Tue, 29 Dec 2009
News: National | Animals

A wildlife park is celebrating the arrival of one of the smallest kiwi born in captivity, but the tiny bird is not out of the woods yet.

The hatching this month of the chick affectionately nicknamed Piwi is the first successful hatching at Orana Wildlife Park in nine years.

While the little kiwi appears healthy and perky, it remains on the park's critical care list.

Park staff with no experience of a kiwi hatching had to get specialist advice over a speaker phone as they carefully removed layers of shell and membrane to help free the struggling chick.

"We experienced problems throughout the incubation and hatching process and feared for the chick's survival," said the head keeper of native fauna, Tara Atkinson.

"We considered it a miracle egg as at one stage we thought it had died."

Park staff said the chick had lost 25% of its body weight and could not afford to lose any more.

It now weighs about 170g.

Chicks normally lost weight for about 10 days before starting to gain weight.

Keepers are feeding Piwi twice a day and the rate of weight loss is decreasing.

The tiny chick was born with curled feet and staff had to apply splints to help to straighten them.

The splints have helped the chick's mobility and it motors around on its new legs.

Our country is in dire need of education that stops water pollution and habitat destruction.

Nearly half of our population does not know what a watershed is; let alone which one they live in.

Right now, your U.S. representative has the opportunity to support a bill that will increase funding for key environmental and watershed education programs.

This bill will educate America's youth about their local watershed and provide opportunities for them to experience their watershed firsthand.

Clean watersheds are not only essential to wildlife survival on land and in the water, but also to our health. By investing in our youth through environmental education, we can secure healthy watersheds for years to come!

Ask your representative to help build the next generation of habitat stewards today.

Sincerely,

Julia Marden
Online Grassroots Coordinator
National Wildlife Federation
alerts@nwf.org

Wildlife cams

• Africam.com/Nkorho pan, Elephant Plains, Flamingo and Tempe cam(streaming video) - South Africa
• Bird nests in Nederlands - (different cams-streaming video)
• Black Vultures -Spain-Balears (streaming video)
• Estonia - looduskalender.ee (different cams)-streaming video
• Finland - NatureIT - Sääksikameraa (refreshing cam)
• France - Ardeche-Refuge LPO feeder cam
• Gentoo Penguins - Antarctica (refreshing)
• Hailuoto-Marjaniemi-Finland (refreshing cam)
• Pete's Pond cam / National Geographic (streaming video) - Botswana
• Scottish Seabird Centre (refreshing cams)
• Scottish Wildlife Trust-Osprey cam (streaming video)
• White Storks - Bornheim, Germany (refreshing cams)
• Wildearth TV, South Africa (streaming video)

	Wildlife Groups Commend the Interior Department for Seeking to Halt Polar Bear Trade

October 16, 2009

Trade in Polar Bear Skin Rugs and Other Parts Threatens the Species

WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Defenders of Wildlife applaud the United States Department of the Interior for submitting a proposal to next year's meeting of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to stop the international trade in polar bears. The meeting is set for March 13-25 in Doha, Qatar.
"By submitting this proposal, the United States is, once again, leading the way to save this magnificent species from extinction. International trade in polar bear parts and products is exacerbating the devastating impact that climate change is already having on the polar bear. We should not be making rugs out of polar bears at a time when they are threatened with extinction," said Teresa M. Telecky, Ph.D., director of wildlife for Humane Society International, the global affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States.
There are presently between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears and the number is decreasing.
"On May 8, 2009, Secretary Salazar said that he and President Obama were fully committed to protecting polar bears, and that we must do everything we can to eliminate all threats to the species. With this laudable action, they are making good on that commitment. By uplisting the species at the next CITES conference, the U.S. will help prevent the deaths of hundreds of polar bears killed needlessly for the commercial market," said Jeff Flocken, D.C. office director, International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Polar bears are completely dependent on sea ice, which they use for hunting prey, reproduction and movement. Ongoing atmospheric pollution is causing oceanic and atmospheric warming, leading to reductions in sea ice. Some scientists have concluded that polar bears will not survive past the end of this century due to the complete loss of summer sea ice.
In addition to hunting trophies, polar bear parts — skin, fur, claws, skulls and even stuffed bears — enter international commercial trade. More than 500 polar bear skins are traded annually; most come from Canada and most go to Japan.
In 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This ended the importation to the United States of trophies of polar bears killed by American sport hunters. Although hunters from other countries can still import trophies, the United States was by far the largest importer and American trophy hunters had driven this large-scale commercial killing.
"While we cannot stop the impacts of global warming on polar bears immediately, one thing we can do is quickly address other threats which are heightening the bear's problems, such as the commercial trade. By increasing protections for polar bears under CITES, we can start to give the polar bear some more protections while we take the necessary steps to address global warming," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president, Defenders of Wildlife.
The proposal would transfer the polar bear from CITES Appendix II, which allows regulated international commercial trade, to Appendix I, which prohibits all international commercial trade in the listed species. The purpose of CITES is to prevent over-exploitation of species through international trade.
The Appendix I designation would mean that countries agree to prohibit international trade for primarily commercial purposes and thus ensure that international trade will not contribute to the ongoing decrease in polar bear numbers. Appendix I listing will not affect native subsistence hunting or use of polar bears.

