Flickr photo by Jerry Oldenettel.

The recent Jaguar sightings come at a time when a few local policy battles could determine the size and scope of the species US habitat. After years of lawsuits and controversey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a plan to recover the endangered species to its historic US terrain. FWS proposed designating 838,232 acres as critical jaguar habitat—covering four stretches of mountains in southeastern Arizona, a section of the Peloncillo Mountains on the Arizona–New Mexico border, and a tiny piece of New Mexico’s San Luis Mountains.

In addition to this ongoing controversy over critical habitat there also exists a potentially frightening roadblock to the Jaguar recovery as well as other species such as the Chiricahua leopard frog. Not too far from where this recent photo was taken is a pending proposal to develop a large scale copper mine. Rosemont, the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining corporation, is requesting permits to dig a mile-wide, half-mile deep pit and dump waste rock and tailings on more than 3,000 acres of National Forest land.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement  lists 27 imperiled plants and animals that would be directly harmed by the mine, including the jaguar. It says that the proposed action would directly destroy more than 6,000 acres of wildlife habitat and negatively affect another 90,000 acres. It describes significantly elevated levels of air and water pollutants associated with the mine, including greenhouse gases, and it states that groundwater impacts would dry up 84 springs and diminish or eliminate the flow of important perennial streams.

In addition to these issues highlighted by the Forest Service draft EIS,  EPA and DEQ have also issued concerns including:  Serious impacts to drinking water to local residents, potential violations to Arizona aquifer water quality standards as well as issues with 11 Indian Tribes. The mine site is alleged to contain up to 80 cultural sites, including burial sites, that must be considered and mitigated according to the National Historic Preservation Act.

Utah mine similar to Rosemont Mine proposed in Arizona- photo Earthworks

In this dry arid environment where water is arguably more precious than any metal, Rosemont Copper is proposing to dump untreated mining waste on 10–15 miles of streams and desert springs.

If you care about clean water and responsible energy development, and if you care about helping the endangered species such as the jaguar recover, please speak up today and ask the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to prevent mining companies such as Rosemont Copper from endangering our fish, wildlife, and communities with industrial pollution.

Let’s give wildlife a fighting chance!

Speak up to protect jaguars, grizzlies, and many more wildlife from toxic mine pollution.

February 4, 2013 correction: This post was updated to better reflect the historic reasons for the decline of jaguars in North America, and to provide a broader view of the environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed mine. It was also changed to correctly attribute the recent jaguar photograph.

Bison Grazing Under Prairie Sky

Many of the foods we eat and the medicines and remedies we use were introduced by Indians and more than one highway follows an Indian trail.  Indians make contributions in every area of endeavor and American life, and our literature and all our arts draw upon Indian themes and wisdom.  Countless American Indians have served in our Armed Forces and have fought valiantly for our country. President Ronald Reagan, Proclamation of American Indian Week, 1986.

There are over 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the U.S. The 566 federally-recognized, sovereign tribal nations own and manage over 95 million acres of land – 11 million acres more than the National Park Service (to read more notable statistics for American Indians and Alaska Natives, visit the U.S. Census Bureau).

This month, NWF’s Tribal Partnerships Program is highlighting the important contributions Native peoples have made to conservation. Native Americans are our nation’s original environmental stewards. Tribes have been caring for and nurturing Mother Earth for thousands of years. Because Tribes have the longest continual experience with the land, climate, wildlife and other natural resources, they have significant expertise and play an important role in helping us solve today’s conservation challenges.

Since the mid-1980s, NWF has partnered with tribes because we share a common value – to protect wildlife and habitat. This year, the theme of Native American Heritage Month is “Serving Our People, Serving our Nations: Native Visions for Future Generations.” In keeping with this theme – as well as NWF’s mission to “inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future” – we thank our tribal partners for major conservation successes in 2012. Each story is a win not only for tribes, but for all Americans, and is guaranteed to benefit generations to come.

Photo by Ted Wood/The Story Group

Stopping the Keystone XL oil pipeline. In December 2011, Tribal leaders met with federal agencies and members of Congress to voice their opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a massive project intended to carry oil sands from Alberta to Texas. Tribes object to the massive destruction and pollution caused by oil sands development, fear that a pipeline spill will harm tribal health, safety, and environment, and criticize the State Department’s failure to engage tribes in the permitting process.  In large part due to the efforts of tribes, President Obama put the project on hold in February 2012, citing inadequate environmental review.

