How agencies charged with protecting our wildlife continue to betray our trust

By Jim Wiegand

June 13, 2016 (San Diego) - It is difficult to read that word “harvest” without thinking of harvesting crops, grown for the purpose of feeding humanity. In this case, however, we are talking about one of our most iconic species, one of our most magnificent raptors – and the “harvesting” is to be done by “grim reaper” machines: wind turbines.

East County News Service

Photo:  Vernal pool fairy shrimp, Calif. Dept. of Pesticide Regulation

August 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - What do bald eagles and fairy shrimp have in common?  They’re both on a list of species to be protected under a $3 million grant that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is providing to San Diego County for habitat preservation. In addition, the City of Santee will receive close to $189,000 for its Multiple Species Conservation Program.

December 31, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--Monarch butterflies may warrant protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states.  Monarch populations have dropped up to 90 percent in the last 20 years due to loss of milkweed plants that the butterflies need to lay their eggs and nourish caterpillars that emerge from cocoons.

East County News Service

Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

October 6, 2014 (Sacramento)--The western population of the yellow-billed cuckoo will be protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced. The Service determined that listing a distinct population segment  of the bird in portions of 12 western states, Canada and Mexico is warranted. In the U.S., the listing will cover parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Since 1980, nine sightings of the yellow-billed cuckoo have been made in San Diego County, though no nests have been found since the 1930s, according to the San Diego Bird Atlas Project at San Diego State University.  Locally the birds have been spotted from May to August, most commonly in stands of riparian willows and cottonwoods.

BIA Approval Decision Ignores Warnings from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Photo: Tony Hisgett (Wikimedia Commons)

September 26, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--Protect Our Communities (POC) and backcountry landowners have filed a lawsuit this week against the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Center for Food Safety

August 10, 2014 (San Diego)-The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that no more genetically engineered crops or pesticides toxic to bees will be used at any National Wildlife Refuges across the country. This brings protection to wildlife n over 150 million acres of federal land, including  refuges here in San Diego County.

San Diego Zoo, which manages the shelter, disputes AP report

By Miriam Raftery; photo courtesy of the San Diego Zoo

August 29, 2013 (San Diego) – Earlier this week, Associated Press ran a story which stated, “Federal funds  are running out at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center and officials plan to close the site and euthanize hundreds of the tortoises they’ve been caring for since the animals were added to the endangered species list in 1990.”

But the San Diego Zoo, which managers that center, told East County Magazine that while the center’s funding is in question, no healthy tortoises will be euthanized.  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has also issued a press release finding fault with AP’s reporting.

By Miriam Raftery

May 19, 2012 (Ocotillo) -- In a precedent that has horrified wildlife experts, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has authorized the “take” (meaning harassment, displacement or even death) of 10 endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep – five ewes and five lambs. 

The decision comes after federal wildlife officials were provided photographic evidence by ECM  that the endangered animals were seen in recent weeks on the site of the just-approved Ocotillo Express wind energy facility—a presence federal officials and the project developer have long denied.