DENlines Issue #14 Defenders Electronic Network (DEN) Friday May 8, 2000 WOLVES: Alaska Legislature Reinstates Land-and-Shoot Hunting CONGRESS: House to Vote on Conservation Funding Bill ENDANGERED SPECIES: Wildlife Gains Made at International Meeting BIRDS: Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day WILDLIFE CALENDAR: Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds ECO TRIVIA: Fastest-Growing Plant THANK YOU: Send A Free Polar Bear E-Card to Your Friends 1.WOLVES: Alaska Legislature Reinstates Land-and-Shoot Hunting Turning a deaf ear to the will of the Alaskan public, the governor, and the state fish and game department, the state legislature voted to reinstate the controversial practice of land-and-shoot hunting of wolves. The action overrode a veto by Governor Tony Knowles, effectively repealing an initiative passed by Alaska voters in 1996. The legislature also passed a constitutional amendment that, if approved by the public in November, would eliminate any future wildlife-related ballot initiatives. Defenders is working with our allies in Alaska to reinstate the land-and-shoot hunting ban and defeat the constitutional amendment. Stay tuned; we will need your help on this issue in the coming months. By a vote of 47 - 17 the Alaska legislature overrode Governor Knowles' veto of a bill repealing the existing ban on land-and- shoot hunting of wolves, which was approved by 60 percent of Alaskans in 1996. The action effectively reinstates a 1993 regulation allowing any private citizen with a $15 trapping or $25 hunting license to spot a wolf from the air, land and open fire on the animals, as long as the hunter moves at least 100 yards from the plane. Land-and-shoot hunting by private citizens violates fair chase hunting ethics and cannot be adequately regulated in the vast wilds of Alaska. This practice contributed to a record-high kill of 1,682 wolves during the winter of 1993 - 1994, a 22-year high. Last year the legislature passed and overrode another Knowles veto of legislation that repealed another key element of the 1996 ban a restriction on the use of aircraft in state-sponsored wolf- control programs, except in the case of a biological emergency. The most recent action repeals the heart of the 1996 initiative, which was approved by nearly 60 percent of the Alaskan public. Defenders of Wildlife is working with other Alaska conservation groups and concerned citizens to revitalize the successful coalition that passed the land-and-shoot ban four years ago. One option being discussed is to place a referendum on the November 2000 ballot giving the Alaskan public the opportunity to reverse the legislature's action. Already planned for the ballot is an initiative that would take away the constitutional right of Alaska citizens to vote on wildlife-related initiatives. We will work aggressively with our allies to defeat this proposal. 2. CONGRESS: House to Vote on Conservation Funding Bill The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as Wednesday, May 10 on the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), legislation to permanently fund programs to protect America's last remaining natural and historic treasures, scenic areas and wildlife habitat. However, conservationists have specific concerns about CARA. Provisions in the current version of the bill would give incentives for increased offshore oil drilling, would delay or prevent conservation funds from being spent to protect our national parks, wildlife refuges and forests and would allow states to spend wildlife funding on programs that would not benefit all wildlife. Many of these concerns can be addressed by amendments expected to be offered on the House floor by Representatives Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Edward Markey (D- MA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA). The Boehlert-Markey-Pallone-McGovern amendments could be one of the biggest environmental votes of the year and strong support is needed to ensure that CARA is truly an environmentally sound bill. To send a free fax to your representative urging support for these important amendments, go to the DEN Action center at http://www.denaction.org 3. ENDANGERED SPECIES: Wildlife Gains Made at International Meeting Conservationists won protections for a number of imperiled species at the annual Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) held last month in Nairobi, Kenya. Representatives from more than 150 countries met to vote on proposals including lifting existing bans on the ivory and hawksbill-turtle trade and protecting certain shark and whale species from commercial fishing. Conservationists were generally satisfied with the decisions reached at the meeting. Defenders of Wildlife's Carroll Muffett worked behind the scenes with many delegates on the critical issues being debated. Having just returned from Africa this week he offers this "insider" report: The following report is written by Carroll Muffett, International Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife who attended the CITES meeting in Nairobi, Kenya from April 10 - 20. "Like most other participants, I expected the most contentious debate to center around proposals by the governments of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa to resume trade in ivory from African elephant tusks and a competing proposal from India and Kenya to reinstate a complete ban on such trade. As it turned out, this debate never materialized. For the first time in the history of CITES, the more than 50 African nations were able to agree among themselves to hold off on any new trade in ivory until at least the next CITES meeting in 2002. A notable victory for conservationists was the rejection of four separate proposals by Japan and Norway to overturn the ban on commercial whaling of grey and minke whales. Defenders of Wildlife and other members of the Species Survival Network argued that lifting the ban could lead to current populations declining again after making a modest comeback in the last decade. Since the 1930s, minke whales have