Bill to Force Keystone Approval a Giveaway to Oil Companies

May 22- The U.S. House is set to vote this week on a bill by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) to shut down the review process and public comment, override protections for clean air and water, and force approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Despite more than 1 million comments from Americans asking the State Department to say no to Keystone XL, the bill is expected to pass by a wide margin.

“It’s the wrong approach to put a foreign energy company ahead of more than 1 million Americans who have expressed concern for our nation’s wildlife, energy security and public health,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “This bill is nothing more than an effort to run roughshod over protections for landowners, wildlife and drinking water supplies so that TransCanada can get oil to Gulf coast refineries for export to China and other countries.”

Read more about the Keystone XL pipeline here.

National Sportsman’s Group Urges Gulf Restoration Council to Prioritize Ecosystem Projects

May 22- Today, more than 350 hunting and fishing businesses and organizations sent a letter to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, asking that the Council prioritize restoration of the Gulf ecosystem in order to also achieve economic restoration in the region.

The Restoration Council is a multi-state, multi-agency group that has been tasked with developing a comprehensive ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf. The Council is currently developing the plan, with a draft due for public comment this spring.

Vanishing Paradise drafted the letter, which illustrated that hunting and fishing are major economic drivers in the Gulf and are supported by habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. In 2011, in the five Gulf states alone, nearly 8.5 million hunters and anglers spent $15.7 billion on their outdoor pursuits. This spending supports more than 255,000 jobs and generates $3.3 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

Read the letter here.

National Wildlife Federation names Maureen P. Smith Head of Marketing and Communications

May 21- The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has hired longtime entertainment industry executive and former conservation organization president, Maureen P. Smith, as its new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. In this role, Smith will be part of NWF’s executive leadership team and play a key role in a wide variety of areas throughout the organization and its programs, including: the global marketing and branding of NWF and its cherished mascot, Ranger Rick; internal and external communications; children’s publishing; digital products and online integration; consumer insight; and video and multi-media productions.

As the former top executive at Animal Planet, Fox Kids Network and Fox Family Channel, as well as at the non-profit Jane Goodall Institute, Smith brings to NWF years of experience in all aspects of communication and engagement; fundraising; developing and managing new revenue streams; and bringing the wonders and needs of the natural world to life – across a variety of media platforms and other consumer touchpoints.

“Bringing Maureen aboard is not only strategic, it is truly symbolic of NWF’s commitment to remaining the leading wildlife conservation-focused organization in America and to maximizing the impact of our voice and the voice of our members and affiliates – especially during these critical times for our environment,” said Jaime Matyas, NWF’s Chief Operating Officer.

National Wildlife Federation and National Aquarium Announce Plan to Certify Baltimore as the Largest Community Wildlife Habitat Along the Chesapeake Bay

May 20- For years, Baltimore has been known as “Birdland” and now, thanks to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the National Aquarium, it’s official. Today, First Lady of Maryland Katie O’Malley joined leaders from NWF, National Aquarium and city officials to launch a program aimed at greening city streets, backyards, schools and places of worship.

“We believe that your backyard can be a place for exploring and unleashing children’s curiosity,” said Hilary Harp Falk, Regional Executive Director for National Wildlife Federation. “Baltimore has always been a city for the birds, and we intend to work with partners in the City to create beautiful places which will offer opportunities to learn about and connect with the outdoors.”

By greening the city for birds, butterflies and other wildlife, residents of Baltimore will also help to improve both air and water quality for humans. The more native plantings that are used to attract wildlife, the greater potential the city has of reaching its Healthy Harbor goals and helping to clean the Chesapeake Bay.

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• NASDAQ:  National Wildlife Federation Rings The NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell
• Times-Picayune: Coastal restoration is the focus of “Coastal Conversations” series in French Quarter
• CBS Denver: Udall seeks feedback on proposed monument
• Billings Gazette: Guest opinion: Good FWP planning can help resolve bison battles
• Deseret News: Lessons from the garden: Growing great kids, relationships

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

Sportsmen Share Priorities With New Interior Chief

April 10 – A national sportsmen’s coalition looks forward to working with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on continuing the important job of restoring balance to public-lands management and implementing oil and gas leasing reforms started by her predecessor.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development congratulated Jewell on her confirmation by the U.S. Senate Wednesday and urged her to provide strong leadership to conserve clean air and water, fish and wildlife habitat and preserve the public-lands legacy that has helped shape the nation’s economy and identity.

