From Birdchris at aol.com Tue Jan 13 21:52:20 2009 From: Birdchris at aol.com (Birdchris@aol.com) Date: Tue Jan 13 21:52:19 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] BCNet: Need assistance with info on eagles, cranes and Henslow's Message-ID: Hi, I'm developing a position for Sierra Club on proposals by the Illinois Endangered Species Board to remove the Bald Eagle, Henslow's Sparrow and Sandhill Crane from the state Threatened Species list. The hearing is in Springfield on Jan. 23. Information, including the Board's reasons for de-listing these species is included at the web site listed in the meeting announcement below. Essentially, the Endangered Species Board says these three species are stable and thriving and should be removed from the Threatened list. If they are removed, they will lose the special protections they get now to increase the species' numbers. The Board will not provide the evidence they said was used by the Endangered Species Techincal Advisory Committee on birds to review the status of these three species. I can't find anything online about the background data. My emotions and intuition tell me that this is bad move by the Endangered Species Board, but I need scientific proof one way or the other. Geoff and I have been poring over Bohlen's Birds of Illinois, the latest Illinois Breeding Bird Atlas, Ridgeway for historical context, Birds of North America, and Meadowlark sightings. If you have other sources, personal expertise or know someone who can help, please get in touch ASAP. I would like to have my comments ready by Friday or Saturday. Thanks very much in advance, Christine Williamson Chicago/Cook _birdchris@aol.com_ (mailto:birdchris@aol.com) Interested Parties The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board (ESPB) will hold a public hearing at noon on January 23, 2009 at the Illinois Department of Natural Resouces (IDNR) headquarters to take public comment on proposed changes to the Illinois List of Threatened and Endangered Species resulting from the required 5-year review. Information about the public hearing can be viewed at the ESPB webpage on the IDNR website at _http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm_ (http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm) . Additional information currently available on the ESPB webpage includes the current List of Treatened and Endangered Species that was approved in 2004 and a notice for calendar year 2009 meetings. For ease of reference, the ESPB also plans to post meeting agendas and minutes to the site sometime in the near future. Please note that the ESPB has been without staff for some time and currently is operating with reduced staffing, so we ask for your patience as we address updates to the webpage and respond to queries for other information. Thank you. Anne Mankowski Director Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board One Natural Resources Way Springfield, IL 62702-1271 phone: (217) 785-8687 fax: (217) 785-2438 email: _anne.mankowski@illinois.gov_ (mailto:anne.mankowski@illinois.gov) **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De cemailfooterNO62) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090113/c943a946/attachment.html From lross at fieldmuseum.org Thu Jan 15 10:38:22 2009 From: lross at fieldmuseum.org (Laurel Ross) Date: Thu Jan 15 10:38:13 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] BCNet: Need assistance with info on eagles, cranes and Henslow's In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: this is the response I received when I asked my colleague Doug Stotz about this. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Douglas Stotz Date: Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 10:33 AM Subject: Fwd: IBET Changes in Illinois Endangered Species List (long, no sightings) To: Laurel Ross Dear Laurel, Here is the post I sent to IBET. Doug ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: douglas stotz Date: Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 12:11 PM Subject: IBET Changes in Illinois Endangered Species List (long, no sightings) To: ilbirds I wanted to respond to some recent posts on IBET about the upcoming proposed changes to the birds on the state threatened and endangered species lists. I am a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for birds that makes recommendations to the Endangered Species Board as to changes to the list. The committee consists of ornithologists from the Nature Conservancy, Illinois Audubon Society, University of Illinois, the Natural History Survey, and the Field Museum, as well as from IDNR. Data was collected from sources including the Breeding Bird Survey, the BCN census, the Meadowlark, Spring Bird Count, colonial bird censuses, the IDNR database on endangered and threatened species, personal field work, and communications from other observers in the state, and probably other sources I am not thinking of right now. Based on a thorough review of the data, we suggested 7 changes to the status of birds on the list. We suggested adding Black-billed Cuckoo as threatened, increasing the status of Common Moorhen and Loggerhead Shrike to endangered from threatened, decreasing the status of Mississippi Kite to threatened from endangered and removing three threatened species, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, and Henslow's