[Mike]

The following is from GlamisDunes.com:

http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=32956

CBD After the Glamis Dunes Again!!

December 2, 2004 letter from the Center for Biological Diversity

RE: Notice of Violation of Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act Relating
to Petitions to List the Andrew's Dune Scarab Beetle and Sixteen Insects
Endemic to the Algodones Dunes

Dear Ms. Norton and Mr. Williams:

On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity (the "Center") and pursuant
to 16 U.S.C. § 1540(g)(2), I am submitting the following 60-day notice
letter to inform you that the Center intends to sue the U.S. Department of
the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (collectively "FWS") for
violating the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544. FWS
has violated the ESA by failing to take the legally-required action
concerning: (1) the petition to list the Andrew's dune scarab beetle as
endangered or threatened under the ESA; and (2) the petition to list 16
insects endemic to the Algodones Dunes, Imperial County, California as
endangered or threatened under the ESA. FWS has not issued a 90-day finding
for either petition, and has furthermore violated its duty to issue a
12-month finding for the Andrew's dune scarab beetle.

The Center submitted a petition to list the Andrew's dune scarab beetle
(Pseudocotalpa
andrewsi Hardy) on December 12, 2002. The entire known geographic range of
the Andrew's dune scarab beetle is restricted to the Algodones Dunes of
Imperial county in southeastern California and northern Baja California,
Mexico. Threats to the Andrew's dune scarab beetle include: a highly
restricted geographic range; specialized habitat needs; and historic,
ongoing, and future disturbance from heavy off-road vehicle use of the
Algodones Dunes.

On July 19, 2004, the Center submitted a petition to list the following
sixteen insects endemic to the Algodones Dunes as threatened or endangered
under the ESA: two sand wasps (Microbembex elegans Griswold and Stictiella
villegasi Bohart); two bees (Perdita algodones Timberlake and P. glamis
Timberlake); one vespid (Euparagia n. sp.); two velvet ants (Dasymutilla
nocturna Mickel and Dasymutilla imperialis Manley and Pitts); three jewel
beetles (Lepismadora algodones Velten, Prasinalia imperialis Barr, and
Algodones Agrilus harenus Nelson); two scarab beetles (Anomala hardyorum
Potts and Cyclocephala wandae); and four subspecies of Roth's dune weevil
(Trigonoscuta rothi rothi, T. r. algodones, T. r. imperialis, and T. r.
punctata). The entire known geographic range of each of these sixteen insect
species is restricted to the Algodones Dunes system of Imperial County in
southeastern California, U.S.A. and northern Baja California, Mexico. Even
within the dune system, these species are classified as rare by
entomologists who have conducted extensive surveys for insects on the
Algodones Dunes and their environs. Any activities that result in direct
mortality of individuals, as well as the general decline of plant cover and
the specific decline of their respective host plants, would threaten the
survival of these species with highly restricted geographical ranges and
highly specific habitat needs.

Congress enacted the ESA to ensure the protection and conservation of
threatened and endangered species. 16 U.S.C. § 1531(B ). The fundamental,
express purpose of this federal statute is to conserve endangered and
threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Id. To achieve
this purpose, the ESA requires FWS to list species of plants and animals
that are facing extinction as either "threatened" or "endangered." 16 U.S.C.
§ 1533(c )(1). Upon receipt of a petition to list a species, FWS has
approximately 90 days to make a finding as to whether the petition "presents
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the
petitioned action may be warranted." 16 U.S.C § 1533 (B )(3)(A); 50 C.F.R. §
424.14 (B )(1). Twelve months after receipt of a citizen petition, FWS must
make one of three determinations: (1) listing is not warranted; (2) listing
is warranted; or (3) listing is warranted but presently precluded by other
pending proposals for listing species, provided certain circumstances are
met. 16 U.S.C. § 1533(B )(3)(B ). If FWS determines that listing a species
is warranted, it must then promptly publish, in the Federal Register, a
proposed rule to list the species. 16 U.S.C. § 1533(B )(5).