Tribal Schools Receive Awards from NWF’s Eco-Schools USA Program. This year, the STAR School in Leupp, AZ – on the Navajo Reservation – received an Eco-Schools Bronze Award from NWF as well as a Green Ribbon School award from the U.S. Department of Education. Several Navajo elementary schools – Mesa Elementary in Shiprock, Chee Dodge in Yatahey and Navajo Elementary in Navajo –are in various stages of completing the Eco-Schools Bronze award. In addition, Tohatchi High School in Tohatchi, NM became an officially registered Eco-School.

Fighting Reckless Energy Development in the Powder River Basin. The Powder River Basin is the most active area in the country for coal mining and coal bed methane development. NWF works with Tribal members from across the Northern Plains who have long-standing historical and cultural ties to the Powder River Basin landscape. We are working to create a Carbon Trust, which would provide economic incentives for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to keep its coal in the ground and preserve its pristine habitat of grass-covered plains and rolling hills. Currently, we are rallying with Tribal members and local landowners to fight the proposed Tongue River Railroad. Stopping this new spur line will inhibit the development of new coal mines in southern Montana and the export of U.S. coal to Asian markets, which will in turn protect wildlife habitat, historic and cultural resources, and clean air and water.

The National Wildlife Federation is honored to partner with tribes on wildlife conservation. Please join us in thanking them for inspiring us “to protect wildlife for our children’s future.”

Please visit our Tribal Partnerships Program, learn more about what we do, and join us in protecting wildlife and habitat on tribal lands.

Kayakers, SUPers and boaters join together for a Clean Water Act celebration on the Potomac River. NWF Photo by Jan Goldman-Carter.

Mike Bolinder, Anacostia Riverkeeper, speaks at the recent Clean Water Act rally on the Potomac River. NWF Photo by Jan Goldman-Carter.

Fast forward to 2012 and a beautiful September Saturday when ECC joined the National Wildlife Federation, Anacostia and Potomac Riverkeepers, and Water Keeper Alliance nationwide in honoring the 40^th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act–and recommitting ourselves to clean rivers and clean water for all—here along the Anacostia and nationwide.

Since Congress passed the Clean Water Act in October 1972, we have made incredible progress in cleaning up our rivers and streams. The Potomac River is our source for drinking water and many people are using the Anacostia and Potomac rivers to canoe, kayak and fish.

But we have much more work to do to restore the streams and wetlands that flow through the District of Columbia and on to the Chesapeake Bay.  Please join the Earth Conservation Corps, the National Wildlife Federation, and our local, regional, and national clean water partners in celebrating the 40^th birthday of the Clean Water Act and standing up for a strong Clean Water Act, and fishable swimmable waters for all.

Kellie Bolinder is Executive Director of Earth Conservation Corps. She has been working with the organization for over nine years. Earth Conservation Corps became the DC affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation in 2008, joining the network of 48 state and territorial affiliates across the country.

Blanchard's Cricket Frog. Photo by: Dick Bartlett

Growing up with about 10 acres of woods behind my house and a brook flowing right through the middle of it, I am no stranger to frogs. During the hot summer days in Rhode Island, my friends and I would wade in the small pools as we ventured out on “missions” playing GI Joe. All around us, there were frogs leaping about as we crept along the brook.  Spring and early summer nights were always my favorite though. You could sleep with the windows open and listen to a performance every night. With woods surrounding our house on 3 sides and being at the end of the street, it was the perfect place to listen to a choir of frogs.

How Are Frogs Faring This Leap Year?

Check out our factsheet on the threats from climate change frogs are facing.

The quick rundown goes like this:

• Frog and toad habitats are drying up as reduced snowmelt means less water for ponds and streams.
• The Sierra Nevada Yellow Legged Frog has disappeared from 90% of its mountain habitat.
• Many frog species are becoming more susceptible to disease.
• Drought, wildfires, and shifts in climate are forcing frogs out of house and home.  Just look at the Houston Toad fighting for survival in Texas.

Take our online quiz to learn some more fun frog facts!

