Valentine’s Day Crafts and BP Oil Spill in the Weekly News Roundup- February 14, 2014

13 valentine's day crafts and recipes for kids

Valentine’s Day is here! If you’re looking for some wildlife-themed V-Day crafts and recipes to try out with your kids, we’ve got you covered. Here are 13 activities that will help make Valentine’s Day extra sweet this year!

Check out the wild crafts and funny wildlife jokes on this Wildlife Promise blog!

What’s happening at NWF this week?

New Study: Heart Damage in Tuna Exposed to BP Oil

BluefinTuna_NOAA_FlickR

Nov 13–Researchers with Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that a chemical in oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill interferes with cardiac function in bluefin and yellowfin tuna, causing irregular heartbeats that can lead to heart attacks or death.

“Nearly four years after the initial explosion, the impacts of the Gulf oil disaster continue to unfold,” said Ryan Fikes, Gulf Restoration Scientist for the National Wildlife Federation. “Today we learned that BP oil can lead to heart attacks and death in tuna, and that similar cardiac impacts may have occurred in a number of other Gulf species. BP and the other responsible companies need to be held fully accountable for their negligence.  As research continues to confirm additional impacts from the oil disaster, it is imperative that penalties from the spill be dedicated to the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico.”This research will be published in the February 14th edition of Science.

Learn more about the effects of the oil spill on Gulf fish populations.

Show you care about Gulf wildlife and symbolically adopt a sea turtle!

Conservation groups hail BLM plan for South Park

Colorado River at Diamond Creek

Nov 11–The South Park community and conservation groups are encouraged that after more than two years of work, the Bureau of Land Management says it will prepare a detailed oil and gas leasing plan for the area renowned for its fish, wildlife and water.

BLM officials said during a recent Park County commissioners’ meeting that a master leasing plan for South Park is “a go.” Tom Heinlein, the BLM’s Front Range district manager, said South Park is one of the master leasing plans “we will undertake.”

Along with the commissioners and town councils in Park County, sportsmen’s and wildlife groups formally requested a master leasing plan for South Park. The high-elevation basin, ringed by mountains, is the headwaters of the South Platte River, a source of drinking water for Denver, Aurora and other Front Range cities and is a premier hunting and fishing area.  missioners’ meeting that a master leasing plan for South Park is “a go.” Tom Heinlein, the BLM’s Front Range district manager, said South Park is one of the master leasing plans “we will undertake.”

NWF in the News

Denver Post: Willoughby: 2014 Farm Bill is a win-win deal for sportsmen, wildlife

“The final 2014 Farm Bill isn’t perfect, but overall, it is a very strong bill,” the National Wildlife Federation said in a statement.

Forbes Magazine: Global Warming Improves Mental Health, Research Reveal

“We must not forget that people who are physically affected by climate change will also be suffering from the emotional fallout of what has happened to them.”

Miami Herald: Environmental movement to test its muscle in keystone final stretch

For the movement, the project was a tangible symbol of business-as-usual for U.S. energy policy, and it was easier to organize around than a complicated cap-and-trade scheme. The driving forces were well-known national environmental groups, including policy-based organizations like the NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation; direct action groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth; and several local and international grass-roots organizations.

MSNBC: Iconic Child Star Shirley Temple Black Dies at 85

Temple Black went on to sit on the boards of corporations and organizations including the Walt Disney Company, Del Monte and the National Wildlife Federation. She unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Republican in 1967. She was appointed as America’s ambassador to Ghana in 1974.

San Antonio Express: Landrieu to be chair of Senate energy committee

A group of conservation organizations that included the Environmental Defense FundNational Wildlife Federation and National Audubon Society, said Landrieu had been a champion for restoration of the Mississippi River Delta.

High Country News: Policies and pollinators: How the feds deepen the precipitous decline of monarchs

Julie Sibbing, senior director of agriculture and forestry programs for the National Wildlife Federation, called the bill “worth the wait.”