Melissa Waage's Blog: Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Predator poison kills dogs in Idaho

2010-05-15T19:28:10Z

As reported in the Idaho Falls Post Register (subscription required):

Compound 1080, a pesticide that is highly toxic to humans and animals and has no known antidote, is the poisoning agent in a rash of dog deaths in a two-block area in [Salmon, Idaho's] main residential section, authorities said Friday. The discovery of the type of poison, coming months after the first of 13 dogs died since January, is the first major breakthrough in a case that has alarmed residents and spread an air of suspicion through the community. Investigators say the chemical, which has been banned by the federal government for most uses, is difficult to detect because such small amounts can prove fatal.

Once used to kill everything from rodents to predators, the poison Compound 1080 (sodium fluroacetate) is now only legally used by USDA’s Wildlife Services program to kill native carnivores. Wildlife Services says it's blameless in this case: its inventories are intact and the program hasn't used 1080 in Idaho for five years. And it’s quite possible that the Compound 1080 used to kill those dogs was purchased and stockpiled decades ago, before its use was restricted. Nonetheless, the dog deaths in Idaho this year are a stark reminder of why Compound 1080 shouldn't be used anywhere. Wildlife Services needs to end the use of Compound 1080 for good--making this kind of tragic, sadistic attack increasingly difficult to pull off.

There’s a reason that two states and many countries have banned Compound 1080 and why its use in the U.S. has been progressively restricted. Odorless and tasteless, the substance has no antidote and can take as long as 2 to 15 agonizing hours to kill its victims through cardiac failure, progressive failure of the central nervous system, or respiratory arrest following severe, prolonged convulsions. U.S. Air Force analysts, citing numerous other national security experts, have identified Compound 1080 as a potential threat to drinking water supplies if used as a chemical weapon because it “can cause incapacitation or death in humans at very small doses.”

How likely is this scenario? For what it’s worth, U.S.-made containers of Compound 1080 were found among Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons stockpiles in 2003.

How simple it was for some sick person to kill a significant number of pets and terrify a community in Idaho, with the poison identified only months later. Do we really want or need Compound 1080 in circulation in the U.S.? As mentioned earlier, the poison used in Idaho probably did not come from Wildlife Services. But I leave it to the reader to decide how difficult it would be for a determined individual to obtain legally applied Compound 1080 that is strapped to the necks of free-ranging goats and sheep.

Wildlife Services has relentlessly defended its use of what is essentially a chemical weapon to kill a few dozen coyotes and other wild carnivores per year (that we know of). Even if you actually believe that the U.S. government should be horrifically killing wild carnivores at the behest of private ranching interests, and at taxpayer expense, there’s a word for this: overkill.

Wildlife Services dismissed the concerns of 57,000 NRDC members who petitioned USDA to end the use of Compound 1080 and another nasty predator poison, sodium cyanide. But we’re not letting up. Go here to add your voice to our continued call on Wildlife Services to end predator poisoning now.

Tennessee bats now in trouble as white-nose syndrome spreads

2010-02-16T21:12:37Z

As sad as it has been to watch the spread of devastating white-nose syndrome among bats across the Eastern U.S., I’m even sadder to hear about the first confirmed case of WNS in Tennessee, in Worley’s cave in Sullivan County. The news comes even after government agencies and The Nature Conservancy closed caves in Tennessee to visitors early last year--a move thought to prevent people from transmitting pathogens from cave to cave.

I know those bats personally. When I was a kid growing up one county over, I was an avid bat watcher. To this day, seeing them swoop around at twilight brings back fond memories of summer evenings spent outside.

I remember one particularly cool moment: the time I learned how bats drink. I was about eight years old, standing knee deep in the creek that runs past my childhood home, when a fist-sized bat swooped down just feet from me to scoop up a little drink of water. Then swooped again, and again, taking a little sip each time. I stood motionless, close enough to see its shiny eyes and hear the leathery flapping of its wings.

This is all a long winded way of saying that bats are really, really neat. More than just neat, actually. Bats are also economically important. When I was little, I knew that “bats eat bugs” (and sometimes fight crime), but now I know that they not only benefit crops by controlling insect populations, but also pollinate many plants, disperse seeds, and play a key role in many cave ecosystems.