been the most commercially sought- after species. Consequently their numbers have dwindled in the North Atlantic and the Arctic. The proposals not only failed, but Japan garnered fewer votes on this issue than at the 1997 CITES meeting. Another celebrated win for endangered species advocates was thwarting an attempt by Cuba to overturn a ban on commercial trade of the endangered hawksbill turtle. Cuban officials had hoped to sell Cuba's remaining stockpiles of rare hawksbill turtle shells to Japan. The proposal was rejected by delegation officials who were concerned that opening up any (legal) trade would only encourage illegal trade and poaching of the imperiled species. Hawksbill turtles numbers are declining in 22 of 26 Caribbean territories. While conservationists won a number of victories at CITES, I was deeply frustrated by the failure to protect three imperiled shark species. Sharks are under increasing pressure from commercial harvest for their fins which are used in shark fin soup, a popular delicacy in many Asian countries. Unfortunately, efforts by the U.S., Great Britain, and Australia to protect the great white, basking and whale sharks from this trade were rejected by the conference officials. Even so, the basking shark came within only five votes of gaining protection under CITES which I see this as a very positive sign and I believe our work here will be a springboard for raising awareness about the serious threats facing sharks worldwide. When we come back to the next CITES meeting in two years we are very hopeful we will see a different result." 4. BIRDS: Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day Have you noticed more birds in your neighborhood lately? Millions of birds are making their annual migration from wintering habitat in southern climes to summer breeding grounds in the United States and Canada. On May 13, thousands of individuals will spend the day at their local national wildlife refuge, park or forest to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with a variety of events. You can take a nature walk to view and hear local birdlife, build your own bird house, and learn more about how important migratory birds are to the natural world and what can be done to protect them. To find out what is planned in you neck of the woods visit http://refuges.fws.gov/Tango3/queryfiles/IMBDevents.taf?function= form. Choose International Migratory Bird Day and search by state or province. 5. WILDLIFE CALENDAR: Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds A flurry of activity occurs every May on the bayshores of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey as thousands of horseshoe crabs congregate for their annual breeding season. As far as the eye can see, a line of male horseshoe crabs waits patiently for females to arrive. The males will literally attach themselves to a female and fertilize the tens of thousands of eggs she will lay and bury in the damp sand of the low tide. Mixed with sand to provide better camouflage, there can be as many as 50 horseshoe crab nests in one square yard of sand. After laying their eggs, horseshoe crabs return to the open ocean, setting the stage for a buffet of mammoth proportions. Migratory birds such as red knots, sanderlings and ruddy turnstones stop over midway between their travels from South and Central America to the Canadian Arctic to fuel up on the millions of crab eggs, buried in the shores of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. Some birds can double their body weight during such pit-stops, consuming thousands of eggs each. Despite the feeding frenzy, a healthy number of horseshoe crab eggs have in the past, managed to survive to hatch and successfully reach adulthood. This balance between bird consumption and horseshoe crab reproduction has thrived until recently. But now, due to recent increases in the use of horseshoe crabs as bait, numbers of spawning horseshoe crag eggs have dramatically declined. (Source: The Wildlife Year) 6. ECO TRIVIA: Fastest-Growing Plant What plant grows the fastest? A. Coastal Redwood B. Saguaro Catcus C. English Ivy D. Giant Kelp Scroll down to the end for the answer) 7. THANK YOU: Send A Free Polar Bear E-Card to Your Friends In the six months since DEN was launched we have had a positive impact on conservation issues ranging from supporting wolf recovery in Yellowstone and the Southwest to protecting dolphins from lethal fishing practices. As a thank you for taking action and staying informed on conservation issues, Defenders invites all DEN subscribers to send a free polar bear e-card to your friends. The e-cards feature a photo of a polar bear and a personal message from you. Send your free polar bear e-card today and tell your friends about DEN! click here TRIVIA ANSWER (D): It might surprise you to learn that the fastest-growing plant never even gets a drop of rain. The giant kelp, which can grow as much as two feet in a single day, thrives in the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America . This golden-brown seaweed can form strands stretching up to 200 feet in length, forming an underwater forest that moves with the ebb and flow of the tides. Root-like structures called holdfasts anchor the plant to the rocky bottom but do not collect nutrients. Closely related to algae, the kelp has adapted a unique transport system to distribute nutrients throughout the plant, allowing it to grow faster and larger than any of its relatives. A kelp forest provides essential habitat for a number of marine species including sea otters, sea lions and octopuses. (American Nature) CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE DENlines is a bi-weekly publication of Defenders of Wildlife, a leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. It is known for its effective leadership on endangered species issues, particularly predators such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders also advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 380,000 members and supporters. 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