janet Gatto

As these two species demonstrate, egg size usually is related to the size of the bird that lays it. But there are exceptions. New Zealand’s kiwi, for example, is only half as big as a white pelican, but its egg is several times larger than the pelican’s. A kiwi egg equals about a fourth of its parent’s body weight, which explains a female’s enormous belly during the gestation period and the egg’s strange, oblong shape. If the egg was round, the bird could not lay it.

Welcoming Birds to Your Home

Bluebird Eggs by Kathy Grant

And while you’re at it, take lots of photos of the wildlife that you entice to your yard and see elsewhere, and then submit your favorite images to National Wildlife’s 42nd Annual Photo Contest. The deadline is July 16, so there’s still plenty of time to enter. This year’s competition features some great prizes and you can submit photos in seven categories, including one devoted just to birds and another to baby animals. Happy bird—and egg—watching this Easter!

You can create a haven for wildlife in your own backyard and have it designated as an official Certified Wildlife Habitat^® site today!>>

It’s also the reason that I came to work for the National Wildlife Federation in 1986.

In 1974, I was 17 and a senior in high school. A National Wildlife Week poster was distributed to our school, and I fell in love – right then, right there – with both the gray wolf and the thought that as an individual, I could actually do something about endangered species and other conservation issues.

My major in college was Biology, but I actually started working in the business field after school. I moved back to northern Virginia (where NWF’s headquarters is located) when I got married, and after a few years of somewhat interesting, but not really challenging, work in the private sector, I applied for a job at NWF in 1986.

I loved what NWF did and stood for, and I thought, “How cool it would be to be able to actually work there?” When I came in for my interview, you won’t believe what I saw! In the hallway leading to the lobby, there was a National Wildlife Week poster from every year hanging on the walls. The one that caught my eye, of course, was my old friend, the gray wolf. It was like his eyes were telling me, “Welcome home – where’ve you been?”

I got the job at NWF, and have loved every minute since. After I’d been at NWF for about 10 years, we had a brown bag lunch, which is where one of our staff gives a presentation on a specific topic. On that day, Tom Dougherty, our Missoula, MT office director at the time, was in the office with a live wolf! I could barely contain myself! As I sat through a wonderful presentation on the reintroduction efforts of the endangered gray wolf to its native lands, I remember thinking to myself that this was a perfect example of the importance of the National Wildlife Federation’s work.

At least 25 years had gone by between the time of the 1974 National Wildlife Week poster and when wolf reintroduction occurred, and it really brought home to me that one of the strengths of NWF is its constancy and “never give up” attitude, especially when it comes to safeguarding wildlife and habitat, and educating people about the importance of doing so.

I am so incredibly lucky – I get to live my dream of helping to make the world a little better place, and I’m so very proud to work at the National Wildlife Federation. My wish is that every kid, parent, and citizen can be inspired by the National Wildlife Week posters, themes, or activities, and take an action that makes a difference for us all.

Celebrating National Wildlife Week

• Visit this year’s National Wildlife Week website for educational materials, posters, trading cards, and other wildlife fun.
• Help support National Wildlife Federation’s conservation and education work through the National Wildlife Week Razoo cause.

Painted buntings depend on grasslands and brushy shrubs for their survival./ Photo by Robert Cameron

All of these birds have one thing in common: their dependence on grasslands and brushy shrubs for their survival. Habitat for these birds is not as common as it once was but fortunately for Missourians, the Missouri Conservation Commission is working hard throughout the entire state to reverse the downward population trend of these species by restoring and creating lasting habitat.

For the past 75 years, Missouri’s forests, fish and wildlife have been successfully managed, conserved and restored with the guidance and input of a four person Conservation Commission. The constitutional amendment creating this Commission was approved by a 71% affirmative vote, one of the largest margins by which any amendment to the state constitution has ever passed. And a recent survey indicated that 73% of Missourians believe that the Conservation Commission is doing a good job. The design of the Conservation Commission has been envied by state agencies throughout the country because each commissioner, working together, serves to represent the best interests of forests, fish and wildlife throughout the entire state, instead of focusing on regional or political issues.