Preventing Carbon Pollution

Carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants, refineries, and vehicles is causing worldwide climate change. Thankfully, EPA is taking action to limit our nation’s carbon pollution from new and existing power plants. The sooner we can reduce carbon pollution, the greater chance we will have to slow climate change

This Leap Year, take action to protect frogs and support EPA’s new rules to limit carbon pollution from power plant smokestacks so we can take a leap forward in the fight against climate change.

The U.S. and Canadian governments are both studying the possibility of building radioactive waste dumps in the Great Lakes basin.

This is, in a word, INSANE.

The Great Lakes are the largest source of surface freshwater on the planet, provide drinking water for 30 million people and support one of the world’s largest regional economies.

There are also large deposits of granite in parts of the Great Lakes basin, which has caught the attention of federal officials looking for a place to store radioactive wastes for eternity.

The Associated Press reported that the Obama Administration’s decision to scrap the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada has federal officials looking at new sites in areas with large deposits of granite. Minnesota and Wisconsin have large deposits of granite, especially around the western end of Lake Superior. Read more here.

The Canadian government is considering a proposal to store most of that nation’s spent nuclear fuel rods along the shores of Lake Huron, in the tourist town of Saugeen, Ontario. Read more about that plan here.

Of course, these studies are in the initial stages. My point is that the Great Lakes region shouldn’t be part of the discussion of where to permanently store high-level radioactive waste.

I’m sure the nuclear power industry and government agencies could provides all kinds of data and studies that suggest nuclear waste repositories are safe and pose little risk of causing pollution.

The salient point here is that we must stop playing Russian roulette with the health of the Great Lakes and the millions of people who rely on the lakes for drinking water, employment and recreation.

Many nuclear power plants, including some adjacent to the Great Lakes, currently store spent fuel rods in concrete casks because there is no repository for the radioactive waste. (U.S. Department of Energy photo)

The U.S. and Canada are already paying an extraordinarily price for our past willingness to risk the health of the Great Lakes for commercial gain.

Over the past two centuries, industries littered the lakes with millions of pounds of toxic chemicals that have contaminated fish and wildlife and made some areas unfit for human use.

The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, which allowed ocean freighters into the Great Lakes for the first time, unleashed a biological catastrophe in these freshwater seas. Zebra mussels and other invasive species have caused the most profound, destructive changes to the Great Lakes in recorded history.

When Congress and President Obama passed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, it seemed that our nationally elected officials had finally realized that the lakes are a national treasure worthy of protecting.

Inviting nuclear power plants across North America to send their high-level radioactive waste to repositories in the Great Lakes basin would be a monumental mistake and the pinnacle of hubris.

Some of the nation's biggest polluters Update:are power plants.

Update: On September 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the TRAIN Act, by a vote of 249-216. It must still pass the U.S. Senate before it reaches President Obama, who is likely to veto the bill immediately. Thank you to those who took action. Your efforts are imperative in keeping the voice of the environmental community alive.

The U.S. House of Representatives just can’t stop itself from attacking our fundamental conservation laws over and over again this year.

This week, the House is considering legislation that would further delay fundamental Clean Air Act protections, undermining our ability as a nation to protect public health and the environment.

Specifically, the so-called “Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act”  would indefinitely delay implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently finalized Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, halting long-overdue action under the Clean Air Act to clean-up the nation’s biggest polluters.

The Cross State Air Pollution Rule, which curbs smog and soot pollution from power plants that crosses state lines, is set to reduce power plant emissions in 27 states. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which limits mercury, acid gases and other toxic pollution from power plants, would keep 91 percent of the mercury in coal from being released in the air. These clean air initiatives could save 33,450 lives and 12,200 hospital visits in one year alone.

TRAIN Act a Train Wreck for Clean Air

If the TRAIN Act becomes law, the EPA could not propose clean air standards without the review of a new Cabinet-level committee, designed to delay, complicate and block environmental safeguards. It’s duplicative and unnecessary red tape that amounts to a gutting of historically bipartisan clean air protections.

Dangerous chemicals, such as mercury, soot, cancer-causing dioxins and acid gases, cause tens of thousands of premature deaths, heart attacks, hospital visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and childhood asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses. Not only do these unregulated toxic pollutants affect people, they also threaten our environment by producing acid rain and smog, and contaminating our lakes, streams, wildlife, and fish.

The TRAIN Act represents a tremendous backtracking for the EPA and the American public’s quest for better, cleaner air and water for posterity and for wildlife.

courtesy justmytruth.com

Who cares about clean air?