Sparrow. Not terribly surprisingly the concerns have expressed here on IBET have focused on the 3 species being removed from the list and the downlisting of Mississippi Kite. Nobody has complained about adding Black-billed Cuckoo (something I think long overdue, personally). I will tell you about the data we used to support the removal of the three species. I should say that although I am a member of the committee, these are my own personal views based on the documentation I have and my memmory of the discussions we had. Bald Eagles were extinct as a breeding bird in Illinois with no known nesting between 1943 and the 1970's. They have come roaring back with the removal of DDT from the landscape, and now nest in most of the available habitat in Illinois. There are breeding pairs up and down the Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers and scattered pairs along other major rivers and around some downstate reservoirs. There are now on the order of 100 breeding pairs in the state, and nesting success of established pairs has been good. The first breeding attempt within the Chicago city limits since the 1800s occurred recently. Because of the dramatic recovery of Bald Eagle in the lower 48 states it was recently removed from the federal endangered species list. Bald Eagles besides being protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty receive additional protection under the Bald Eagle Protection Act. So it seems to me that removing it from the Illinois threatened species list recognizes its recovery and does not materially affect its protection. Sandhill Cranes are another species that were extinct as breeders in Illinois. Populations in the upper Midwest began increasing in the 1960s, and the first recent nesting in Illinois was documented in 1979. Since then they have continued to increase and have moved from endangered in Illinois to threatened and now finally probably to be removed from the list. The species currently breeds in most of northern Illinois and every year it is found in new areas, although the stronghold is clearly the western Lake Co.-McHenry Co. lake district. I don't have an estimate of the current number of breeding pairs, but it is certainly several hundred. The Wisconsin population also continues to increase, and additional birds are likely added to the Illinois population from there. Surveys of wetland birds from northeastern Illinois show an annual increase of 33% in breeding populations over the last twenty-five years. It and Mute Swan are the only two among 12 wetland species analyzed that show increases. The other species surveyed include the rails, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Black Tern and Least Bittern. So wetland birds are doing poorly as reflected by the fact that 4 of these species are on the threatened or endangered lists, but Sandhill Crane is a success story. The one issue that I would say concerns me about Sandhill Crane is that it is a potentially huntable species. If it is delisted and the population continues to increase a hunting season could be implemented somewhere down the line. Once it is hunted, relisting the species if it started to decline would be very difficult. Henslow's Sparrow is an interesting one. It is a species that continues to do poorly nationally, but has clearly been increasing in Illinois as more and more land is being managed for grasslands. The committee developed a recovery goal for this species (with the plan to do so for all species). It required that Henslow's have breeding populations in 40+ counties and at least 10 protected sites with 20 or more breeding pairs. Most recent data showed Henslow's in 46 counties and at least a dozen populations of 20+ pairs on protected land. These protected large populations include at least five with more than 100 pairs. These protected populations are scattered around the state including Cook, Will, DuPage, Grundy, Iroquois, Cass, Perry, Jasper and Marion Cos. (Do you know where all these counties are?). One concern that has been raised is that the species seems to have done well in lands under CRP (Conservation Reserve Program), and with increasing corn prices and questions about the long-term continuation of that program (although such questions have existed for as long as I can remember), maybe those populations will be lost. However studies of the effects of changes in CRP enrollment in Illinois on Henslow's Sparrow look like they would not affect the Henslow's population here. My response would be that even if CRP went away and we lost all of that habitat, we have a large and secure population of Henslow's Sparrow in the state. It is no longer threatened. Okay, I have gone on far too long, I would finish by saying that while I understand people's worry about such changes (although remember that all of these species remain protected by other laws, in particular the migratory bird treaty act), I really believe they are justified by the data. Changes are always happening in the landscape, and some species including these three are responding favorably to these changes. Leaving these species on the list would weaken the list as an ally in trying to conserve our biodiversity by making it seem like you can never get anything off the list no matter how well it is doing and by diverting attention and resources from species that really there is a concern about, like the big suite of declining wetland species. Doug Stotz -- Douglas Stotz Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist Environmental and Conservation Programs Field Museum of Natural History 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL 60605 Phone: (312)-665-7438 Fax: (312)-665-7433 e-mail: dstotz@fieldmuseum.