--- begin forwarded text X-Sent-via: StarNet http://www.azstarnet.com/ Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 12:27:41 -0700 From: Wildlife Damage Review <[log in to unmask]> To: action alerts-to post <[log in to unmask]> Subject: wildlife collection in parks and monuments, cont. Sender: [log in to unmask] Dear Wildlife Damage Review members, the following was sent to us from an anonymous person with the National Park Service. This is a hot issue that started out as a localized request and is now becoming a national issue. Please do pass this on to your local media and encourage them to investigate this issue and do a story. Thanks, Nancy Zierenberg, WDR Here is an update on eagles in Wupatki for Wildlife Damage Review. Thank you for posting the previous message. It really helped raise the profile of the issue. "On Thursday, November 25th, 1999, the Los Angeles Times reported that Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt has decided to allow Hopi Indians to take eaglets next spring from the only golden eagle nest in the Wupatki National Monument in Arizona. Up until now, neither the Hopi, nor any other Indian tribe, has been allowed to take eagles from any area of the national park system under an Eagle Protection Act permit. The LA Times article shows that Babbitt intends to go even further. Babbitt appears to advocate allowing the take of any non-listed animals from any national park system area as long as such take falls under the very broad category of Indian religious practice. All national parks and monuments are now closed by law and National Park Service (NPS) regulation to the taking of animals except for some limited research purposes that support the NPS preservation mission. So Secretary Babbitt has charged his solicitors to craft an opinion supporting his planned action. The Department of the Interior is also working on a new regulation to allow the take of animals from parks for religious purposes. This is a radical about-face for the NPS which determined in 1983 that the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) of 1978 did not overturn the laws and rules that protect animals and plants in parks. The Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have agreed that AIRFA is quite limited in scope and does not overturn Federal laws and agency rules that govern lands and protect animals. Many in the NPS rank and file are upset about the Department's intent to sacrifice the parks on the altar of political expediency. Is the Endangered Species Act next? What about Wilderness? Does AIRFA exempt religious practitioners from the prohibitions of these laws? We say to the Secretary: 'What you are about to do will fundamentally alter the national park system as we know it, after 105 years of history, starting with the ban on hunting in Yellowstone in 1894. If the nation wishes to open parks to religious taking of animals, it is up to Congress. Congress alone may reconcile the perceived conflict between AIRFA and the NPS mission to manage parks as sanctuaries for wildlife.' Meanwhile, the Secretary has not even prepared an environmental impact statement to consider the effects of his proposed action or the alternatives to it. Quite a legacy for a Secretary whose term ends in a year! Those who care about the integrity of our parks and their wildlife will challenge you every step of the way. Sacrificing America's national parks will become an issue that the Gore campaign must answer for in 2000." --- end forwarded text ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Rex L. Bavousett Photographer University of Iowa Our old name: University Relations - Publications Our new name: University Communications & Outreach - Publications 100 OPL, Iowa City, IA 52242 http://www.uiowa.edu/~urpubs/ mailto:[log in to unmask] voice: 319 384-0053 fax: 319 384-0055 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]