10/10/09

Thank you for standing up for the Arctic! With your help, The Wilderness Society and partner groups delivered an astounding 280,000 letters to the Obama administration last month, asking for a roll-back of Bush-era plans to open sensitive Arctic waters to oil and gas development. Together we sent a resounding message to the Department of the Interior, which we hope will result in a science-based plan for the Arctic's future. Much more work remains to be done to ensure that the Arctic ecosystem is protected. But thanks to the generosity of so many WildAlert subscribers, we are better fortified to do the work that will lead to that outcome.

And more positive news on an initiative we recommended to the new administration to help address climate change on our landscapes. For the first time ever, the Interior Secretary has directed the agency to set up a new mechanism for the diverse land management agencies within the Department to address climate change in an integrated, coordinated way.

Did you catch the Ken Burns series The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS last week? In his usual brilliant fashion, Burns captures the passion of place that has inspired so many of us to care for our national lands, and reminds us how very fortunate we are to have them. Burns recently sat down with us to discuss his documentary. Watch the interview here.

If you're seeking a bit of inspiration today, click here to take a walk through wilderness, courtesy of our wilderness photo

Tomorrow is National Public Lands Day, celebrating places like Montana’s Lewis and Clark National Forest -- one of the last bastions for the wolverines in the Lower 48 United States -- and Bridger-Teton National Forest -- home of North America’s fastest land mammal, the pronghorn.

Unfortunately, special wild places like these -- and the wolverines, pronghorns and other wildlife that need them to survive -- are increasingly threatened by largely unchecked development, poorly planned energy exploration and production and climate change.

Take action today for America’s natural treasures! Urge your U.S. representative to protect our public lands and the vital habitat they provide for our wildlife by cosponsoring the America’s Wildlife Heritage Act (H.R. 2807).

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administer 449 million acres of land. Some of the wildest places left in the U.S. are tucked away in these national forests, grasslands and BLM lands -- and they’re owned by you, the American taxpayer.

The Forest Service and the BLM are supposed to balance the needs of development interests with those of the millions of hikers, anglers, campers, wildlife enthusiasts and other Americans who use these lands.

But for too long, and especially over the past eight years, these agencies have tilted the balance in favor of development interests… offering oil and gas companies, loggers, mining interests and developers increasingly unfettered access to exploit the resources found on our public lands.

Help us restore balance to our public lands and protect the wildlife that lives there. Urge your representative to support the America’s Wildlife Heritage Act.

Nearly 3,000 wildlife species and 10,000 plant species inhabit the lands overseen by the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Approximately 3,400 towns and cities depend on national forest watersheds for their public water supplies. And millions of Americans make use of these lands for camping, backcountry hiking, kayaking, rafting and canoeing, angling, wildlife viewing and other outdoor activities.

With so much at stake, isn’t it time to manage these lands more responsibly?

Please take action today to help us protect these special places and the amazing natural treasures that can be found there.