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar MARKETPLACE ________________________________ >From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity 1 New Members 1 New Photos Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Yahoo! Groups Everyday Wellness Zone Check out featured healthy living groups. Yahoo! Groups Going Green Zone Learn to go green. Save energy. Save the planet. . __,_._,___ -- Douglas Stotz Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist Field Museum of Natural History 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL 60605 dstotz@fieldmuseum.org tel: 312-665-7438 fax: 312-665-7433 -- "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ?Albert Einstein Laurel M. Ross, Urban Conservation Director Environmental and Conservation Programs The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605 312 665 7432 773 218 0850 (cell) On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 9:52 PM, wrote: > Hi, > > I'm developing a position for Sierra Club on proposals by the Illinois > Endangered Species Board to remove the Bald Eagle, Henslow's Sparrow and > Sandhill Crane from the state Threatened Species list. The hearing is in > Springfield on Jan. 23. Information, including the Board's reasons for > de-listing these species is included at the web site listed in the meeting > announcement below. > > Essentially, the Endangered Species Board says these three species are > stable and thriving and should be removed from the Threatened list. If they > are removed, they will lose the special protections they get now to increase > the species' numbers. The Board will not provide the evidence they said was > used by the Endangered Species Techincal Advisory Committee on birds to > review the status of these three species. I can't find anything online about > the background data. > > My emotions and intuition tell me that this is bad move by the Endangered > Species Board, but I need scientific proof one way or the other. Geoff and I > have been poring over Bohlen's Birds of Illinois, the latest Illinois > Breeding Bird Atlas, Ridgeway for historical context, Birds of North > America, and Meadowlark sightings. > > If you have other sources, personal expertise or know someone who can help, > please get in touch ASAP. I would like to have my comments ready by Friday > or Saturday. > > Thanks very much in advance, > Christine Williamson > Chicago/Cook > birdchris@aol.com > > > Interested Parties > > The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board (ESPB) will hold a public > hearing at noon on January 23, 2009 at the Illinois Department of Natural > Resouces (IDNR) headquarters to take public comment on proposed changes to > the Illinois List of Threatened and Endangered Species resulting from the > required 5-year review. Information about the public hearing can be viewed > at the ESPB webpage on the IDNR website at > http://www.dnr.state.il.us/espb/index.htm . > > Additional information currently available on the ESPB webpage includes the > current List of Treatened and Endangered Species that was approved in 2004 > and a notice for calendar year 2009 meetings. For ease of reference, the > ESPB also plans to post meeting agendas and minutes to the site sometime in > the near future. Please note that the ESPB has been without staff for some > time and currently is operating with reduced staffing, so we ask for your > patience as we address updates to the webpage and respond to queries for > other information. > > Thank you. > > Anne Mankowski > Director > Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board > One Natural Resources Way > Springfield, IL 62702-1271 > phone: (217) 785-8687 > fax: (217) 785-2438 > email: anne.mankowski@illinois.gov > > > ________________________________ > A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! > _______________________________________________ > bcnnet mailing list > bcnnet@ece.iit.edu > http://www.ece.iit.edu/mailman/listinfo/bcnnet > > -- "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ?Albert Einstein Laurel M. Ross, Urban Conservation Director Environmental and Conservation Programs The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605 312 665 7432 773 218 0850 (cell) From garysibio at gmail.com Thu Jan 15 14:09:37 2009 From: garysibio at gmail.com (Gary J Sibio) Date: Thu Jan 15 14:10:31 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] Endangered Species In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <496F9801.8050003@gmail.com> I can understand why people would not want to see these species removed from the Endangered Species List but I believe it should be done as long as the facts bear it out and that seems to be the case. If no species ever comes off the list then opponents of the legislation can claim that it is ineffective and, therefore, useless. Why bother having the list at all if it does no good. It is also dishonest to say that a species is endangered or threatened when it is not and that erodes the credibility of those