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Defenders News Briefs Fall 2005
Defenders Sues to Save Caribou
Likely the most endangered mammal in the United States, the woodland caribou now numbers just three animals outside of Canada. To help save this imperiled species, a coalition led by Defenders is suing the federal government. The groups’ lawsuit calls on the government to protect remaining caribou habitat from snowmobiling abuses. Snowmobiling has negative effects on caribou’s diet and birth rates, as well as on their migration patterns. If aggressive action is not taken soon, woodland caribou may disappear from the country forever.
Shark Finning Banned
Defenders is celebrating the recent adoption of a ban on shark finning by more than 40 nations that fish in the Pacific Ocean. Finning—the practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and then discarding the carcass—is driven by the lucrative market for shark fin soup. Though sharks often get a bad rap, they are essential to the health of the oceans. The recent Pacific finning ban is a great victory, especially for the more than 30,000 members of Defenders who urged the action in letters and e-mails. But the practice continues in many other parts of the world, so conservationists are working to win a global moratorium on shark finning at the United Nations.Defenders Petitions to Protect Shorebird
Defenders and other conservation groups are seeking quick inclusion on the federal endangered species list for a rapidly dwindling subspecies of red knot. These shorebirds make an 18,000-mile journey each year from their winter home at the tip of South America to the Arctic. Along the way, the birds stop just a few times—one place being Delaware Bay. But the bay’s horseshoe crab population—on whose eggs the red knots feed—has crashed in recent years, making biologists worry about the red knots’ survival. Red knots once numbered more than 100,000, but are now down to about 17,000. If nothing is done to save them, scientists say the birds may disappear forever within five years.
Feds Approve Plan to Poison Prairie Dogs
The Bush administration announced a plan in August that allows the poisoning of tens of thousands of prairie dogs in South Dakota and Nebraska. Among the places slated for poisoning is a 21,500-acre swath of public land in South Dakota’s Conata Basin, home to a crucial population of black-footed ferrets. The endangered ferrets feed on prairie dogs and live in their burrows, so wiping out the small rodents will likely mean many of the ferrets will not survive. Some ranchers consider prairie dogs to be nuisances because they eat grass and can spread to adjoining private lands. But conservationists point out that these issues can be addressed without poisoning wildlife.
