Volume Ten, Number 3
Autumn 1998

The following items were featured in the "AWR UPDATES" section of the Networker:

Bioprospecting Legal Decision Due Soon

The debate over bioprospecting in Yellowstone's thermal features is heating up. The lawsuit filed by the Edmonds Institute, the International Center for Technology Assessment, and Alliance for the Wild Rockies is entering a critical phase as the government and the conservation groups have filed briefs outlining their positions. A decision will then be made by the court whether to dismiss the suit or proceed on the merits of the case. The issue has also recently been the subject of high-profile media coverage. AWR executive director Mike Bader appeared on a feature story on CNN, the Edmonds Institute's Beth Burrows was quoted in a front page story in the Sunday Washington Post, which also ran in numerous papers across the country, and a piece aired on NBC Nightly News.

The National Park Service still refuses to make public the details of their agreement with the Diversa Corporation, which allows Diversa to remove organisms from Yellowstone's thermal areas in return for royalty payments to the federal government. The groups fear this agreement could lead to commercialization of Yellowstone's natural resources and life forms. They also object to the secrecy surrounding the agreement and are pushing for full public disclosure and participation in the process.

Committee of Scientists Propose to Weaken NFMA
By Deb Kmon, AWR Ecosystem Defense Intern

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was enacted in 1976 to resolve problems associated with managing the National Forest System. NFMA requires the U.S. Forest Service to prepare comprehensive Forest-wide plans and incorporate public involvement, and has been fairly successful in giving the Forest Service definitive guidance. However, in the past few years NFMA has been failing to fulfill it's purpose.

As ecosystem management and protection of fish and wildlife have become major goals of forest planning, the Forest Service has felt pressure to develop new planning regulations. In 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture commissioned a "Committee of Scientists" (COS) to provide guidance and recommendations on the development of new NFMA regulations.

While essentially keeping the NFMA definition of population viability, the COS has recommended that enforcement of the viability standards be weakened. §219.19 of NFMA states that the Forest Service "shall provide for the diversity of plant and animal communities" and must "ensure viable populations of existing native and desired non-native vertebrate species in the planning area."

The COS has suggested amending this section because they feel that it is "an impossible task" for the Forest Service, citing factors out of the agency's control such as El Nino, private lands and global warming. COS's weakened requirement would state that the Forest Service "must strive to sustain the variety and functions of ecosystems across multiple spatial scales." This wording change could lead to the loss of many vertebrate species. The COS would also change habitat requirements. Currently, NFMA §219.19 requires the Forest Service to provide habitat to maintain the viability of vertebrate species. COS's recommendations would say only that the Forest Service "must strive to provide habitat necessary to support viable populations of all existing and desired non-native species"."

Thus, the Forest Service would be given the freedom to "strive" to reach species viability and if this task were found too difficult, they will have the legal right to give up. Managers would no longer be required to guarantee the long-term viability of vertebrate populations, a requirement that currently gives citizen groups a check on the agencies' activities and a way to monitor impacts on wildlife populations. For more details, check out the COS web site for draft reports and discussion forum. Send comments for the COS electronically to the discussion forum. The Forest Service will utilize COS's suggestions to write new draft regulations, expected to be completed around November 15th. A public comment period on the draft regulations will follow.

Check out the COS web site

Send comments to:
Norm Johnson
Committee of Scientists
PO Box 2140
Corvallis, OR 97339

Groups Petition to List Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout as a Threatened Species

The Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Montana Ecosystems Defense Council and Ecologist George Wuerthner formally petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on August 14 to list the Yellowstone cutthroat trout as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). FWS has 90 days from the petition to determine whether listing "may be warranted."

Yellowstone cutthroat trout formerly occupied large portions of the Snake and Yellowstone river basins, primarily in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Along with native cutthroat trout throughout the western U.S., the Yellowstone cutthroat has suffered severe declines across its range.

Hybridization of pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout by stocked game fish is probably the greatest threat to the subspecies' continued existence. Stocking and illegal introduction of fish that prey on or outcompete the Yellowstone cutthroat are a related threat. Habitat degradation and fragmentation, including impacts from road-building, logging, grazing, dams and water diversions, and mining have also taken a severe toll. Other threats include whirling disease and excessive recreational harvest. Most surviving populations are small and fragmented, and state and federal agencies have done little to ensure that they remain protected, much less to restore critical habitat across the trout's historic range. Even the trout's most important stronghold, Yellowstone Lake, is at grave risk because of illegal introduction of lake trout.

The petitioners are requesting only the lowest possible level of protection under the ESA. Jacob Smith of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation states, "State and Federal agencies have so far failed to take the steps necessary to halt the trout's precipitous decline. This listing will force them to make trout protection a priority, and ensure that they have adequate resources to do so, while allowing them to retain maximum management flexibility."

Bitterroot Grizzly News

Alliance for the Wild Rockies has appealed the rejection of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, AWR had filed a FOIA with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) seeking access to the full public comment record on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for grizzly recovery in the Salmon-Selway ecosystem. AWR is seeking access to the names of the commenters, which FWS has refused to make available. The Missoulian newspaper, in an editorial earlier this year, criticized the policy, stating, "Identification is a component of credibility...Conflicts of interest and special interests become impossible to discern without identification." The editorial concluded by stating, "The fact is, so long as the public's input is presented as anonymous comments, you have no way of knowing whether it's genuine or contrived. The government can't suppress part of the public record and expect people to trust the rest of it."

Our appeal was denied by FWS regional director Ralph Moregenweck in Denver, Colorado. A recent letter from Interior Department appeals coordinator William Wolf stated the appeal is still under review.

In related news, the Interior Appropriations spending bill passed by Congress contains language prohibiting any reintroduction of grizzlies into Idaho during fiscal year 1999. Funds were allocated to allow further environmental studies of the proposed reintroductions. President Clinton has yet to sign or veto the bill

National Sierra Club Endorses NREPA!

The following letter was sent to both leading NREPA congressional sponsors Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) from Sierra Club's executive director, Carl Pope:

On behalf of the Sierra Club's more than half-million members, I want to thank you for being a primary cosponsor of H.R. 1425, "The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act" (NREPA). We sincerely appreciate your leadership on this critical issue and look forward to working together with you to see our vision of a protected, secure Northern Rockies landscape come to fruition. In the contiguous 48, only the Northern Rockies boasts land wild enough to nurture our nation's rarest fish and wildlife species such as grizzly bears, lynx, bull trout and Chinook salmon. The Northern Rockies also boast thriving populations of elk, bighorn sheep and mountain lions. Many of America's cleanest rivers ? the Salmon, Selway, Flathead, and Yellowstone ? still run clear because their headwaters flow from places like the Bitterroot mountains, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Yellowstone ecosystem.

As you know, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is a critical and visionary piece of legislation. H.R. 1425 would protect the roadless areas of the Northern Rockies along with the biological connecting corridors between these areas. It would also establish a pilot system of recovery areas where the land has been damaged by unwise development practices such as clearcutting and roadbuilding. NREPA also makes sound economic sense by creating over 2,300 jobs to protect watersheds, promote flood protection and restore wildlife and fish habitat. These steps are critical to protecting the Northern Rockies for our families and for our future.

Your commitment to the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act and your work to preserve this special place is much appreciated. Thank you again for all you have done on behalf of the Northern Rockies.

Sincerely, Carl Pope AWR Members.

AWR Members: Please send a short thank you note to Carl Pope for endorsing NREPA

Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director
85 Second Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3441