DUBAI // Local authorities and non-profit groups are calling for a co-ordinated national attack on animal cruelty, after the shooting of two cats this month and other incidents.

Mickey, a cat from Al Barsha, was shot 12 times and suffered skull, lung, pelvis and leg injuries. The other cat, Safa, who lives near Safa Park, has been shot in the head twice in three months.

"Proactive steps against animal cruelty are taken by the authorities but such acts happen globally when individuals ignore the law," said Dr Max Spicer of The Veterinary Hospital in Al Quoz, who treated both cats.

Such crimes and other cases of cruelty prompted the municipality's veterinary department to last week organise its first UAE Animal Welfare Conference.

Participants including representatives from municipalities, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) and K9 Friends met officials from the Ministry of Environment and Water to call for a more cohesive strategy.

Dr Elsayyed Mohamed, the programme manager of Ifaw, said common violations included dog fights, irresponsible ownership, improper transport and keeping exotic and endangered animals as pets.

"We need a nationwide database clearly identifying the number of cases that go to court and penalties should be specific and categorised," Dr Mohamed said.

Jackie Ratcliffe, chairman of the dog rescue group K9 Friends, said: "There is still frustration and emotion around this topic. The laws are there but need to be properly implemented because, in the area of cruelty, there are still unanswered questions."

In 2007, the President passed a law outlining animal welfare policy, and in 2008 a ministerial decree outlined which crimes against animals were punishable.

The animal welfare division in the Ministry of Water and Environment is responsible for setting laws and regulations, and carries out its own inspections, while municipalities are responsible for enforcing the laws in their emirates, issuing fines and referring cases to prosecution.

In Dubai, the municipality's veterinary department investigates cases. Adil Al Badri, the head of theanimal welfare unit, said its inspectors had seen cases of overcrowding, animal depression, injuries, overworking and disease on farms, at ports and in markets, and issued fines accordingly.

In Abu Dhabi, the animal welfare department at Abu Dhabi's Food Control Authority investigates the treatment of animals at farms.

"If there is good management, animals will not fall ill and disease will not spread," said Mutasim Al Rosan, a food-safety inspector at the Ministry of Environment and Water.

Mr Al Rosan said a law regarding the transport of animals would soon be introduced and a national law on farms inspection was also being studied because "a unified code of practice is currently not in place".

Animal welfare is a matter of "fine tuning", said Dr Hamid Orban, a specialist from the animal welfare section at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, who also stressed transport was a crucial issue.

"One of the main unanswered questions is who is responsible for issuing licences for transporting animals and overseeing the movement within the Emirates?" Dr Orban said, agreeing with Dr Mohamed that there were too many "irregularities in penalties".

"It is irresponsible ownership that leads to animal suffering," he said.

Mrs Ratcliffe said the situation was far better than when the organisation was established in 1989.

Since 2000, she said, more than 3,000 dogs had been given new homes through K9 Friends. And about 143 dogs were being cared for in K9 Friend's new shelter in the Jebel Ali Industrial Area, paid for by the Dubai Government in 2007.

"Cruelty is often caused by ignorance," Mrs Ratcliffe said. "We have many educational campaigns to teach young kids so that these cases do not happen in the future."

Developers can never again claim that residents of Alaska’s Lake and Peninsula Borough want them to build the dangerous Pebble Mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay.

In a major victory for opponents of the mine, voters in the Bristol Bay region have passed the Save Our Salmon initiative, which would prohibit the borough from issuing permits for mining projects that would threaten to destroy salmon habitat.

Pebble Limited Partnership hopes to develop the mine roughly 200 miles southwest of Anchorage and just north of Iliamna. Pebble Mine would be the largest open-pit mine in North America, involving the excavation of billions of tons of raw ore containing copper, gold and molybdenum.

The mine would threaten the largest remaining wild sockeye salmon run in the world, which sustains the world’s richest commercial wild-salmon fishery; the habitat for tens of millions of salmon that spawn in the streams of the Bristol Bay watershed; and the subsistence ways of life of Alaska Natives who depend on fishing to feed their families. Sixty-five percent of the borough’s residents Alaska Natives, and most continue to practice traditional subsistence fishing activities that have sustained their people and culture for thousands of years.

The issue will now head to court in November because Pebble Limited Partnership has challenged the initiative’s legality. So has the state of Alaska, which claims authority over the development of natural resources belongs to the legislature, not local governments.