As it turns out, lots and lots of people. If you didn’t (yet) write to the Environmental Protection Agency asking for strong air pollution limits, you probably are related to someone who did, or you live near someone who did, or you fish or hunt or hike or ski or bike with someone who did.

More than a half a million Americans have already aid they want the Environmental Protection Agency to safeguard our air and water from mercury and other air toxics.

Now its time to deliver those comments and tell the Environmental Protection Agency to do the right thing.

That’s why NWF supporters like you are gathering at the Environmental Protection Agency office in Boston on Tuesday, July 19th. If you live near Boston, I hope you can join us to and stand up for the clean air and clean water on which wildlife depend by delivering the comments in support of clean air that were submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by over half a million people like you.

What: Stand up for Clean Air, Healthy Kids, and Healthy Environment at the Environmental Protection Agency

When: Tuesday, July 19th at Noon

Where: EPA Region 1 Office, 5 Post Office Square, Boston, MA [map: http://bit.ly/kWsxnQ ]

Who: NWF supporters like you, along with partner groups

RSVP: Let us know you will be attending by emailing me at oldhamc@nwf.org

Oh, and by the way, if you have not yet written to ask for strong pollution controls, you still can join those more than 500,000 people – just go to www.nwf.org/mercury to submit yours before the August 4th deadline!

It’s no mystery that clean air is good for all – who honestly wants more mercury, smog, arsenic, and other nasty toxics and metals invading their communities and wreaking havoc on their health? Is there such a thing as too much clean air? I don’t think so – and neither does the growing Latino population in the U.S.

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of participating in the National Latino Congreso in Austin, TX which is put on by some of the largest Latino organizations in the country. At this event, Latino community leaders from around the country gathered to discuss, learn, and take action on issues that are affecting the Latino population – anything from immigration policy to telecommunications. But I was especially encouraged by the amount of interest and passion around the issue that I was asked to speak on - the Clean Air Act.

• A 2010 poll by the University of  Southern California showed that 75% of Latinos worry a great deal about air pollution.
• A similar poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that 87% of Latinos believe government should regulate emissions.

Just two weeks ago, the EPA released new proposed limits for pollutants like mercury and arsenic. Cleaning up these pollutants is vital for the health of all communities but will especially benefit low-income and minority communities which are disproportionately affected.

TAKE ACTION TODAY and tell the EPA why clean air is important to you and why they should enact and enforce strong air toxic rules. You can  quickly send your comments by:

1. E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR- 2009-0234.
2. Regulations.gov website (http://www.regulations.gov). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
3. EPA Air and Radiation Docket Web Site ( http://www.epa.gov/oar/docket.html). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

If you’re having trouble coming up with the right words then take a look at some sample language below and feel free to use them as your own!

I strongly support the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that would limit mercury, arsentic, dioxin, and other toxic emissions from power plants.

Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury contamination in the U.S, amounting to about 50 percent of emissions affecting humans and wildlife. The pollution settles on lakes, rivers and forests where it exposes fish and other wildlife and makes its way into the food chain. In many places, mercury warnings are increasingly common.

A highly potent neurotoxin, mercury adversely affects the function and development of the central nervous system in both people and wildlife. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to mercury exposure.

For too long, mercury and other toxic pollution has gone unchecked in America. It is time that we require power plants to clean up the pollution that is inflicting such devastating damage to our health and environment.

Thank you for moving forward with the proposed Mercury and Air Toxics standards. I urge you to move forward and finalize strong rules that reduce these harmful emissions. These pollution limits will be one of the largest steps forward in protecting our nation from toxic air pollution in a generation.

courtesy urbanchristiannews.com

Mercury and other dangerous air pollutants have long been connected to extreme health problems such as brain damage, learning disabilities, birth defects, heart disease, cancer and even premature death.

As many as 1 in 6 American women of childbearing age have enough mercury in their bodies to put a baby at risk for mercury poisoning.

You may wonder, how can this be so?

We’ve known for decades that mercury is devastating to our health. However, coal plants spew mercury and other toxics (like arsenic) from their smokestacks every day and this is putting us all at risk—not only are the pollutants affecting our air quality, but mercury from these plants accumulates in local waterways and poses a direct risk to people when they eat contaminated fish.

We finally have a chance to end the cycle.