who say they are. If you have no credibility, the public is not going to pay attention to what you have to say when you talk about a species that truly does need the protection. Just my two cents. -- Gary J Sibio To see my photos: http://garysibio.smugmug.com From cmarshbird at prodigy.net Thu Jan 15 14:15:29 2009 From: cmarshbird at prodigy.net (Carolyn A. Marsh) Date: Thu Jan 15 14:16:10 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] FW: IBET Re: Changes in Illinois Endangered Species List (no sightings) Message-ID: <347724A17A734B20B508B3BB687BF094@CLOVER> This is to BCN: Eric Seeker issued an invitation to attend a BCN meeting this weekend. I noticed that BCN members voted in the past not to meet at the South Shore Cultural Center on the Southeast side of Chicago because it was too inconvenient. That is understandable; however, it denies input by those living on the southeast side of Chicago and northwest Indiana for the opportunity to attend. Please consider that the Calumet Region residents should be able to have access to the meetings at least annually. Carolyn ____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________ >From IBET: What happens with the federal Endangered Species Act is critical to a state's ES program. I would hope that ornithologists and others appointed to Department of Natural Resources committees in every state would be concerned about the changes to the federal guideline and law and do not expect the general public to respond alone to the complex changes to the ES Act. What does the state list really mean? The scientists and others that compose the state list do not have the authority to investigate complaints of a problem with a listed bird. That is left to the law enforcement division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Does the IDNR keep a list of complaints and resolutions? Does the investigation depend on the resources of the IDNR, if so, what are the resources? In my experience in the Lake Calumet area the Endangered Species and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are not respected by officials, however, maybe other areas get more attention. Yeah, and Indiana is worse. Carolyn Marsh, Whiting, IN -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090115/f5f77b7a/attachment.html From cmarshbird at prodigy.net Thu Jan 15 15:48:01 2009 From: cmarshbird at prodigy.net (Carolyn A. Marsh) Date: Thu Jan 15 15:48:45 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] ESA - press release Message-ID: FYI, Carolyn Marsh FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press contact: Josh Mogerman, 312/780-7424 or jmogerman@nrdc.org If you are not a member of the press, please write to us at nrdcinfo@nrdc.org or see our contact page Groups Fight to Save the Endangered Species Act Last Minute Bush Rule Changes Threaten American Wildlife SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 17, 2008) - Environmentalists and commercial fishermen are fighting to protect the Endangered Species Act regulations from last-minute changes by the Bush administration that will dramatically weaken and limit the use of the landmark wildlife protection law, according to legal experts and scientists. The Bush plan has been roundly panned for eliminating science from federal agency decision making and ignoring objections from hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens across the country. In an effort to maintain protection for wildlife, a coalition of groups filed suit today to halt the last-minute rules. The suit claims that the Bush rule changes are illegal and expose America's most vulnerable plants and animals to new threats by allowing federal agencies to self-consult about potential project impacts on endangered species. In a major break from typical national environmental policy, no environmental impact statement has been conducted. Though the changes were announced last week, the final language was not published until Tuesday morning. After reviewing the changes, the groups' fears were realized regarding the changes. The suit was filed in the Northern District of California. Earthjustice is representing the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, Conservation Northwest, The Humane Society of the United States, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), and the Institute for Fisheries Resources. NRDC will also be co-counsel with Earthjustice. "We've gone to court over this issue before, we're doing so now and we'll continue to do so until the proper protections are in place for wildlife in peril," said Janette Brimmer, attorney for Earthjustice. "Requiring compliance with the Endangered Species Act only part of the time is not what was intended when Congress originally passed the ESA. These new set of rules are not in compliance with the original law." "The Endangered Species Act is the cornerstone of our country's environmental laws and the rule-changes in question run roughshod over its basic mandate," said Andrew Wetzler, director of NRDC's Endangered Species Program. "If the Bush administration thinks that the green groups and the general public will just step aside they are tone-deaf and wrong." "When it comes to protecting wildlife, we should listen to the scientists who spend their lives studying these animals. If they say global warming is the biggest threat to polar bears, then we