Concern that Pebble Mine could cause an environmental catastrophe in Alaska has unified a vast coalition of sport and subsistence-fishing interests, commercial fishermen and seafood processors, Native groups, former state and federal regulators and elected officials, conservation groups, and even churches.

Pebble Limited Partnership, which includes Northern Dynasty Minerals and the giant mining company Anglo American, has waged its own public relations campaign to convince the public that the mine would be an economic boon to the Lake and Peninsula Borough region.

But when local residents mailed in their ballots over the past few weeks, the majority approved the initiative 280 to 246.

What chance does a relatively small group of voters have against an international juggernaut willing to spend millions of dollars trying to force the construction of an open-pit mine in such a rare and special place? We’ll see what the courts say.

But the voters have already decided: Pebble Mine isn’t welcome in Bristol Bay.

Peta update

In the aerial view of SeaWorld, one can see how little room orcas have. Inside the circle is Tilikum, whose nose and tail almost touch the ends of his tank.
In a groundbreaking move for animals, PETA, with the help of three marine-mammal experts and two former orca trainers, will file a landmark lawsuit tomorrow asking a federal court to declare that five wild-caught orcas forced to perform at SeaWorld are being held as slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The 13th Amendment prohibits the condition of slavery, without reference to "person" or any particular class of victims. PETA's general counsel, Jeffrey Kerr, stated, "Slavery does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on gender, race, or religion."

In the wild, orcas work cooperatively, form complex relationships, communicate using distinct dialects, and swim up to 100 miles every day. Their life at SeaWorld deprives them of everything that is natural and important to them. They are limited to small, barren concrete tanks and are forced to perform stupid tricks in exchange for dead fish.

Our understanding of animals grows every day. Animals should no longer be regarded as "things" to dominate, but as breathing, feeling beings with families, intellect, and emotions. The 13th Amendment exists to abolish slavery in all its forms—and this lawsuit is the next step. Please read about this precedent-setting lawsuit, post it on Facebook and Twitter, and tell everyone you know about it.

You can help animals imprisoned by SeaWorld today. Click here to write to The Blackstone Group—the company that owns SeaWorld—and ask that it immediately set in place a firm and rapid plan to release the animals to sanctuaries that can provide them with an appropriate and more natural environment.

7/1/11

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Palm Beach County pet owners must unchain their animals Friday and remove them from tight outdoor cages under a sweeping new law enacting some of Florida's toughest animal-care measures.

The controversial law, which passed in March, prohibits tethering animals at any hour — a step up from the previous daytime ban. Dogs still can be tied up under direct supervision and at some events such as shows.

The law also requires outdoor dog shelters be at least 80 square feet; they never can reach more than 85 degrees inside.

The new rules mark a victory for animal-rights groups and a major defeat for hunting-dog clubs and other groups that claim it goes too far.

Terry Workman, president of the Everglades Regional Dog Hunters Association, said the strict cage requirements will force lead some hunters to give away or abandon their dogs.

"It starts costing people a lot of money if they have two or three dogs," said Workman, adding he doesn't object to the tethering ban.

Workman keeps eight hunting dogs in cages behind his West Palm Beach home — three hound dogs and five Curs. Some fellow raccoon and hog hunters can't afford new shelters or don't have room in their yards, he said.

First-time violators of the tethering and shelter rules face a $100 fine. A second offense within a year comes with a $250 fine and a third offense costs $500. Depending on the severity of the violation, criminal charges may be filed.

Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control drafted the new law, aguing that it targets animal owners who keep their pets in deplorable conditions, Capt. Dave Walesky said.

"We were seeing people putting dogs in rabbit hutches," he said. "Before, we didn't have anything to stop them from doing that."

The county law requires more health protections for guard dogs and more disclosure to pet-store customers about where dogs and cats come from.

Palm Beach County's anti-tethering rule closely mirrors other restrictive measures gaining steam in Florida. Miami-Dade passed a similar ban in 2009. Broward County has no law on the books preventing people from tying up their dogs or requiring specific shelters outdoors.

Failed attempts to change that led some Broward cities to pass their own anti-tethering laws. Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach and Pembroke Pines are among those that ban daytime or unattended tethering.

Heidi Jones, who represents Miami and Broward for the nonprofit group Dogs Deserve Better, said she pressed Pembroke Pines to pass a tethering ban in August. It goes farther than other laws by also banning tethering in garages and requiring people supervising a tethered dog to stay within arm's reach.