Unfortunately, the amendment creating the commission is now being threatened. The proposed legislation would expand the commission to eight individuals and designate a specific region to each Commissioner rather each person representing the entire state. This would immediately inject regional interests and political favoritism into conservation resulting in decisions being made because of political purposes and not for the benefit of Missouri’s forests, fish and wildlife.

Habitat restoration and protection is only one example of the responsibility of the Missouri Conservation Commission and it must remain a statewide focus in order to improve and sustain wildlife populations throughout Missouri. The only way for Missouri to continue its 75 year history of conservation success is by maintaining a tried and true system established so many years ago.

Follow in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and SPEAK UP! Join with the Conservation Federation of Missouri and National Wildlife Federation to tell the politicians in Missouri that conservation is important to you … and, in fact, to all Missourians.  Tell them to leave the authority of the agency ALONE.  Tell them to stop trying to fix something which is not broken!  Call your Missouri state senator and representative immediately and ask them to keep politics out of conservation!

This proposed legislation is being considered NOW! Contact your Missouri state Senator and Representative today.

Manual labor was not in my plans when I signed up to attend a field trip for my conservation biology class to the Ives Road Fen in Tecumseh, MI. It was an opportunity to experience a fen, which is a rare type of wetland that is fed by mineral rich waters and home to a range of wildlife and plants. I was excited to see this rich habitat that was thriving only 45 minutes out of downtown Ann Arbor, MI.

It came as a shock when I realized the large impact invasive species have had on the fen. Even more of a surprise was hearing that I was expected to help remove the tough and invasive autumn olive plants.

When all is said and done however, I’m glad for the experience helping remove invasive species. It really drove home the impact of invasive species to me in a way that a textbook never could.

Books might mention that invasive species have the capability to dominate an ecosystem and wipe out native species, but when you see firsthand how stark and desolate the land is where invasive species have been eradicated the effect is much more powerful. We were in the middle of a remarkable fen ecosystem with hundreds of different species, yet the place where autumn olive had invaded was was now completely barren ground.

I may not have planned on manual labor, nor was I thrilled at having it sprung upon me, but I do plan on returning and bringing others with me to help eradicate autumn olive.

If the work that we did on one Saturday afternoon can help bring back the life and vitality of the fen to that desolate spot then it was entirely worth it.

Any positive action– one day of pulling and hacking invasive species or participating in the cleanup of a small local stream– can have a profound impact on restoring local ecosystems. No action is too small, and I encourage everyone to get involved in whatever way they can to help restore local wildlife habitat.

Steffenie Widows is a native of Orlando, Florida, where she received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Rollins College. A few years ago, she moved to Madison,Wisconsin, to pursue a Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, Steffenie is working to publish results of her research and pursuing funding to start a PhD in the field of wildlife ecology. She recently shared with us the following summary of her Master’s research.

As a Masters Degree candidate in the Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my research evaluated the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat^® program. The main objective of my research project was to determine if yards certified by NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat^® program offered wildlife habitat not available in non-certified yards in the same neighborhood.

Gardens certified by the National Wildlife Federation as wildlife habitat

My project focused on neighborhoods within the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area, covering both Orange and Seminole Counties. I visited:

• 50 certified yards
• 50 neighboring, non-certified yards
• 50 randomly selected non-adjacent, non-certified yards in the same neighborhood.

To evaluate the yards, I used an ecological check-list to determine the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat in each yard. Based on the results of my study, there were significant differences between both the quantity and quality of habitat found in certified versus non-certified yards.  These differences were observed in all of the key habitat components (food, water, shelter) outlined in the certification program. Yards certified in the program offer wildlife habitat that is not available in non-certified yards.

Yards not certified by NWF

However, to improve the Certified Wildlife Habitat program, it is essential that neighbors talk to each other and influence other neighbors to create more certified yards in their neighborhoods. The more wildlife habitat in suburban areas the better! Additional details about my research will be featured in an upcoming issue of National Wildlife magazine.

Photos courtesy Steffenie Widows