For the Wild Ones,

Sandra Purohit
Associate, Government Relations
Defenders of Wildlife

Vilsack vision for Forest Service focuses on restoration

September 14, 2009 - Restoration. That’s a very important word to those of us who work in  conservation. Following on decades of logging in our national forests — much of it unsustainable — considerable work is needed to restore the ecosystems our forests contain. That’s why I was especially excited to hear that watershed restoration is at the heart of the Obama Administration’s vision for our national forests, as laid out by Agriculture Secretary Vilsack in August. more

The UK’s most wildlife friendly farmer

September 17th, 2009 | by Nick | This year’s UK’s most wildlife friendly farmer has been named after a public poll organised by the RSPB. His name is Michael Calvert and he’s from Northern Ireland. He won thanks to his work on promoting wildlife on his farm, home to a vibrant range of birds, insects, mammals and plants including barn owls, bullfinches, smooth newts, Irish stoats and orchids.

Some of Colorado's most pristine places are at risk. While the federal 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects nearly 60 million acres of pristine forests throughout the nation, the state of Colorado continues to move forward with a proposal that would  exempt the state from the national rule, replacing it with a weaker version that could damage some of the most beautiful countryside in Colorado.

Please help us stop this dangerous proposal now. 

Currant Creek, high above the North Fork of the Gunnison River, is one of the places that could be ruined. This distinctly remote and unaltered landscape spans diverse mid-elevation forest landscape hosting aspen, oak and serviceberry. This area is essential to elk calving, mule deer rearing, migration and other seasonal wildlife habitat issues. 

Under the rule Colorado is proposing, Currant Creek would be opened to coal mining and a network of new roads — all far from any existing coal portals and transportation networks.

We need to stop this damage to Colorado's forests before it's too late.  Please ask President Obama to direct the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to suspend the state of Colorado's effort to approve a weakened roadless rule and to uphold the 2001 national rule instead.

MNN.COM > Lifestyle > Books

Shot in the park: America's national parks like you've never seen them

In a new coffee-table book, photographer Ian Shive celebrates a precious resource in breathtaking images. We caught up with Shive who tells us the story behind the book.

By Gerri Miller

Tue, Sep 15 2009 at 1:15 AM EST

Read more: NATIONAL PARKS

(All photos courtesy Ian Shive)

There are 58 national parks in the 391-unit National Park Service system, and if you haven’t yet visited them for yourself, the magnificent vistas and striking images of flora and fauna in The National Parks: Our American Landscape might prompt you to go. Photographer Ian Shive shot more than 3000 images over the course of four years at 33 of the parks, from Maine to Florida and California to Alaska, and selected 200 of “the best of my best” with the help of designer Iain Morris at Earth Aware publishing.

 

“I took into consideration geography, the season,” says Shive, who visited some parks multiple times. “Yellowstone in summer is completely different from Yellowstone in winter,” he points out. Other than making sure to represent every region of the U.S. (excepting Hawaii), “We wanted to get away from the traditional national parks book, and show a side of the parks that hadn’t been shown.” Rather than present the images geographically by park, “I wanted to mix it up, for the pages to relate by color, line and shape. I’m trying to convey how everything is connected, and this is a really cool way to show it.” Including iconic spots like Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon was a must, but otherwise, “You have to read the caption to know where it is. It’s a really new look at the parks.”

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Shive’s overall goal in doing the book was to “inspire people and get them motivated to go back and reconnect with nature. There are so few places like this anymore outside of the parks,” he notes, especially since so many state parks have closed or are in danger of doing so. A New Jersey native, he’s been passionate about the parks ever since his first family trip west to the Grand Canyon when he was 14, followed the following year by a visit to Glacier National Park in Montana. “That trip had a major influence on my decision to go to college in Montana at MSU Boseman, which is 90 miles north of Yellowstone National Park,” he says.

 

A committed conservationist, he “wanted to be able to give back in some way to nature and to the parks specifically” by doing the book and making a “sizeable donation” to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) from the proceeds. “The parks have been struggling with being under-funded for years, certainly under the Bush administration, though I see a recovery in sight now,” he reflects. Nevertheless, “The glaciers are disappearing in Montana. You couldn’t find a more obvious place to see climate change in action. They say Glacier National Park will be glacier-less by 2020. There’s a 190 ft deep lake where one of the largest glaciers once was.”