“SFRED and millions of sportsmen believe in responsible development of energy resources on our multiple use public lands. We are not, however, willing to sacrifice fish and wildlife habitat, populations, water resources, and recreational opportunities to poorly planned development,” the CEOs and presidents of the coalition’s three lead partners wrote in an April 10 letter to Jewell.

The letter lists the coalition’s top six priorities and was signed by Larry Schweiger of the National Wildlife Federation, Whit Fosburgh of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Chris Wood of Trout Unlimited.

NWF: EPA’s McCarthy Deserves Fair Hearing, Clean Confirmation

April 10 – With the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee set to hold a hearing on the nomination of Gina McCarthy as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator on Thursday, the National Wildlife Federation urges a fair hearing and clean up-or-down confirmation vote.

“The Environmental Protection Agency will need her leadership as it continues working to confront the climate crisis,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “While President Obama has made clear that he prefers to work with Congress to find bipartisan compromise on climate action, in the face of Congress’ continued failure to act meaningfully on climate change, it’s essential that the Environmental Protection Agency uses its Clean Air Act authority to finalize and implement limits on industrial carbon pollution.”

The National Wildlife Federation began an online campaign in key states on Monday urging U.S. Senate to support the clean water concerns of sportsmen and confirm McCarthy, part of a coalition campaign going online in 11 states. The ads read:

Clean water matters to [state]. It drives our economy and defines our values. No wonder 79% of sportsmen support the Clean Water Act. Tell Senator XX to stand strong for sportsmen and support Gina McCarthy for EPA.

• Click here to learn more about NWF’s efforts to advocate for wildlife-friendly renewable energy.

Water Bill Guts Environmental Review of Corps Projects

April 9 -  Fifty law professors from across the country have signed onto a letter asking for the removal of two provisions in the current version of the Water Resources Development Act that prevent effective environmental reviews of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposals.

“I have always considered Senator Boxer a friend to the environment and I’m shocked she would put her name on this bill,” said Holly Doremus, a professor of Environmental Regulation at the University of California–Berkeley School of Law. “The bill as it stands would allow the Corps to do an end-run around careful environmental review.”

This bill was co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA). The almost 300-page bill was introduced just three weeks ago on a Friday evening and voted on by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the following Wednesday. The full Senate could vote on the bill as early as Thursday.

“The history of the Corps water program has all too often been a story of taxpayer dollars being poured into projects with greatly exaggerated benefits and massively underestimated costs,” said Zygmunt J.B. Plater, a law professor at Boston College. “As written, this bill puts the fox in charge of the hen house. If the bill passes, we’ll see even more taxpayer dollars sunk into dysfunctional projects that hurt the national interest.”

• Read the full letter here.

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• Associated Press- Group: Dolphin, turtle deaths a sign of sick Gulf
• First Business News- Interview with Sara Gonzalez-Rothi
• Roll Call- Oil Pipeline Break Refocuses Keystone Debate on Risks of Spills
• The Hill- Green group ads urge vulnerable lawmakers to back EPA pick
• The Christian Science Monitor- What is killing California sea lion pups?
• Hawaii News Nows- Let Your Kids Have Fun in the Sun (and Rain)
• Baton Rouge Advocate – 3 years later, oil leak effects still unfolding
• Houston Chronicle’s Fuel Fix – Dolphin deaths still high after Gulf oil spill, environmentalists say Examiner.com Dolphins and turtles still in peril three years after BP oil spill and Louisiana coast frenetically eroding three years after spill
• Discovery News – Record Dolphin, Sea Turtle Deaths Since Gulf Spill
• New Orleans Times-Picayune – National Wildlife Federation says environmental effects of BP spill far from over

For more information, visit www.nwf.org/news

A river otter enjoys new habitat formed by the Mississippi River’s newest outlet in Louisiana, Mardi Gras Pass.

Shortly after this took place, river otters, beavers, fish, birds and other wildlife began making this small outlet — dubbed Mardi Gras Pass — their home. State and federal regulators are deciding whether or not to issue a permit that would allow a company to rebuild a road washed away when the pass formed. The road fill, with four culverts, would choke off the flow of the pass and interrupt the re-establishment of natural processes. This would destroy wildlife habitat. Before a permit is granted to fill Mardi Gras Pass, responsible authorities should conduct a comprehensive environmental analysis.