Today the Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposed rule on Mercury & Air Toxics Standards which is aimed at protecting public health.

The new rules will:

• Cut harmful emissions of mercury as well as arsenic, chromium, nickel, and acid gases
• Prevent as many as 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks a year
• Benefit children’s health by preventing 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and 11,000 cases of acute bronchitis among children each year
• Avoid more than 12,000 emergency room and hospital visits and 850,000 missed work days due to illness

Our nation’s biggest polluters want to block these standards, but if enacted, the EPA’s safeguards could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year!

It has never been more important to make our voices heard. The EPA needs to hear from all of us telling them that we support life-saving protections that can keep mercury pollution out of our communities.

Here are all the ways to take action and tell the EPA to enact strong air toxics standards:

1. E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR- 2009-0234.
2. Regulations.gov website (http://www.regulations.gov). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
3. EPA Air and Radiation Docket Web Site ( http://www.epa.gov/oar/docket.html). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
4. Fax: Fax your comments to: (202) 566-9744, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0234 .
5. Mail: Send your comments to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0234. Please include a total of two copies. In addition, please mail a copy of your comments on the information collection provisions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20503.
6. Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. (Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket’s normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holiday), and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.)
7. Through this online Action Alert.

The EPA needs to hear from all of us telling them that we support life saving protections that can keep mercury pollution out of our communities.

Transportation options are an important part of smart growth (photo credit: Flickr/faceless b)

The 10th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference (www.newpartners.org) held in Charlotte in February was a testament to the importance and urgency of placing equity and inclusion at the center of the movement to create sustainable communities. This was evidenced by the commitments made by numerous federal officials, the range of issues discussed in conference sessions, and the greater diversity among the more than 1,300 participants compared to previous conferences. Participants flocked to 110 concurrent sessions to learn from experts and each other about building sustainable communities – communities that are safe, healthy, and livable.

There was a day-long pre-conference workshop to discuss equitable development at the intersection of environmental justice and smart growth. Environmental justice advocacy is a response to the disproportionate impacts of not only pollution but also development patterns on low-income people and people of color. Participants examined transportation, housing, brownfield remediation, community health and other issue areas to see how future development strategies could overcome— rather than exacerbate— these differences.   This session focused on capacity building within neighborhood and community-based organizations to engage on growth and development issues in their neighborhoods, communities and regions.  Participants learned about federal, state, local and tribal tools and programs that support equitable development; heard from community leaders who have forged successful partnerships; learned about opportunities for collaboration between smart growth, equitable development and environmental justice; explored why integrating these efforts is critical and necessary to right past wrongs, could revitalize America’s disadvantaged communities, grow the economy, and create healthy and sustainable urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities; and finally learned about tools and strategies to help finance equitable development.

This year’s conference placed increased emphasis on Environmental and Social Justice, with both a conference track dedicated to “Equitable Development” and incorporation of those issues into many of the conference’s other sessions. Catchy buzz words and intriguing topic names abounded in the conference program:  “Equity Toolkit”, “Just and Smart Growth”, “Ports, Goods Movement, and Environmental Justice”, “Climate Justice”, “Inclusive Engagement”, and “Degrees of Disadvantage”.

Degrees of Disadvantage (“DoD”) is the term coined by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for the index they use to compare individual census tracts’ concentration of transportation-disadvantaged populations with the regional average.  The index includes eight such disadvantaged populations:  the elderly (75+), the physically-disabled, car-less households, low-income households, female head-of-households with children, limited English-proficiency persons, Hispanic/Latino persons, and non-Hispanic minorities.  The Commission uses DoD maps to evaluate proposed transportation projects’ contribution to improving mobility and transportation access for these populations. The Local Government Commission is currently working on converting all of the PowerPoint presentations to pdf files, which will be posted on the conference website in two weeks.

Talk of energy cost savings and greenhouse gas reduction was everywhere, from LEED and other green building approaches, to energy performance audits conducted by volunteer retired engineers.

For the conference-goers it seemed that smart growth and sustainable communities are not  novel theories: they have moved into the mainstream of accepted “best practices.”  No longer is the dialogue about the merits of the ideas. In today’s day and age, the bedrock of the discussion is how to more effectively implement them, refine their techniques, and evaluate their impacts.

For more information about the NWF’s work to promote fair and equitable solutions to climate change, visit the Fair Climate Project page on our website.