So there are a number of compelling reasons to stop white-nose syndrome. The problem here is that we don’t yet know exactly what causes white-nose syndrome, how it spreads or how to stop it. As Sylvia Fallon recently blogged, more research is needed to answer these questions and take action. And that research requires funding. While Congress approved $1.9 million for white-nose syndrome research last year, that funding is stripped in the president’s new budget.

Congress should restore WNS research funding in this year’s Interior Department spending bills. Because if we start seeing fewer bats in the night sky, we’ll all be in trouble.

How much does it cost to buy a mining permit in Utah?

2010-02-04T19:37:06Z

About ten thousand dollars, according to this AP exposé published yesterday. That’s how much Alton Mine Development, LLC contributed to Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s campaign just before meeting with him to expedite approval of a controversial coal mine near Bryce Canyon National Park. In fact, Alton’s check was cashed the very day they met.

It could wind up being quite a sound investment by Alton if cooler heads don’t prevail in Utah. The permit in question was fast-tracked and approved by the state Board of Mining less than a month after the company’s meeting with the governor.

So will a little cash smooth the bumpy road that Alton faces as it attempts to tear up land just over the hill from one of America’s premiere national parks?Residents and business owners near the proposed mine site in Panguitch, UT have long opposed the planned Alton mine, citing the effects of noise, highways full of coal trucks, coal dust, and waste on Bryce Canyon and the local tourist industry. And now, NRDC, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association are appealing the permit approval.

Unfortunately, if Alton succeeds, its $10,000 will not only grease the wheels for this one mining permit on private land. The impact of the permit approval could be much larger. The company also has its eye on adjacent public land, even closer to Bryce Canyon NP. The Alton mine, if developed, would be the first strip mine in Utah and could well open the door to even more. But maybe that costs more in Utah?

It’s not too late for the Utah Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining to reverse the Alton mine permit approval. If local people and common sense speak any louder than money, they’ll make the right decision.

Watch tonight: Don Blankenship vs. Bobby Kennedy

2010-01-21T18:47:13Z

Hello from beautiful Charleston, West Virginia! Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and Bobby Kennedy face off again tonight at the University of Charleston's Forum on the Future of Energy and I'll be there livetweeting the event right here. You can also watch live video of the debate beginning at 6:15 pm, Eastern time. This debate is sure to be spirited and couldn't come at a more important time to discuss mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, in which Massey, of course, is a key player.

Last fall, the Obama administration took initial steps towards limiting mountaintop removal when the Department of Interior announced it would begin to review state-issued surface mining permits and at least begin to explore tightened restrictions on dumping mine waste into streams. Then, last month, a dozen leading scientists published a bombshell study on the effects of mountaintop removal, actually calling for an end to the practice. Yet the EPA's just approved yet another mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia, and the timeline for the Interior Department actually proposing stronger dumping regulations is unclear.

I, for one, am expecting quite a show as Blankenship and Kennedy duke it out (verbally) tonight. So tune in via Twitter and video tonight for the play-by-play, and watch Switchboard tomorrow for Rob Perks' take on the debate.

As Goes the Tongass...

2009-07-17T20:34:24Z

There is a fair amount of dismay out there over about the recently finalized commercial timber sale in a roadless area of the Tongass National Forest. (See, for example, posts at the Huffington Post and U.S. News and World Report.) People are asking why the Obama administration is approving logging in roadless National Forest lands.

As my colleague Franz Matzner explains, this sale does not technically violate the 2001 Roadless Rule. However, it is a troubling move when several other Tongass timber sales that would violate the rule are in the works, and the administration has yet to publicly embrace the 2001 rule.

We continue to publicly urge the President to take the final steps to uphold the 2001 Roadless Rule in National Forests across the country. As it happens, the Tongass, the subject of particular attention this week, is also stellar example of why it is so important for the President to act quicky and save what's left nationwide. This video adds some perspective.

Crossing the finish line for roadless National Forests

2009-07-14T15:19:56Z

Pick up a copy of this week’s New Yorker and see our ad calling for quick action to save America’s last remaining roadless forests. NRDC joined Earthjustice and a host of other allies in this direct appeal to President Obama. We’re urging him to fully uphold and embrace the 2001 Roadless Rule, intended to protect 58.5 million acres of sensitive National Forest lands from logging and road building. (Click the images below to see larger PDF versions).