The current plan to rebuild the road will effectively close the pass and eliminate encouraging ecological benefits that scientists have been monitoring since the channel’s development. NWF is calling for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana to conduct a comprehensive assessment and carefully consider all of the benefits of the pass before granting any permit that would close the pass and destroy wildlife habitat.

The State of Louisiana is holding a public hearing on Wednesday, March 20 at 6 pm in the Belle Chasse Auditorium. NWF and its partners in coastal restoration will be there to show strong support for keeping Mardi Gras Pass open and letting the Mississippi River naturally reconnect with its wetlands, providing river otters and other wildlife with new habitat.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are important for many species of wildlife including river otters, pelicans, and alligators—and can provide critical hurricane protection for Louisiana’s coastal residents. But these wetlands—otter habitat and so much more—are eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of a football field every hour. Louisiana’s groundbreaking new plan to restore its vanishing coast includes river-reintroduction projects—something very similar to Mardi Gras Pass—that allow the river to naturally flow to its wetlands.

Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost almost 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands and barrier islands. Before the levees to control flooding were placed along the Mississippi, the natural creation of small outlets like Mardi Gras Pass was fairly commonplace.

Keeping Mardi Gras Pass open is important—it’s a chance for the river to reconnect with its wetlands, which is exactly what the river is designed to do.

Striped dolphins swim through BP oil, April 2012 (NOAA’s National Ocean Service)

We’ll take a detailed walk through that history later. But first, the latest from the trial, where a senior BP official admitted on the stand yesterday that BP couldn’t be bothered to gather all available evidence during its internal investigation:

A BP team investigating the company’s Macondo well blowout that led to the explosion and fire that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010 never received the results of tests of a light cement used to plug the well from cement contractor Halliburton, a senior BP official leading the investigation said Wednesday. Mark Bly, BP’s executive vice president for safety and operational risk, confirmed during testimony Wednesday afternoon that senior BP attorneys repeatedly demanded the test results and samples of the cement used on the rig from Halliburton, but that they were not made available to BP investigators before publication of the company’s investigative report that bears Bly’s name. [...]

Asked if BP and other investigative teams should have received those results, Bly said, “Yeah, I think people should share information that can help us learn about accidents.”

THIS is the brilliant, no-expense-spared legal strategy that BP has been warning Gulf oil disaster victims about? Look out, out-of-work fishermen – if you don’t take our lowball settlement, we’ll go on the witness stand and tell everyone how forehead-smackingly inadequate & lazy our own internal investigation was!

Legal experts are questioning the sanity of whoever at BP decided to go to trial:

Early witnesses have hammered BP for an “every dollar counts” culture that put profits over safety in the Gulf.

Legal experts familiar with the case expressed surprised that it ever got to trial, and said negative attention from the trial could hinder the company’s efforts to recover from the disaster. [...]

“A day or so more of this bloodbath and BP will get weak in the knees, raise its current $16 billion offer to $18 billion and settle with the U.S.,” [Loyola University College of Law professor Blaine] LeCesne said Wednesday.

As the National Wildlife Federation’s John Kostyack has laid out in detail, even that $18 billion figure could be much lower than BP’s true liability.

Did you expect BP, one of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations, to make better decisions? Why would BP start making good decisions now?

In the very first public relations class I ever took, we were given Tylenol’s response to the 1982 tampering attack as the best way to confront crisis. Put public safety first. Be completely honest and transparent. Do all that right, and winning back the public trust will be worth more than a $100 million ad campagin.

Instead, at literally every step of the way, BP has put profits over people and wildlife, rash action over data collection, and obstruction over transparency:

• Gulf safety plans were copied & pasted from other plans in completely different parts of the planet
• BP officials ignored warning signs that might have averted the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 workers and gushed over 200 million gallons of oil and other hydrocarbons into the Gulf of Mexico
• BP officials gave the public oil gusher flow rates that were as much as 53 times lower than the true rate
• As hundreds of dolphins and sea turtles and thousands of birds died in the oil disaster zone, BP officials worked to hide the dead from reporters
• Even before the gusher was capped, BP CEO Tony Hayward whined “I’d like my life back,” then jetted off to a yacht race
• BP’s oiled wildlife hotline was at times comically inefficient
• Instead of reaching a fair civil settlement, BP used its media connections to try to get let off the hook from a full payment for its mistakes

Dozens of Gulf activists rally outside BP trial, February 2013

Take Action

Since the first days of the Gulf oil disaster, the National Wildlife Federation has been fighting for justice for the Gulf’s people and wildlife. “The Gulf of Mexico is more than just a place where oil companies make enormous profits—it’s a public jewel where our children swim, where wildlife live, and where we get the food we eat,” NWF President & CEO Larry Schweiger said this week.