should do what it takes to eliminate that threat," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope. "These rules would be a lasting reminder of all of the disdain for science and political trumping of expertise that have characterized the Bush Administration's efforts to dismantle fundamental environmental laws." "This last ditch effort to gut the nation's strongest wildlife-protection law is patently illegal, and will not succeed," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel of animal protection litigation and research for The Humane Society of the United States. "The party is over for these kinds of conservation rollbacks, and it's time to start talking about strengthening our commitments to the protection of endangered species." "Salmon recovery on the west coast depends on keeping the most environmentally damaged stocks from extinction," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), many of whose members depend on healthy salmon runs for their livelihoods. "This new rule would allow the very same federal water agencies who have destroyed many of our salmon runs through years of mismanagement to run for cover and escape their responsibility. The habitat protections and water reforms salmon desperately need to survive could be impossible under this new rule. This could be the death knell for a billion dollars salmon fishery already hard pressed to survive." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090115/3c7d8240/attachment-0001.html From cmarshbird at prodigy.net Thu Jan 15 16:38:19 2009 From: cmarshbird at prodigy.net (Carolyn A. Marsh) Date: Thu Jan 15 16:38:47 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] urban public park wind turbines at the bi-state Wolf Lake Message-ID: Installing wind turbines in an urban public park needs to be challenged. Hammond is "low fruit" but this placement will set a bad precedent for turbines where they don't belong. BCN should take a position against placement in an urban public park in a migratory flyway and an Important Bird Area. Carolyn Marsh. The Hammond Port Authority sent a "Notice To Owners of Affected Property" (January 9, 2009) within 300 feet of two wind turbines. The HPA is requesting Special Use, which would allow the placement of two (2) wind energy conversion system (WECS) turbines, one (1) at Wolf Lake Memorial Park (four separate properties are listed for the Special Use) and one (1) at Forsythe Park/Wolf Lake. This special use is being requested pursuant to the Hammond Zoning Ordinance, specifically, Title XIII, S-! Open Space and Recreational Facilities District, Section 13.10 Permitted Uses. Additionally there is a Petition, Z-09-02, by the Hammond Port Authority, for a Developmental Variance from height regarding the same two (2) WECS turbines to allow the petitioner to exceed the 35 foot height restriction to 98.4 feet (30 m), or an additional sixty four (64) feet more or les as measured from the base of the tower on the concrete pad to the top of the tower, plus an additional maximum of thirteen (13) feet of blade height. This developmental variance is being requested pursuant to the Hammond Zoning Ordinance, specifically, Title XIII, S-I Open Space and Recreational Facilities District, Section 13.20 Height Regulations. A public hearing will be held by the Advisory Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Hammond City Hall, 5925 Calumet Avenue, Hammond, IN. Contact Andrea Edwards, Secretary, to the Board of Zoning appeals at (219)853-6318 for more information. ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________ Background November 20, 2008 Without any state policy on wind turbines, the Indiana Office of Energy & Defense Development awarded $24,250 to the Hammond Port Authority as part of an $110,000 project to install two 115-foot wind turbines at Wolf Lake in Hammond. No public input, nothing. All the Hammond Port Authority did was apply for the grant on September 19, 2008 and it was awarded on October 9, 2008! If the state gets away with this, then no other wildlife area is sacred. While wind turbines are an excellent source of alternative energy, other states are first developing criteria for wind turbines that include the best placement for them. Wisconsin, a Great Lakes state, with public involvement, is drawing up guidelines for wind turbines that recognize and avoid environmentally sensitive wildlife areas such as migratory bird flyways. < http://psc.wi.gov/globalWarming/05EI144/index-WindonWater.htm> Wolf Lake is part of the tri-lake State Line/Calumet Region Important Bird Area, a National Audubon Society program. The area was also the site of a Field Museum BioBlitz in August 2002 http://www.fieldmuseum.org/bioblitz/results.html.The BioBlitz included Eggers Woods Forest Preserve and Powderhorn Lake Forest Preserve that neighbor Wolf Lake on the west side in Illinois. It connects to the Lake Calumet Audubon Important Bird Area. These green ways are listed in various bird guide books. A wind turbine will be installed in two different areas of parkland next to Wolf Lake in a working class urban area. Wolf Lake is bi-state with half of the lake in Chicago, Illinois, the William W. Powers Fish & Wildlife Area. The Hammond half of the lake is now managed by the Hammond Port Authority. They took control of the Wolf Lake from the Hammond Parks Department without any