We know that the president recognizes the importance of full protections for roadless areas. As a senator, he supported the 2001 Roadless Rule, and during his presidential campaign, Senator Obama said he would be “proud to support and defend” the rule in a League of Conservation Voters candidate questionnaire. And this May, the Obama administration took an important first step toward unraveling the sticky Bush legacy that still threatens our national forests.

But the job isn’t done. The Bush administration undermined the rule and started timber sales that still threaten untouched National Forest valleys today. Until President Obama puts his administration fully behind the 2001 Roadless Rule protections, pristine old growth stands like those in the Tongass rainforest in Alaska could be sold to timber companies almost without warning. So the time is now for the President to fulfill his promise.

The First Beekeeper

2009-03-31T18:36:26Z

Last week Michelle Obama put in a new, organic garden on the White House grounds. But that’s not all. White House carpenter (and hobbyist beekeeper) Charlie Brandts provided the impetus to include a working bee hive.

The presidential hive fits in well with the first lady’s developing role as a supporter of healthy eating and fresh, local food. The blueberries, blackberries, broccoli, and other goodies she's growing all depend on insect pollination. And with the ongoing decline of honey bees and other pollinators, from colony collapse disorder and many other causes, the bees need all the help they can get (check out our BeeSafe.org site to learn more).

As a side note, this may be the first White House based bee hive, but the Obamas are not the first presidential honey bee aficionados. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both beekeepers, at least part time.

One hundred thousand speak out for a strong Endangered Species Act

2008-10-14T14:12:08Z

On Friday, the NRDC Action Fund joined allied groups to deliver more than 100,000 public comments opposing the Bush administration's recent proposal to weaken key Endangered Species Act regulations. The administration refused to accept comments via e-mail or fax for the comment period that ends today, so we went with hand delivery. The Action Fund, whose members submitted over half of those comments, joined the Endangered Species Coalition, Earthjustice, the National Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club.

Before heading out with the team to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arlington, Virginia office to deliver these comments, I hadn't really thought about what 100,000 public comments physically look like. See for yourself in the video below, which documents our journey to Arlington.

And just remember that the more than 20 ream-sized boxes you see us lifting (phew, democracy is heavy!) all contain individual comments from many, many individual Americans who care about imperiled plants and wildlife and their recovery. Will the Bush administration listen to the individuals, organizations, members of Congress, and scientists urging it to withdraw its proposal?

Bees disappear and honey bee theft spreads east

2008-04-23T14:49:06Z

A few weeks ago I wrote about a rash of honey bee thefts in California, triggered by a shortage of bees and commensurate rise in their dollar value as pollinators. Now it looks like bee theft is moving east.

Some enterprising thief just stole $4,000 worth of bees from Savage, Maryland beekeeper Don Kolpack--an unusual event in Maryland, where bee thefts have been quite rare. Kolpack, interviewed on NBC4 News, says that honey bee pollination is vital for growers on Maryland's eastern shore.

With colony collapse disorder affecting beekeepers and farmers nationwide, the enhanced incentives for "beejacking" are an issue everywhere. And so are the possible costs to food production. NRDC scientist Gabriela Chavarria recently discussed the latter for radio listeners in Ohio.

Arctic herds in a new kind of trouble

2008-03-05T19:03:39Z

I remember reading about ice-age musk oxen as a kid and being thrilled to learn that these strange, tough creatures still exist in a corner of the world. I would have been no more surprised to hear about live wooly mammoths on exhibit at the zoo.

Sadly, it turns out that musk oxen, along with caribou and reindeer (another creature of childhood lore) are facing a mysterious new threat triggered by global warming.

Researchers are starting to look at the potentially disastrous effects of the “rain on snow” phenomenon, which occurs when warm air suddenly turns arctic snows to rain or slush. The rain freezes and forms a hard layer of ice on top of the snow, which prevents musk oxen, caribou, and reindeer from grazing.

The result? National Geographic News reports:

“In October 2003 on Banks Island in Canada's Northwest Territories, a rain-on-snow event caused the deaths of more than a quarter of the musk-ox population—20,000 animals. Some native people reported the unusual sight of musk-oxen walking onto floating sea ice in search of food, drifting to watery graves.”

The rain-on-snow effect highlights what the polar bears already know: the Arctic is feeling the pressure of global warming more intensely than other parts of the planet. Temperatures there are rising twice as quickly as in the rest of the world.

Just something to reflect upon while we're waiting for the Bush administration's overdue decision on protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.