Please take a moment right now to ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to hold BP fully accountable for the reckless damage it caused to the Gulf and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.

Otters in Louisiana’s Mardi Gras Pass could soon find themselves out of a home. Protect river otters and restore Louisiana’s vanishing coast here! Photo courtesy of Dan Dzurisin.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are important for many species of wildlife including river otters, pelicans, and alligators, and provide critical hurricane protections for Louisiana’s coastal residents.

But these wetlands, including otter habitat and so much more, are eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of a football field every hour.

Louisiana’s groundbreaking new plan to restore its vanishing coast includes a river-reintroduction project—something very like Mardi Gras Pass—in almost in the exact same location.

Since the 1930s, when levees to control flooding were placed along the Mississippi, Louisiana has lost almost 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands and barrier islands. Before that time, the natural creation of small outlets like Mardi Gras Pass was fairly commonplace.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana should deny the permit and give themselves time to carefully consider all of the benefits of the pass.

Tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana to work with the river—not against it—and allow the otters to stay in their new, naturally-created habitat.

Below is a timeline of major events that have occurred in the past 1,000 days.

Help us spread the word that the oil spill is not truly over by sharing this image on Facebook!

There are persistent rumors that BP might be trying to settle for less than half of what the company could face if brought to trial. Help dolphins and other wildlife in the Gulf by urging the Department of Justice to hold BP fully accountable for the oil spill.

Sources:

- Restorethegulf.org, “First oiled bird is recovered.”
- Restorethegulf.org, “NOAA Expands Fishing Closed Area in Gulf of Mexico.”
- The New York Times, “Effects of Spill Spread as Tar Balls Are Found.”
- TIME, “100 Days of the BP Spill: A Timeline.”
- The White House, “Executive Order 13554–Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.”
- Bloomberg, “BP Oil Still Ashore One Year After End of Gulf Spill.”
- PNAS, “Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico.”
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, “Study confirms oil from Deepwater Horizon disaster entered food chain in the Gulf of Mexico.”
- The Times-Picayune, “About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac.”
- The New York Times, “BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion.”
- Georgia Tech Biology, “Gulf of Mexico Clean-Up Makes 2010 Spill 52-Times More Toxic.”
- University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, “UMiami scientists partner with NOAA, Stanford and U of N Texas to study post spill fish toxicology.”
- NOAA Fisheries Service, “2010-2013 Cetacean Unusual Mortality Event in Northern Gulf of Mexico.”
- The Times-Picayune, “Transocean to pay $1.4 billion to settle pollution, safety violations in Gulf oil spill.”

Courtesy of the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition.

The Mississippi River Delta provides critical breeding, wintering and migratory stopover habitat for 100 million individual birds each year. The type of projects funded by the BP settlement will help restore the delta, which is eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at an average rate of a football field every hour. Flickr photo by Dan Pancamo.

Decades of National Wildlife Federation involvement in efforts to restore the Mississippi River Delta are about to see fruition.  This was not just serendipity. It followed on the passage of the RESTORE Act and the adoption of the 2012 Louisiana Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, two signature achievements in 2012—the result of years of hard work and dedication by NWF and its many partners. It is no coincidence that both of these accomplishments were referenced during the AG’s press conference.

Furthermore, an additional $1.2 billion will be distributed through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to the remaining Gulf States—Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, for restoration purposes. That is great news for NWF’s efforts to restore the Gulf of Mexico.

We are still anticipating a much larger payment from the resolution of the civil case against BP for their violations of federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act. For now, we welcome that the Department of Justice chose to craft the criminal settlement in the way announced Thursday.