FWS has not published a 90-day finding or a 12-month finding for the
Andrew's Dune scarab beetle despite the passage of almost 24 months since
the submission of the petition. FWS has not published a 90-day finding for
the petition to list 16 insects endemic to the Algodones Dunes despite the
passage of approximately 130 days since submission of the petition.
Consequently, FWS is in violation of section 4 of the ESA. If FWS does not
promptly correct its violations, the Center intends to file suit.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at (951) XXX-XXXX with any questions or
to notify the Center of any incomplete or erroneous information you find in
this notice letter. Thank you for your prompt attention to our concerns.

 

[Mike]

The message this sends is that we need to police ourselves, because the greenies are right there watching when we do something wrong...

We do need to police our own, but law enforcement needs to do their job as well. Oh wait, we're talking about the BLM. They don't like us and think it's great when we hang ourselves.

You can't close interstate 80 just because there are a bunch of jackasses who don't know how to drive properly. That's why we have law enforcement.

And a big huge FU to CBD, arrogant fuckers.

Later,
....Mike

 

[Mike]

CBD Press Release

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/dunes12-2-04.html

Conservationists to challenge Bush Fish & Wildlife Service's failure to
consider protection for 17 at-risk Algodones Dunes endemic species

FWS breaks the law, fails to respond to scientific petitions to protect
wildlife and habitat

BLM's plan to open 86% of fragile dunes habitat to off-roading puts rare
wildlife at risk of extinction

NEWS RELEASE: for immediate release Thursday, December 2, 2004

Contact: Daniel R. Patterson, Ecologist 520.623.5252 x306

WASHINGTON DC - Moving to protect unique and fragile Sonoran Desert wildlife
threatened by intensive off-road vehicle abuse, the Center for Biological
Diversity today put the Bush administration on notice that they intend to
challenge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's (FWS) violations of U.S.
conservation law.

The administration is in clear violation of the Endangered Species Act by
failing to respond to two scientific petitions filed with FWS, one to list
the Andrew's dunes scarab beetle, and the other to list 16 Algodones Dunes
endemic species, as threatened or endangered. The beetle listing petition
was filed by the Center in December 2002. The 16 endemic species listing
petition was filed in July 2004 by the Center, Sierra Club, and Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility. By law, FWS is required to issue
a finding on petitions within 90 days, detailing their analysis of the
information provided in petitions, and a plan of action .

The biggest harm to Algodones Dunes wildlife is intensive off-road driving -
the dunes are hammered by upwards of 240,000 off-roaders on a single busy
weekend. Off-road vehicles at the Algodones Dunes include sand rails,
motorcycles, trucks, and ATVs whose tires cut deeply into the sand habitat,
even when accelerating on level ground (Stebbins 1995). The dunes are
currently managed under a 2000 court approved agreement between the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), off-roaders, and conservationists that
keeps over 106 sq. miles open to unlimited off-roading, while 49,000 acres
of the dunes are protected for wildlife, and scenic non-motorized
recreation. Despite this fair balance, the dunes have suffered from illegal
off-roading in protected habitat areas, and lax BLM enforcement, especially
during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. BLM is pushing to scrap the
current balanced multiple-use management and open all available dunes
habitat to destructive off-roading.

"Protection of these interesting animals is needed, and required by law,
because the Bush plan to sacrifice the Algodones Dunes to the off-road
industry could cause their extinction," said Daniel R. Patterson, an
ecologist with the Center who formerly worked with BLM in the California
desert. "The Bush Interior Department has again broken the law with their
complete disregard for the unique and fragile web of life at the dunes."

In addition to the Andrew's dunes scarab beetle, the 16 endangered dunes
endemic species are: two sand wasps (Microbembex elegans Griswold and
Stictiella villegasi Bohart); two bees (Perdita algodones Timberlake and P.
glamis Timberlake); one vespid (Euparagia n. sp.); two velvet ants
(Dasymutilla nocturna Mickel and Dasymutilla imperialis); three jewel
beetles (Algodones sand jewel beetle, Lepismadora algodones Velten,
Algodones white wax jewel beetle, Prasinalia imperialis (Barr), and
Algodones Croton jewel beetle, Agrilus harenus Nelson); two scarab beetles
(Hardy's dune beetle, Anomala hardyorum Potts and Cyclocephala wandae); and
four subspecies of Roth's dune weevil (Trigonoscuta rothi rothi, T. r.
algodones, T. r. imperialis, and T. r. punctata). Conservationists also want
critical habitat designated for all 17 species concurrent with listing, as
required by law.