 

As for endangered species, “The Channel Island foxes are recovering but they walk a critical line because they’re isolated, and the wrong disease or the wrong management decision can wipe them out. It came close -- it was down to 15 foxes at one point and now it’s back up to around 1,500. That’s a conservation success story.”

 

Conscious of his own carbon footprint, Shive didn’t fly much on his photo trips (Denali in Alaska excepted), and estimates he put 72,000 miles on his car over the couple hundred days in the last two years he spent on the road. When he is home in Los Angeles, he keeps his office sustainable and paper-free. “I have bamboo floors, low-flow water units, and of course I recycle. The government needs to take the lead -- unless other alternatives are found it’s hard for people to make the huge strides that we need to make. But I think we can do our part too,” he believes.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Welcoming a new era for the Forest Service

August 20, 2009 - When Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stepped to the podium at a park in Seattle last week, he didn’t just make a speech about the Obama administration’s vision for managing national forests in the 21st century: He ushered in a whole new era for the Forest Service – one that makes restoring the health of our forests the top priority for the agency. more

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Wilderness Act turns 45 this Sept.3, and to honor this visionary legislation the Senate passed a resolution commemorating this lasting source of pride for all Americans. To be sure, the world has never seen legislation like it: a deliberate and visionary effort to protect from development vast areas of wild places, and to preserve them for the enjoyment of all Americans of every generation.
The Senate’s resolution honors the Wilderness Act by upholding the American tradition of protecting wilderness and preserving wild places as a legacy to our children. These are your wildlands — icons of America's natural heritage and identity. Not only do wilderness areas afford us a place to camp, canoe, hunt, or hike, they also provide us with clean air, pure water, and give ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them a fighting chance against climate change.
When the Wilderness Act was signed into law on September 3, 1964, it immediately protected nine million acres, including such wild icons as the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, the Bob Marshall in Montana, and the John Muir Wilderness in California. Since that time, more than a hundred million additional acres of protected land have been added to the National Wilderness Preservation System, including more than 2 million acres added when President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill into law last March.
Still, this remains less than five percent of the nation’s landmass. Today, citizens around the nation continue to work to ensure that America’s last few unspoiled landscapes are protected and remain forever wild.
Take a moment to see the resolution and read about the impressive history and diverse values of designated wilderness.

Ed Norton to Run NYC Marathon for Wildlife Conservation

Demis Maryannakis/Splash News Online

When nearly 40,000 people take to the streets of the Big Apple on November 1 for the annual New York City Marathon, there will be one familiar face in the crowd: that of Ed Norton. The actor is planning to pound the pavement — all 26.2 miles! — to raise funds for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a Kenya-based organization. Joined by magician David Blaine, three Kenyan Maasai warriors and a team of 30, Norton hopes to raise awareness about the East African tribal land and its uses. "I've never run a marathon before," Norton said in a statement. "The difficulty of it is both intimidating and motivating, especially when it's for a cause like this."

Norton became involved with the Trust about eight years ago during his first visit to Kenya, where he met founder Luca Belpietro. "Their approach to conservation is a model for the kind of partnerships we need to forge if we're going to solve the puzzle of being human but living sustainably within our environment," Norton said. The Trust's initiative helps to protect the land itself, cultivating its uses for people and animals.

While it's home to the Maasai people, the section of Kenya Norton is working to protect also serves as residence to an array of wildlife, whose well-being is in danger due to overgrazing, diversion of water, land sales and poaching. With funds raised by the marathon, Norton hopes to help create conservancy zones for the lions, giraffes, zebras and other creatures who find sanctuary here. The Wilderness Conservation Trust also aims to protect access to springs and other water sources and help limit animal-human conflict.

personal pocketbooks

Dollars and Sense: Five ways that protected wilderness boosts community

September 10, 2009

Rural economies are changing across America. The role of extractive industries like logging and mining has diminished considerably and is being replaced in part by a nature-based economy. And an increasing number of rural communities are confirming that protecting wilderness is good for the environment and their economy.

View the fact sheet by clicking on the link below.

File Attachments:
Dollars-and-Sense-Factsheet.pdf

Where is......

Where is everybody?

I hear a lot of people tout save this and save that! When it comes to saving wildlife, where are the people who are willing to go out into the Wild and literally fight for what they know is right?

Agency Recruitment

Is anyone interested in joining?