LISTSERV - IOWA-TOPICS Archives - LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

Yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar announced the full restoration of the Endangered
Species Act. The regulation change that effectively gutted one of our
country's most important environmental laws was one of
Bush's most notorious midnight regulations. On its way out the
door, the last administration ended the process of independent
scientific review that makes the Act so effective. By eliminating this
process, the authority to determine how a project would affect an
endangered species would be not in the hands of the expert biologists
at US Fish and Wildlife or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, but rather in the hands of those who are proposing the
project.

In the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Congress authorized the
Secretaries to make such a decision and revoke the rule change. By
exercising this authority, the administration has restored science to
policy and safeguarded our most threatened and iconic species and
habitats.

Please thank the Obama administration for its action yesterday and ask
them to continue to restore protections for endangered species by
withdrawing the controversial polar bear rule.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=gU55BzzkXZwaQMfo7w2bdQ.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=gU55BzzkXZwaQMfo7w2bdQ.. </A>
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Update on Waxman Climate Bill: American Clean Energy and Security Act
of 2009
This past week the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a
series of hearings on various pieces of the American Clean Energy and
Security Act of 2009 (ACES). These hearings covered a wide range of
issues: from renewables, to efficiency and to adaptation funding. It
now looks like more hearings will be held this week and the timing for
a mark-up has slipped. However, House leadership continues to insist
that they will have a final version of the bill ready for the House
floor by Memorial Day.

We are continuing our efforts to push for dedicated adaptation
funding. We've received assurances from some well-placed House members
that the adaptation title will be included in the marked-up bill.
However, there remains some wrangling over the exact allocation levels
for each agency. We are also working to include language that will
direct the land management agencies to inventory wildlife migration
corridors and identify those which should be protected.
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Sierra Club Borderlands Activists Fly to DC
This past weekend more than 40 activists from a diverse range of
fields and organizations, descended on DC to lobby Congress on behalf
of our fragile borderlands. The construction of the border wall
bisects communities and fragments habitats that act as a crucial
corridor for many species as they adapt to climate change. And all of
this occurs outside the rule of law. In 2005 the REAL ID Act conferred
upon the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security the
authority to waive any law in order to construct the wall.

Our activists are urging members of Congress to support Rep.
Grijalva's Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 (HR 2076)
which would restore the rule of law to the borderlands and safeguard
communities and habitats from this destructive border policy.

Take Action and call your member of Congress to support this lobby
effort.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=OVPPOY4nqACy0WaCija0xA.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=OVPPOY4nqACy0WaCija0xA.. </A>
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Representative Grijalva Calls Attention to Climate Change Threat to
Our National Parks

We have long known that in Representative Raul Grijalva, we have a
champion for our public lands. Just last week, Grijalva took it one
step further and published a much-needed article in Roll Call, a
newspaper commonly read by legislators and policy-makers on Capitol
Hill, detailing the connection between climate change and federal
lands.

In the piece, Grijalva sketches out some of the starkest and most
visible effects of climate change in our parks including the rapid
disappearance of glaciers from Glacier National Park and the decline
of Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park. Our forests, wildlife
refuges, national parks, and all federally-owned lands face steep
challenges in a changing climate. Glacial melting, spring flooding,
severe droughts, protracted wildfires, and invasive species are just a
few of the problems ahead.

Grijalva's article acts as a call to action for the federal land
management agency that manages 650 million acres but has yet to
earnestly recognize and manage for climate mitigation and adaptation.
For Grijalva, this is a three-step process. First, he wants to reverse
the Bush administration's de facto moratorium on any
climate-related research in regards to federal lands. Next, he wants
acknowledgement that using pristine areas for fossil fuel production
no longer makes sense. We must recognize and account for the natural
benefits that these areas provide for us and help them to adapt to
climate change without additional stressors. And lastly, land managers
and agencies must work together and present a united front to both
help lands adapt to climate change as well as put them to use fighting
it.

