[obol] Bald Eagle delisting information

[Dennis P. Vroman]

This was on a northern NY birding equivilent of OBOL,  Dennis

Within days Bald Eagle will be removed from the Federal Endangered Species List. The delisting isn't controversial. The Bush Administration's interpretation of the law that will continue to protect them is. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act makes "disturbing" a Bald Eagle illegal. Administration political appointees have chosen to ignore the recommendations of Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and intend to intrepret the word in a way that will make that law in effect, unenforceable. 

According to a National Wildife Federation Alert, "Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is considering overruling the recommendations of FWS experts. Instead, he is looking to adopt a plan based on a proposal preferred by developers. This plan would eliminate crucial protections for the bald eagle. This action "appears designed to assist developers seeking to build in bald eagle habitat." 

A Center for Biological Diversity alert states "the Bush administration has proposed changing the definition of the term "disturb" to mean only those actions that cause eagles to be killed, injured, or to abandon their nests. Not only does this fly in the face of the conventional and dictionary definitions of the word 'disturb,' but actions short of causing immediate injury or death would be permitted." Their alert and an excellent model letter can be found at http://actionnetwork.org/BIODIVERSITY/alert-description.tcl?alert_id=6398469 

You can send an email to Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett directly through the NWF site - https://online.nwf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=217 Unfortunately, the Center for Biological Divesity does not provide contact information. 

NPR had a news story on the controversy this morning - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7234978
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20070207/e7031d23/attachment.htm