Importantly, the Justice Department made it clear that BP will enjoy no tax advantages from this payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and that this will not be used to offset any part of its civil penalties. And Justice also made it very clear that it intends to pursue the civil case vigorously, if BP does not proffer an acceptable settlement.

Thanks to the RESTORE Act we anticipate a great deal more money for restoration, but this restoration money from the criminal case is truly lagniappe, as we say in New Orleans.

Make sure the Department of Justice holds BP fully accountable for the 2010 disaster in the Gulf!

A bison cow attends to her newborn calf in Yellowstone National Park. Working with the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes, NWF recently helped with the release of selected Yellowstone bison on the Fort Peck Reservation, creating a new herd of genetically pure buffalo.

Saying “Thanks”

For the second consecutive year, as Thanksgiving Day draws near, NWF has given staff the opportunity to thank individual donors individually as we phone hundreds of contributors of all kinds and sizes. We reach only a small proportion of those who support NWF, but we try to call as many as time and other constraints allow, just to say thank you.

As a senior editor of National Wildlife magazine, I phoned two dozen donors myself, with great pleasure. I have worked in conservation at the national level for more than 30 years, and throughout that time the importance of donors to my career and to protecting wildlife has been ever on my mind. During my calls, I found myself talking mostly to answering machines, but that didn’t diminish the pleasure of saying thank you to these folks whose kindness plays such an important role in wildlife conservation. My favorite answering machine message this year was by Betsy in Philadelphia, who said she couldn’t answer the phone because she was at the zoo.

Tim Brady, NWF philanthropy officer, makes calls to thank donors during the annual NWF Thanksgiving thank-you event.

Elizabeth Tamburello, an NWF marketing coordinator, said she too found that people she talked to also thanked NWF. One donor, along with giving Tamburello a back-at-you thanks, told her, “I literally just put my check in the mail to you guys.” Several donors Tamburello talked to said they hoped NWF would continue to fight against climate change (we will), saying “it was a big concern of theirs.”

An angler fishes along the Gulf of Mexico coast as pelicans wing overheard. NWF’s many efforts for gulf protection following the BP oil spill recently helped win $1.2 billion for restoration from the BP criminal settlement.

Donor Dollars in Action

In addition to its actions against global warming—seeking better regulation of greenhouse gases and helping individuals take their own measures to reduce carbon footprints—NWF is engaged in a wide range of conservation activities, thanks to donor dollars:

• NWF is working to protect habitat and environmental conditions in the Great Lakes region. Most recently, NWF has worked for laws designed to keep Asian carp—an invasive species that could cause devastating ecological damage—from expanding into the Great Lakes and has sought to close gaps, inconsistencies and loopholes in U.S. state and Canadian provincial laws that leave the Great Lakes vulnerable to a new wave of mining activity;
• NWF is working for stronger protections against mercury pollution, helping to get the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late 2011 to finalize the first-ever national limits on mercury from U.S. coal-fired power plants, which will cut emissions by 90 percent and significantly reduce exposure that can harm wildlife and impair brain development in children.
• After 15 years of partnership with the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, NWF last March helped secure 61 genetically pure Yellowstone National Park bison for release on the Fort Peck Reservation, the northeastern Montana home of Sioux and Assiniboine tribes. Since the release on March 19, more than 20 bison calves have been born, a start to restoring a lost part of the tribes’ heritage.
• NWF and its partners in 2009 won a series of court cases requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure protections of wildlife and habitat in three local flood zones proposed for development, benefitting endangered Key deer in Florida, dwindling orcas and Chinook salmon in Washington state’s Puget Sound and more than 314 square miles of Mississippi wetland and bottomland forest between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, which would have been drained by the proposed Yazoo Pump.
• Thanks to dedicated work by dozens of NWF employees on the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign, half of the $2.4 billion that BP will pay to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as part of its criminal settlement for the Gulf oil spill will be used for Mississippi River delta and barrier-island restoration in coastal Louisiana.
  Late in 2010, NWF and the Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) successfully concluded a federal case challenging FEMA’s practice of issuing flood insurance for storm-surge areas along the Florida coast, which includes 90 percent of U.S. sea turtle nesting habitat.
• Through its Certified Wildlife Habitat® program, NWF has guided more than 100,000 citizens through the process of turning their backyards and other property into habitat suitable for local wildlife.

A New Generation of Conservationists

A group of friends camp out in Virginia. NWF is seeking to get 10 million more childern into the outdoors during the next three years.