Dunes are hotspots of desert biological diversity, likely because they are
more mesic than other desert habitats due to their ability to store water.
The Algodones Dunes are no exception, harboring dozens of rare endemic
wildlife and plants within its habitat island. Animal species endemic to the
Algodones Dunes are adapted to the hot, arid environment and often exhibit
habitat specialization, such as dependence upon a particular host plant.
Narrow endemic species and habitat specialists are considered more prone to
extinction than widespread habitat generalists (Rabinowitz 1981, Sarre et
al. 1995, Fischer and Stocklin 1997, Henein et al.1998).

During daylight and early evening, 80% of desert fauna are buried
underground, and are subsequently crushed and maimed by off-road vehicle
tires (Stebbins 1995). For example, scientific surveys comparing areas used
by off-road vehicles with protected areas at the Algodones Dunes indicate
that off-roading causes drastic reductions in the abundance of several
beetle species (Luckenbach and Bury 1983). Off-roading also resulted in
reduced plant cover, further threatening the survival of the rare endemic
species of the Algodones Dunes that depend on these plants for food and
breeding sites. Studies at the dunes have shown that even moderate off-road
vehicle use results in significant reductions of plant cover (Luckenbach and
Bury 1983, Hess in prep.).

The preferred alternative in the Bush BLM's Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Recreation Area Management Plan for the
Algodones Dunes (BLM RAMP 2002) would permit off-roading on an astounding
198,220 acres and protect only 25,800 acres which are already designated
wilderness by act of Congress. The one-sided plan is being pushed without
any consideration of the myriad rare endemic species that are the subject of
the July 2004 petition. In fact, the DEIS listed only five insect species as
"known to occur or having the potential to occur" at the Algodones Dunes,
and only three of the species are endemics (Andrew's dune scarab beetle,
Carlson's dune beetle, and Hardy's dune beetle). Therefore, the BLM ignored
the nearly two-dozen other endemic insects at the Algodones Dunes for which
information has long been available in the scientific literature.
Conservationists were able to locate information on these endemics readily
in the published literature, reports to the agency, and via personal
communication with entomologists familiar with the area. It is therefore
disturbing why the BLM made no acknowledgement of these species in its
management plan.

BLM has continued to push its abysmal management plan despite scientifically
proven adverse impacts of off-road vehicles on the species that inhabit the
Algodones Dunes. Therefore, vulnerability from anthropogenic (historic,
ongoing, and imminent human-caused habitat destruction) and environmental
(restricted range, habitat specialist) pressures, as well as a complete
failure of the existing regulatory mechanisms to protect this fragile dune
habitat and the species it supports from excessive off-road vehicle use,
puts the rare endemic wildlife at the Algodones Dunes at risk of extinction.

The BLM plan to remove the protected areas would be devastating to dozens of
imperiled species - including the Peirson's milkvetch, desert tortoise,
Algodones dunes sunflower, flat-tailed horned lizard, and Andrew's dunes
scarab beetle - greatly worsen air pollution, and run off hikers,
birdwatchers, photographers, Native Americans and others. In addition to
allowing intense environmental harm, opening conservation areas to off-road
vehicles will displace and keep away non-motorized visitors, costing nearby
communities in the Imperial Valley and Yuma at least $3.3 million annually
in sustainable recreation related spending.

Earlier this year FWS rejected a petition by the off-road industry to remove
Endangered Species Act protection for the Peirson's milkvetch, finding that
the rare flowering plant is harmed by off-road vehicles and in need of
continued legal protection.

The Center, Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility are negotiating with the American Sand Association, an
off-road group, seeking an agreement on long-term sustainable management
options at the dunes.

Contact Daniel Patterson for a copy of today's legal filing.


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