The fastest bird in the world could fly off the
endangered species list in the next year, according to Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The peregrine falcon nearly died out in
the 1970s, after the pesticide DDT and other chemicals caused it to
lay thin-shelled eggs. Today, there are 1,600 breeding pairs in the
United States and Canada. “We have proved that a strong Endangered
Species Act can make a difference,” said
Babbitt.
But the Endangered
Species Act may not be as strong as Interior Secretary Babbitt once
thought. In June, he announced that the law was working so well
that 29 species were coming off the list. Now, the Interior
Department acknowledges that some of those species were being
dropped because they had gone extinct. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark told members of Congress
that Babbitt’s original statement was due to a miscommunication,
according to Greenwire.
The
National Audubon Society recently flip-flopped on a lawsuit over
restoring wolves in Idaho. The group was a plaintiff in the lawsuit
claiming that the reintroduction was illegal because it endangered
naturally occurring wolves. The goal of the lawsuit was tighter
protection, but it backfired last December, when U.S. District
Court Judge William Downes agreed that the program was illegal, and
ordered the wolves removed (HCN, 4/13/98). Now, Audubon supports
the reintroduction plan. It is appealing Judge Downes’ removal
order.
The state of California
will pay dearly for poisoning Lake Davis, northwest of Reno, and
wounding the local tourist trade. In August the state agreed to pay
$9 million to Plumas County, the city of Portola and local
businesses and property owners, according to the Reno Gazette. Two
businesses closed and others reported 50 percent drops after the
California Department of Fish and Game killed all aquatic life in
the lake last October in order to eradicate the northern pike (HCN,
5/25/98). The state legislature and the governor still need to
approve the agreement.
Navajo
Nation Council Speaker Kelsey Begaye easily placed first in the
Aug. 25 primary election for the Navajo Nation presidency. Begaye
will face Chinle Councilman Joe Shirley in the Nov. 3 general
election. Interim President Milton Bluehouse is trying to collect
3,000 signatures to enter the race as a write-in
candidate.
* Greg Hanscom
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Wayward West.
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