Jones said Palm Beach County's law is a big step in the right direction.

"Palm Beach County has really been at the forefront," she said.

However, groups such as the National Animal Interest Alliance were unhappy with the unanimous passage of the Palm Beach County regulations. The organization, which represents animal breeders, owners and their animals, failed to get Palm Beach County commissioners to soften the tethering law.

"It's too black-and-white," said Patti Strand, National Animal Interest Alliance chairwoman. "[People] will either let their dogs go or take them to a shelter."

Many people cannot afford to fence-in their dogs, she said, and in some cases, tethering them can be appropriate and humane. Dog trolleys or runners attached overhead allow dogs to move around more. The county could have allowed the option of a fence around a tethered dog in urban areas where dogs are more likely to bite passersby.

You may love your cell. But aren’t there times when you’d like to tune it out? Forbes magazine writer Monte Burke has just put together a list of some of the best places to escape the rat race.

The list is a reminder that you can still find places in this great land where the only sounds are created by Mother Nature: the song of the hermit thrush, rustling leaves, the howl of a wolf.

Almost all these spots belong to you, and to the rest of us. Some are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, protected for all time from mining, oil drilling, motorized traffic, and the like. Others on his list do not enjoy that level of protection but remain undeveloped for now.

We worked with Monte as he developed his list, and he cites members of our staff who are knowledgeable about some of these first-class getaways. You can read his story and enjoy photos of the places on his list at:

The Wilderness Society is dedicated to the wise management of the lands that you have inherited. In this increasingly noisy and crowded country, the need for places to escape is growing every day. We are teaming up with other conservationists, churches, business owners, the Garden Club of America, sportsmen, and others to protect this natural legacy.

Eight endangered Rothschild's giraffe recently arrived at their ancestral home on the shores of Lake Baringo, Kenya. Their arrival marked a long-awaited homecoming for the species—for nearly 70 years, Rothschild's giraffe have been absent from the Lake Baringo area, which was once part of their native range. The area has now been turned into a nature reserve—the Ruko Conservancy—to help ensure the long-term protection of the rare species of giraffe.

With only 670 Rothschild's giraffe left in the wild, conservationists hope that by transferring these eight giraffes to the Ruko Conservancy, they can establish a new population and thereby reduce the risk that now looms over this endangered species.

The transport of the eight giraffe took conservationists four years to plan and required input from multiple organizations including the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Northern Rangelands Trust, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, The Tusk Trust and The Born Free Foundation.

Immense care was given to the well-being of the giraffes during each stage of the journey. The translocation effort began in Soysambu Conservancy near Nakuru, Kenya. Conservationists captured eight giraffe and placed them in a holding area for three weeks to minimize stress on the animals and to prepare them for the move. The giraffes were then taken by specially-designed vehicle to the edge of Lake Baringo and transferred onto a modified landing craft. The landing craft ferried the giraffe across the lake to the Ruko Conservancy. The giraffe were released into another holding area where they will be kept for several weeks while they adjust to their new surroundings.

In August 2010, Rothschild's giraffe were recognized as an endangered species by the IUCN, in large part due to the efforts of scientists from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation who have been studying the species.

This Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct and is now moving forward with plans to remove them from the Endangered Species Act.

While many suspected that cougars, otherwise known as catamount, mountain cat, mountain lion, panther, or puma, had been wiped out in the east for a while, others believed they were still here eluding humans as to their whereabouts, which lead to their nickname “ghost cat.”

At least 108 sightings have been reported between 1900 and 2010, although none of them were confirmed. Most were believed to have been western cougars spotted during migration, or domesticated or captive cougars that got loose.

In 2007, the UWFWS began a review of trail cameras, eyewitness accounts and road kill reports and is now confident that the eastern cougar is extinct. It’s been 70 years since the last confirmed sighting in Maine.

Eastern cougars once thrived, but became the victims of overzealous hunting and bounties and also suffered from a decline of white-tailed deer, their main prey, which lead to their decline. They were added to the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

The loss of a top predator has lead to a vast increase in deer populations and a decline in forest health in the east. Some experts believe that the western cougar will eventually makes its way east to fill in the gap.

Others including organizations, such as the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, would like to see a reintroduction of wolves and cougars, but expect that suggestions or plans to do so would meet opposition.