• The annual Great American Backyard Campout, now approaching its ninth year, which gets families out of the house and into tents in backyards and other outdoor sites. More than 160,000 campers participated in 2011.
• Eco-Schools, an internationally acclaimed program started in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education, which provides a framework to help educators integrate sustainable principles throughout their schools and fosters environmental stewardship among youth. NWF has served since 2008 as Eco-School host for U.S. K-12 schools. The program now has more than 700 participating schools with 300,000 students.
• The Certified Schoolyard Habitats, a program that helps teachers and students to develop wildlife havens on school grounds and that also creates outdoor classrooms. With more than 4,000 certified schools, including more than a dozen tribal schools, Schoolyard Habitats is the largest U.S. school-garden program.

Thanks Again!

Nothing NWF has or will accomplish could be done without donors. For those we couldn’t phone this year, everyone at NWF extends to you too a hearty “Thank you” for your support.

Click below for more information on:

Adopt a Species

NWF Gifts for Kids

NWF Gifts for All

Photographs for this blog were donated by entrants of the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest, to whom goes a special thanks.

Photo credit: flickr / thepugfather

Yesterday, BP agreed to pay a record criminal fine for the Gulf oil spill, but vowed to vigorously contest the charges it is facing under federal environmental law. Money from these penalties will go to restoring the Gulf.

BP Must be Held Accountable

Dolphins in one heavily oiled section of the Louisiana coast are suffering and even dying from a variety of symptoms–including anemia, low blood sugar, and lung disease–that suggest exposure to oil.

But media reports indicate that BP might be attempting to negotiate an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay less than half of what the company could face at trial for its violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act.

Speak up for Dolphins

The Department of Justice and BP have been in intense negotiations and could announce an agreement at any time.

BP’s fines need to be large enough to restore the Gulf of Mexico for dolphins and other wildlife—and to send a clear message that America holds reckless polluters fully accountable.

Gulf dolphins need us to help ensure the Department of Justice holds BP fully accountable for restoring Gulf habitat–please add your voice today!

Much of the Central Wetlands were once a flourishing cypress swamp much like the one in the top image, by photographer Paul Mannix. Click to LIKE and SHARE this image on Facebook!

Today the Central Wetlands are an open expanse of saltwater, punctuated only by the stumps of dead cypress trees.

Over the past fifty years, approximately 1000 square miles of habitats were damaged or destroyed by a shipping channel known as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO).

Worse still, during Hurricane Katrina, the MRGO funneled storm surge into large areas in and around New Orleans, dramatically increasing the devastation from the storm.

In Katrina’s wake, Congress ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—who built and operated the channel—to come up with a plan to restore the damaged habitats.  Incredibly, the Corps was openly considering ignoring Congress and taking no further action towards restoration.

But thanks to almost 49,000 emails from activists across the country, today the fate of the Central Wetlands and other habitats damaged by the MRGO is looking a little brighter.

A new report by the Corps’ Chief of Engineers, published early last week, recommends moving forward on a $3 billion plan to restore wetlands damaged or destroyed by the construction and operation of the
M­ississippi River Gulf Outlet.

This news was greeted enthusiastically in New Orleans. Locals know that wetlands—particularly cypress forests—can help protect communities by buffering storm surge.

There are still obstacles to implementation: The Corps and the State of Louisiana are mired in a cost-sharing dispute that looks likely to hold up the restoration plan for at least the near future.

But the urgent need for restoration ought to transcend the cost-sharing issue. The MRGO plan—now more than four years behind Congress’ deadline—is critical to restoring the wetlands and wildlife habitats damaged by the canal.

NWF and our partners in the MRGO Must Go coalition have offered other major recommendations to the Corps, including prioritizing the 19 projects in the MRGO restoration that are also recommended in Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan.

We’ve also recommended that the Corps expedite the Violet Freshwater Diversion, a project that will bring freshwater from the Mississippi River into the Central Wetlands and help to rebuild the lost marshes and cypress swamps while controlling salinity. These measures will ultimately lead to better resilience in the face of hurricanes—and will help the city adapt to sea level rise.

Want to make a difference for wildlife? Speak up for wolves affected by massive Keystone XL pipeline—urge the U.S. State Department to reject the dangerous tar sands oil pipeline.