public meetings. The Chicago half is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The wind turbines will be built at Wolf Lake so they can be seen by thousands of Indiana Toll Road riders, as the toll road bisects the lake. More green washing since the turbines will supply only 10-kilowatts to power a seldom-opened shelter at Forsythe Park and to light a sanitary district pumping station, which drains runoff into Wolf Lake. Any surplus energy from the wind turbines will be sold to the NIPSCO grid. NIPSCO's parent company, NiSource, is a corporate council member of Chicago Wilderness, an organization that was established to protect biodiversity in the Great Lakes region. NIPSCO should know better than to approve wind turbines at Wolf Lake when there are many other places they could be installed without causing confrontations with bird lovers. The Hammond Port Authority is notorious for its global-warming developments. Examples are the Las Vegas style Harrah's Horseshoe casino and the Lost Marsh golf course. The casino was once a riverboat but now is a multi-layered big box built on top of four joined barges inside the Hammond Marina. Shoreline parking garages block the sky, huge windows reflect the water and stadium lights pollute the night sky. At the south basin of George Lake, once a prime wildlife area, is the white elephant Lost Mash Golf Course where a new massive environmentally unfriendly banquet hall is being built despite the golf course operating in the red. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090115/ffa4c873/attachment.html From birdchris at aol.com Thu Jan 15 18:15:13 2009 From: birdchris at aol.com (birdchris@aol.com) Date: Thu Jan 15 18:13:38 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] ESA - press release In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1212923141-1232064824-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-250015714-@bxe321.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> A bill was introduced today in the US House to reverse the Bush Administration's attacks on the ESA. I'll forward it later tonight. Time to start lobbying year House reps. Christine Williamson Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: "Carolyn A. Marsh" Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:48:01 To: Subject: [BCNnet] ESA - press release _______________________________________________ bcnnet mailing list bcnnet@ece.iit.edu http://www.ece.iit.edu/mailman/listinfo/bcnnet From cmarshbird at prodigy.net Fri Jan 16 10:31:23 2009 From: cmarshbird at prodigy.net (Carolyn A. Marsh) Date: Fri Jan 16 10:31:30 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] National Audubon on the federal ESA Message-ID: <9F0B5EF33C9E40929617D893567C3921@CLOVER> FYI, Carolyn Marsh http://www.audubon.org/campaign/esa/newthreat.html Bush Administration Launches Assault on Endangered Species Act in Its Closing Days Federal agencies would no longer have to consult with wildlife scientists prior to launching projects if they decide the projects will have no effect on endangered species under regulations proposed by the Bush administration. Audubon strongly opposes the plan because allowing agencies to do 'self-consultations' amounts to putting the foxes in charge of the henhouse. The proposed rule changes disregard crucial scientific opinions and put endangered species at even greater risk. This proposal is the most significant, detrimental change to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in years. Consultations with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) often expand project concentration to consider nearby habitat and long-term effects. The proposal was subjected to a 60-day comment period, after it was published in the Federal Register. On October 14, 2008, Audubon filed comments with the Department of Interior protesting the changes to the regulations. Audubon alerted its grassroots activists, who submitted thousands of comments condemning the proposal. Despite the effort, the administration is planning to finalize the plan before departing in January 2009. The strongest federal safeguard against the extinction of bird species in the United States is the ESA. Enacted in 1973, the ESA has helped save some of America's most critically imperiled birds and wildlife and their critical habitats, including species like the Bald Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon, the gray wolf, the grizzly bear, and the Whooping Crane. Read Audubon's comments. (85kb Adobe PDF) Read our press release. http://www.audubon.org/campaign/esa/newthreat.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090116/9b4cbb98/attachment-0001.html From Birdchris at aol.com Sun Jan 18 17:06:48 2009 From: Birdchris at aol.com (Birdchris@aol.com) Date: Sun Jan 18 17:06:43 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] BCNnet: Rahall's bill to fix Bush ESA gut Message-ID: Hi, I think my attempt to send the bill from my BlackBerry wasn't successful. I'm still taming that tech beast of mine. Here is the press release regarding the bill. Call or email your House representative today and ask them to co-sponsor the bill and vote yes when it comes up for a vote. Christine Williamson Chicago/Cook _birdchris@aol.com_ (mailto:birdchris@aol.com) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 15, 2009 Contact: James Navarro, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0247; _jnavarro@defenders.org_ (mailto:jnavarro@defenders.org) Rahall introduces bill to overturn Bush ESA regs Defenders of Wildlife applauds the Chairman?s legislative resolution WASHINGTON ? Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 18) that would overturn the Bush administration?s 11th hour attempt to undermine the Endangered Species Act. The following is a statement from Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president for Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ?I?m delighted that Chairman Rahall has introduced this resolution. These regulations were a last-ditch effort by a near-extinct administration to impose the same fate on America?s endangered species. ?The Bush administration wanted to let federal agencies in charge of building highways, dams and other projects decide whether those projects might drive rare plants and animals to extinction, without ever checking with the expert biologists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. The Bush administration wanted to let the polar bear drown in a sea of inaction by preventing the Endangered Species Act from protecting the bears from the threat of global warming. Today, Chairman Rahall is taking action to stop this last environmental insult from the Bush administration. ?We hope that Congress will quickly pass this resolution, and show America that change has truly come for America?s rarest wildlife.? Background: First proposed by the Department of the Interior in August 2008, the Bush administration changes to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act would have eliminated the requirement that agencies seek advice from expert biologists with federal wildlife agencies in decisions about whether dams, towers, highways and other projects will likely harm imperiled species. **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De cemailfooterNO62) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090118/570057ae/attachment.html From casresearch at comcast.net Sun Jan 18 18:33:34 2009 From: casresearch at comcast.net (casresearch@comcast.net) Date: Sun Jan 18 18:34:00 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] If Chicago gets Olympics, road cycling, Mt biking in Madison Message-ID: <290620666.363091232325214381.JavaMail.root@sz0002a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Besides this article, there was another short blurb (Saturday or earlier?) suggesting switches in some other venues (including Velodrome no longer at Northerly Island, but some of the rowing events would be there).??? Of course all this is if Chicago is actually awarded the Olympics. >From Saturday's Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/1383212,CST-NWS-oly17.article ? 2016 Games bid going regional Madison, Wis., gets Olympic cycling January 17, 2009 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com Mayor Daley once talked about making Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games a "regional" plan from the entire Midwest. He got it Friday. Chicago 2016 announced plans to shift Olympic road cycling and mountain biking events to Madison, Wis. The cycling event would begin on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, head east through downtown Madison and finish in Blue Mound State Park. Mountain biking would take place in Tyrol Basin, a popular winter ski and snowboard destination sure to challenge Olympic athletes. Madison is home to one of the nation's most extensive bike trail systems. Trek, a manufacturer of specialty bikes, is also headquartered in the area. Biking events were originally scheduled to be held in the Palos area. "Chicago 2016 has consistently placed athletes at the center of our Games plan," Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan said. "Our constituents emphasized their desire for technical and challenging courses. We believe the natural terrain found in Madison will exceed their expectations and make for an ideal competitive environment." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090119/668d7ea3/attachment.html From casresearch at comcast.net Sun Jan 18 18:41:14 2009 From: casresearch at comcast.net (casresearch@comcast.net) Date: Sun Jan 18 18:41:37 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] possible (short term?) change at IDNR by gov Message-ID: <2010367456.363801232325674638.JavaMail.root@sz0002a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> >From Dale Bowman's Outdoor column today;?wonder if State Senators can or will stop this, or if it'll just be a three-week change, until Quinn takes over. Alan Anderson, casresearch@comcast.net , Des Plaines, Cook Co. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/outdoors/1382841,CST-SPT-bowman18.article Blagojevich a menace to the end Exiting governor leaves us with Granberg as IDNR director January 18, 2009 BY DALE BOWMAN Staff Reporter Even on his way out, Gov. Blagojevich has it in for Illinois outdoors. In a stunning move late Friday, Blagojevich named former Downstate legislator Kurt Granberg as director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. ''I can't believe it,'' said a top outdoor professional who called with the news. ''It sounds like Burris all over,'' an IDNR official said late Friday. ''But their resumes are far different.'' At least Roland Burris had a solid political resume before being named to the U.S. Senate in a similarly sneaky maneuver by Blagojevich. By contrast, Granberg has no particular qualifications to head the IDNR. Late on Fridays is traditionally when such bad news is spread or sneaky maneuvers announced. We can only hope Granberg's appointment will receive a tough review and not just meet automatic approval by the Illinois Senate. A source said Granberg was already checking with state senators to see if he could pass muster. ''I just don't get it,'' the IDNR official said. ''What? Is it going to hold it for three weeks?'' It's widely expected that Blagojevich will be impeached by the Illinois Senate by next month. Granberg, a former Democratic legislator from Carlyle, was rumored for more than a year to be next to head the IDNR. Rich Miller at The Capitol Fax Blog reported late Friday that the $133,000-a-year post would be for a term set to end January 2011 and that ''Granberg has served in the House of Representatives since 1987 and was assistant majority leader under Speaker Michael Madigan. He resigned his seat before the House voted Jan. 9 to impeach Blagojevich.'' Sam Flood, a longtime Democratic power in Washington County, has been the IDNR's acting director for three years, filling in when Blago's first IDNR director, Joel Brunsvold, stepped down. Blagojevich has stuck it to Illinois outdoors and those concerned with it in a multitude of ways. His ''sweeping'' of special funds from the IDNR may end up costing the state millions of dollars in federal funding by the end of the month. He has gutted the personnel department, roughly a quarter of the staff is gone, many people with decades of institutional knowledge. Eleven parks were threatened to be closed late last year, seven of them were shut on Dec. 1. Programs and basic maintenance of the parks and state sites have slipped as funding was sliced to the IDNR. The mere fact that Flood, who also had no particular qualifications to head the IDNR, was allowed to linger in limbo for three years showed the utter disdain in which Blagojevich held the supporters of Illinois outdoors. Flood at least was a loyal soldier doing his duty and filling in, we had hoped, until somebody truly qualified could fill the position. What made this particularly galling was that two Republican governors for the 12 years before Blagojevich had a professional running the IDNR and its predecessor, the Department of Conservation, namely Brent Manning. Our best hope is with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who at least has a long history of championing outdoor and environmental causes. Two days after Blagojevich was arrested and it looked like Quinn might quickly become governor, his senior policy adviser, Marc Miller, said Quinn would open the closed ''state parks and state historic sites immediately'' and that naming a director of the IDNR would be ''promptly reviewed.'' Instead, we get Blagojevich on his way out with one last thumb in the eye of those who love Illinois outdoors. May the Illinois Senate have the sense to stop the madness. ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090119/d819053d/attachment-0001.html From garysibio at gmail.com Fri Jan 23 13:07:56 2009 From: garysibio at gmail.com (Gary J Sibio) Date: Fri Jan 23 14:45:41 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] (no subject) Message-ID: <497A158C.8000507@gmail.com> I think I uncovered the Dems new bailout plan: http://chiaobama.com/ -- Gary J Sibio To see my photos: http://garysibio.smugmug.com From bobolnk at ix.netcom.com Fri Jan 23 16:26:47 2009 From: bobolnk at ix.netcom.com (bobolnk@ix.netcom.com) Date: Fri Jan 23 16:27:04 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] Wild Things registration problem? Message-ID: <27731782.1232749607195.JavaMail.root@elwamui-norfolk.atl.sa.earthlink.net> If you are having problems registering for Wild Things, you are not alone. A high volume of traffic is causing problems on the site. The earliest that we will be able to get this fixed is tomorrow morning. The early registration deadline is extended to the end of the day Monday, January 26, so one option is to quit trying now and try again this weekend or Monday. We will also accept all registrations postmarked as of Monday. There is a downloadable form on the website that you can print out and mail or fax in. In case you are not having luck getting through to the website at all, you can wait til tomorrow, or email me and I will email you a form you can print out and mail or fax in - you can use credit card or check. jpollock@audubon.org Thanks for your patience with this. The good news is that it looks like we'll have our largest attendance ever, so it should be a great day!! Judy Pollock From cmarshbird at prodigy.net Sun Jan 25 14:42:39 2009 From: cmarshbird at prodigy.net (Carolyn A. Marsh) Date: Sun Jan 25 14:42:43 2009 Subject: [BCNnet] birds and the Olympics Message-ID: <2885BF3543D441BC86C8ACC4F4D06DE9@CLOVER> http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TSGJGCS3TGJOI5A49 Chicago Tribune January 25, 2009 Chicago 2016's Olympic tennis court plans ruffle some feathers Chicago bid team's proposal to put tennis center near sanctuary riles birders Carolyn Marsh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://screamer.ece.iit.edu/pipermail/bcnnet/attachments/20090125/97bce992/attachment.html