"Our ecosystems are collapsing up and down the East Coast, and they're collapsing because we have too many white-tailed deer," said Christopher Spatz, the organizations president. "Our forests are not being permitted to regenerate."
He added that cougars and wolves would naturally thin the deer herd through direct predation while also acting as "natural shepherds," forcing deer to become more vigilant and "stop browsing like cattle."

SACRAMENTO, CA, March 4, 2011 – United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Dean Lundie, 59, of Orland, was convicted yesterday of unauthorized taking from a National Wildlife Refuge, destruction of natural objects from a National Wildlife Refuge, unlawfully cutting, injuring, or destroying trees on United States land, and trespassing on a National Wildlife Refuge. The guilty verdict was returned by a federal jury in Sacramento after a four-day trial before United States Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman.

According to testimony presented at trial, Lundie cut down more than 35 trees in the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge, took the cut wood for himself, destroyed additional flora on the refuge land by pouring gravel, and trespassed by exceeding the scope of his access on the refuge land. Lundie owns property adjacent to the refuge, which has an easement to allow him access to his well on the refuge property, but he did not have authorization to do any of the acts for which he was prosecuted.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Misdemeanor Prosecutors Catherine Chyi and Robert Sweetin are prosecuting the case.

Lundie is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Newman on May 18, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for a misdemeanor violation of unauthorized taking, destruction, and trespass is six months in prison. The maximum statutory penalty for a misdemeanor violation of destruction of trees is one year in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This is outrageous.

This winter, Cabela’s and Sportsmans Warehouse, two major outdoor retailers , sponsored predator derbies in Idaho where formerly protected wolves were targeted by contestants who vied to see who could kill the most wolves and other animals over a two-day period.

Worse, the entry fees for these brutal competitions were then funneled to support anti-wolf lawyers working to keep wolves in Greater Yellowstone off the endangered species list.

Wildlife-loving people fought too hard for too long to rescue wolves in the northern Rockies from the brink of extinction to silently tolerate corporate sponsorship of bloody competitions like this.

That’s why I’ve joined Defenders of Wildlife’s fight to get Cabela’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse to withdraw their support for predator derbies that target wolves, and I am hoping you will too.

Please sign the petition online at http://action.defenders.org/wolfderbies.

Thanks for helping…

1/5/10

It’s a new year for all of us, but 2010 could also be the year that we bring endangered jaguars back to the American Southwest where they belong.

Defenders is kicking off a new year of advocacy for the jaguar -- and we need your help to turn things around for these magnificent wild cats before it’s too late.

To jumpstart our efforts, we’re mounting an exciting grassroots campaign to raise awareness about the plight of the American jaguar and put public pressure on our leaders to make jaguar recovery a priority.

If you haven’t made your New Year’s resolution yet -- or simply want to do more for wildlife this year, please join other conservationists in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas who want to help bring jaguars back to their rightful home in the U.S. by signing up to be a part of our new citizen media team for jaguars -- Team Jag!

Despite their tropical associations, jaguars once lived in the American Southwest as far north as the Grand Canyon. Sadly, they were mostly killed off in the U.S. by the early 1900s and are considered endangered throughout their entire range (all the way down to Patagonia).

You might remember hearing about a well-known jaguar -- Macho B -- that had been spotted in Arizona for more than a decade. Though Macho B died last year, his memory is a powerful reminder of a time when jaguars were more plentiful, and a hopeful sign that -- with help from caring people like you -- they can and will return to their rightful home.

Under the Bush administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) refused to write a recovery plan for American jaguars. But after Defenders took the government to court, a federal judge ruled that our jaguars deserve the full protection of the Endangered Species Act and ordered the FWS to reconsider its initial refusal to protect these incredibly rare cats.

While we await this new decision, the jaguar’s future hangs in the balance. That’s why we’re reaching out to you now, to ask you to make helping to restore jaguars one of your New Year’s resolutions in 2010.

Here's how it works: just click here to join Team Jag right now, and we’ll contact you when there’s an opportunity to build support for jaguar recovery in your community by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or helping to be a voice for jaguars on the radio or online. It’s that simple.

Working together, we can help change the debate and put pressure on the federal government to make up for lost time -- and begin working to save jaguars from extinction now before it’s too late.

So what are you waiting for? Please join Team Jag today to give jaguars a tomorrow in the American Southwest.

For the Wild Ones,

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.”

Related Links

• New York City to celebrate national parks
• Agency says 29 species may need federal protection
• Scouts battle blisters, vertigo on 100-mile record hike
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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.