Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

See more of Jaymi Heimbuch’s photos on Flickr >>

Speak Up for River Otters

The fate of river otter habitat in a Mississippi River outlet depends on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana deciding to grant a permit that would allow an oil company to close the Mardi Gras Pass, which would destroy the habitat for otters. Help river otters keep their home!

A river otter swims through a canal in the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL. Photo by Sara Lopez.

This Photo of the Day was donated by a participant in the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 42nd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest.

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Joni Mitchell first sang this lament in 1970 – at the dawn of the environmental movement – and on February 2, 1971, world leaders adopted the Convention of Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran, on the Caspian Sea, to provide the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Now, the environmental spirit of the 70′s lives on and February 2 is officially recognized as World Wetlands Day, providing the perfect time to reflect on the great value of our wetlands.

A Bittersweet Anniversary for the Clean Water Act

Protect river otters and their native wetland habitats. (Photo: Eric Kilby/ekilby Flickr)

In 1972, Congress recognized the importance of protecting wetlands and other “waters of the United States” when it passed the landmark Clean Water Act. For almost 30 years, this key environmental safeguard put America on the path toward much cleaner water and dramatic reductions in wetland loss. This year is the 40^th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, but it will be one without much celebration, unless the administration acts swiftly to restore protections that once helped stem the loss of wetlands and maintain clean water.

The erosion of clean water protections is taking a serious toll on wetlands. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wetland losses are once again on the increase after decades of success protecting these vital ecosystems. These massive wetland losses harm people and wildlife. Wetlands provide flood protection, clean drinking water and provide habitat for wildlife such as waterfowl, trout, frogs and river otters.

Restore Protections for Wetlands

More than 20 million acres of wetlands and about 2 million miles of streams in the continental U.S. are at risk of losing the same Clean Water Act protections that successfully cleaned up the nation’s waters following passage of the Act in 1972.

America needs to renew its commitment to clean water so that we do not slide back into that time almost four decades ago when you could light a river on fire because of the pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers must act soon to finalize a revised Clean Water Act guidance and rule-making to safeguard our waterways and wetlands.

In honor of World Wetlands Day, urge the Administration to restore longstanding Clean Water Act protections for our nation’s wetlands, lakes, and streams before they are gone.

Power plant in Morro Bay, CA via kafka4prez/flickr

Twenty plus years in the making, the new pollution limits on power plants will cut mercury emissions by 91%, reduce acid gas emissions 91%, and significantly cut arsenic, lead and nickel emissions.

Mercury Standards a Long Time Coming

The announcement is a tremendous victory for people and wildlife. National Wildlife Federation’s effort to curb mercury air pollution started back in September 1999 when we released Clean the Rain, Clean the Lakes: Mercury in Rain Is Polluting the Great Lakes (pdf)

The report warned of mercury’s potency as a neurotoxin that can cause neurological and brain damage at low levels in people and reproductive hazards in wildlife.

Excerpt from NWF’s 1999 mercury report:

The Clean the Rain Campaign…will press for the control and eventual elimination of mercury emissions that are contaminating the rain. It will call for the implementation of the following actions…

Coal-fired power plants must cut and eventually eliminate their combustion of coal (a major source of mercury, as well as smog and acid rain-producing pollutants). 

New Rules Will Protect Children, Improve Health, Create Jobs

Each year, EPA’s new air toxic pollution rules will prevent 11,000 thousand of premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, 130,000 cases of childhood asthma and 6,300 cases of acute bronchitis. And it will prevent mercury exposure to children that can adversely affect their developing brains – including effect on their ability to walk, talk, read and learn.

The rules will also provide employment for thousands. The updating of older power plants with modern air pollution control technology will support 46,000 new short-term construction jobs and 8,000 long-term utility jobs.

And as NWF has documented, the new pollution rules are also a huge present to wildlife. Mercury pollution belching out of power plants settles in our lakes and rivers where microscopic organisms convert the inorganic mercury into methylmercury. This form of mercury accumulates up the food chain in fish and then other into other animals when they eat fish. As a result, species from the common loon to the river otter to the Florida panther are impacted by mercury.

Read NWF’s report Game Changers: Air Pollution, a Warming Climate, and the Troubled Future for America’s Hunting and Fishing Heritage that shows how mercury, carbon dioxide, and other air pollutants are directly impacting numerous species, including black ducks, moose, and walleye, that are revered as part of our country’s angling, hunting and conservation heritage.

Over the last year, thousands of NWF members and supporters have continued the campaign started in 1999. They have attended public hearings, signed postcards, made phone calls, and sent over 50,000 messages supporting the EPA’s new efforts on mercury and pushing back against polluters attempts in Congress to stop these new air pollution protections.

So join NWF as we thank the EPA for taking action to protect your kids and wildlife from the dangers of mercury and toxic air pollution. Together, we can all breathe a little easier.

Learn more about mercury pollution >>

What do California’s Western Burrowing Owl, Montana’s Trumpeter Swan, and Florida’s River Otter have in common?   They’re all being conserved thanks to the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program! 

Burrowing owls, photo- Rob Palmer

It may be Endangered Species Day- a day to celebrate the successes of the Endangered Species Act- however it’s important to remember that the Endangered Species Act is just one of many conservation programs working to preserve our wildlife heritage.  The Endangered Species Act protects some of our rarest wildlife facing the greatest risk of extinction, however it depends upon other conservation programs that keep wildlife from getting to this dangerous point.

In every state across the nation, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program works to “keep common species common” or prevent species from becoming endangered or threatened.   States use grants to conserve wildlife populations that are starting to decline and restore or expand key wildlife habitat.  However, that’s not all- when states need extra help conserving endangered species, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program is there.  Grants are helping the humpback whale and successfully helped the bald eagle along its road to recovery.

The Endangered Species Act and the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program work together to keep our wildlife from becoming extinct.  However, it’s hard for these programs to be successful if they don’t receive sufficient funding. 

>>TAKE ACTION: Help Wildlife this Endangered Species Day!! 

Tell Congress to provide robust funding for endangered species and the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.

Here’s how it works. It’s a symbolic adoption, meaning that you adopt a species that needs our help rather than an individual animal. You make a $30 donation in the name of the species of your choice which supports NWF’s work protecting wildlife. As thanks, you’ll get a stuffed animal plus an adoption certificate and a screensaver featuring your adopted species. (But for me, the biggest benefit is knowing that you’re participating in the protection of some amazing animals that really do need our help.)

The stuffed animals are not only really cute, they’ve been crafted to truly resemble the real-life animal. And you can even make an adoption in someone else’s name too, which makes a great gift.

Some of my favorite species up for adoption are the grizzly bear, river otter, desert tortoise and barking tree frog.

Check out the full list of species here >>