Grijalva's article is a bold call to action and a recognition that we
still have a long way to go. The adaptation piece that will likely
make its way into the Waxman-Markey climate bill is a beginning of the
funding of such efforts. But the collaboration must be extensive, the
reach must be vast, and the work must begin now. Our lands cannot
afford to wait.

Read the story here.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=SFfYbJHna0qA492dYPhxag.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=SFfYbJHna0qA492dYPhxag.. </A>
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Sierra Club Celebrates National Fish Habitat Action Plan With Events
In Washington, DC

Over April 26 and 27, Sierra Club celebrated the ongoing success of
the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, with events in Washington, DC.
With partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, U.S. Geological Survey,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service
American Fly Fishing Trade Association and Temple Fork Outfitters,
Sierra Club co-sponsored both the Jim Range National Casting Call and
Family & Youth Casting Call, bringing members of the public
together with representatives of the Obama Administration to enjoy
fishing on the Potomac River and learn about the importance of
fisheries conservation.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=bb0gybngm7u8UthahJKkYA.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=bb0gybngm7u8UthahJKkYA.. </A>
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=iy35tkaH0kdzd2ovWlV_Bw.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=iy35tkaH0kdzd2ovWlV_Bw.. </A>
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=SzyjWGTbcpk3MYPp-Gc_Cg.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=SzyjWGTbcpk3MYPp-Gc_Cg.. </A>

"Recreational fishing adds $125 billion to the U.S. economy every
year, supporting over 1 million jobs and creating over $34 billion in
wages," said Sierra Club Washington, DC Representative Bart Semcer.
"Wild salmon, brook trout and other fisheries this economy depends on
are all at increased risk from climate change. The National Fish
Habitat Action Plan is one of the best tools we have to safeguard
these important resources in a warmer world."

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan was launched in 2001 and is a
cooperative effort between government agencies, industry and
non-governmental organizations, including the Sierra Club. The plan
has set goals of identifying priority fisheries in need of increased
conservation efforts by 2010, protecting all healthy and intact
fisheries by 2015 and improving condition of 90% of priority habitats
and species by 2020.
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Administration Announces Offshore Renewable Energy Framework
President Obama and the Department of the Interior announced on April
22nd the completion of a framework for renewable energy production on
the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The framework issues regulations
which govern offshore energy projects that use wind, ocean currents,
or wave power to produce electricity. This includes granting leases,
easements, and rights-of-way for environmentally responsible renewable
energy production.

This framework has been a long time coming. The Energy Policy Act of
2005 gave authority to the Minerals Management Service to regulate
renewable energy production on the OCS, but up until now nothing has
happened. Secretary Salazar made finalizing these rules a priority
since coming into office and we are now likely to see the first
electricity production from offshore projects in two or three years.
Salazar has continually emphasized the importance of renewable energy
development over traditional dirty energy and we now have a way to
safely and effectively move forward.

Read the DOI press release.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=9AlNZY240Q9ZEuFhbNgecw.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=9AlNZY240Q9ZEuFhbNgecw.. </A>
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Offshore Drilling Hearings a Huge Success
During the past month, the Department of the Interior held four
regional hearings across the country to gather input from the public
on how best to manage our offshore energy resources. All the hearings
went phenomenally well as hundreds of citizens showed up to voice
their opposition to drilling. Secretary Salazar was actively involved
answering questions and responding to public concerns. He was right on
message and continually emphasized the offshore renewable energy
potential of our coasts, especially wind potential. Additionally, the
vast majority of the press that came out of the hearings presented the
issue in a favorable and balanced light. Much thanks to all our
organizers, volunteers, and members who worked hard to make these
hearings the success they were. Salazar's announcement of the OCS
Renewable Energy Framework a mere week after the final hearing is a
testimony to the fact that our voices were heard.

Read about the Sierra Club's involvement with the hearings on
Treehugger.
<A href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=TlBkUTDK12j9fF6DHmos9w.." > http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=TlBkUTDK12j9fF6DHmos9w.. </A>
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Resilient Habitats News gives you insiders' knowledge of what's
happening to our public lands in the face of climate change, what the
Sierra Club is doing to help out, and what actions you can take to
address these critical issues.