Biodiversity & Species
The question of triage
The latest Delta report issued by the Public Policy Institute of California goes well beyond the Delta. Titled Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Resolution, the report takes on the entire water management structure set up by state and federal law. There’s a lot in the report, which should be required reading for anyone interested …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Delta Stewardship Council Gets Down to Business
Today California’s Delta Stewardship Council begins its deliberations on a Delta Plan that promises to be a big part of the answer to one of that state’s most pressing environmental questions: can California’s Delta be saved? Creation of the Delta Stewardship Council was a key element of landmark 2009 California legislation designed to address the …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court won’t hear critical habitat cases
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. The Supreme Court today denied certiorari on two Endangered Species Act cases, Arizona Cattle Growers Association v. Salazar and Home Builders Association of Northern California v. US Fish and Wildlife Service. The cases were considered together because they raise the same issue: how the economic impacts of critical habitat designation should be …
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CONTINUE READINGGood news? Yes, even this week
It’s been a pretty bad week from an environmental perspective. The House Republicans have dominated the news, passing a continuing resolution for the rest of FY ’11 that would gut environmental programs, block implementation of anti-pollution and species protection requirements, yet make essentially no dent in the national debt. (For commentary on the continuing resolution …
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CONTINUE READINGAnd now for some good news
If you’re as depressed as I am by the current political climate and attempts on Capitol Hill to roll back everything from clean air protections to food safety, you might be feeling the need for some good news. Here’s at least a small antidote. The San Jose Mercury News reports that fish and birds are …
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CONTINUE READINGThoughts on the latest Delta smelt ruling
As Sean pointed out yesterday, this week federal District Judge Wanger issued another ruling in the ongoing litigation over protection of the Delta smelt and restrictions on diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system. Reviewing the opinion, my first reaction was sympathy for the judge and his staff. There is no question that sorting through …
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CONTINUE READINGA big news week for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
This has been a significant news week for California’s delta. On Wednesday, California’s Natural Resources Agency endorsed a plan for a water tunnel system to bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, coupled with a habitat restoration plan for the Delta. Bettina Boxall’s story in today’s Los Angeles Times has the details. Many environmental groups …
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CONTINUE READINGPolar bear listing remanded
The headline might not sound like it, but this is good news for environmentalists. The Endangered Species Act provides legal protections for two categories of species: those that are “endangered,” defined as in danger of extinction throughout at least a significant portion of their range; and those that are “threatened,” defined as likely to become …
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CONTINUE READINGOne Fish, Two Fish, Old Fish, New Fish
The NY Times has a nice series on a field expedition studying biodiversity in the Amazon. Here’s a sample paragraph to go with the picture above: As they pick through the specimens, bent over the table with their heads close together, they’re carrying on one of those scientific conversations that are conducted so entirely …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit upholds steelhead listing
Salmonids present a challenge for Endangered Species Act implementation, because they aren’t neatly divided into completely separate reproductive units, the way we expect species to be. Conservation advocates have long argued that behavior should be as important in genetics in deciding which salmonid groups merit protection. The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and …
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