Bob Marshall

Conservation Report: Shale Gas Extraction Could Leave a Mess for Wildlife

Sarah Smith — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:13:38 -0500

by Bob Marshall

Any sportsman who has followed habitat fights over the years knows this: Fish and wildlife always pay a price for fossil fuel extraction -- and if sportsmen are not involved in setting policies at the front end, disaster will almost surely follow for fishing and hunting.

The latest example is the current rush to riches unleashed across the nation by the revolution in shale gas extraction. The general population sees this as a godsend in supplying a fuel source that is domestic and friendlier to the atmosphere than oil -- and is creating jobs and millionaires in the process.

But the Philadelphia Enquirer recently reported sportsmen in Pennsylvania are finding out that, like most gold rushes, this one can trample their woods and waters. Construction of a trench for a 50-mile gas pipeline in Lycoming County left open to the elements "sent mud sliding down hillsides, fouling a stream." Now, "environmentalists and sportsmen have been raising alarms about the effects on the landscape. They worry about construction mud clogging waters and disrupting fish spawning, and about pipeline rights-of-way cutting swaths through forests, destroying treetop canopies."

Conservation Report: Will the Gulf Lose the Oil Spill Fines?

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:09:14 -0500

by Bob Marshall

Restore Act Needs Sportsmen’s Voices—Now

Some $20 billion in fines from the Deepwater Horizon spill that should go to restoring fish and wildlife habitat in the Gulf could disappear into the nation's general treasury unless sportsmen get involved in the next few weeks.

BP is expected to be hit with the bill within the next six months for violating the Clean Water Act with the estimated 200 million gallons of crude oil pumped into the Gulf from its accident. Current law sends those fines into the general treasury, where it can be used for anything from bank bailouts to congressional medical insurance.

Conservation Roundup: Call Super Committee Before Conservation Budget Cut

Sarah Smith — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:18:41 -0500

Let the Super Committee Hear from You

Sportsmen who care about the future of their traditions have an important job over the next week: Let the congressional Super Committee on the budget know that more cuts in conservation programs will only increase the deficit, not lower it.

The Super Committee is the bi-partisan group charged with outlining $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade by Nov. 23rd. Failure to agree would trigger automatic cuts of the same amount, most of which would come out of defense and domestic spending. Congress already has cut conservation spending by 30 percent earlier this year, putting vital fish and wildlife programs on the edge of collapse.

Conservation groups fear the Super Committee is considering even more damage--but they worry those automatic cuts could be just as severe. The frustrating thing is that, as mentioned in many previous posts here, conservation spending actually turns a profit for the nation's treasury. So it's time for sportsmen to contact their congressional delegations and tell them "Hands off of conservation funding.” You can find out who your reps are, and how to contact them here.

Conservation Update: Brook Trout Recovering from Acid Rain Damage

Sarah Smith — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:21:42 -0500

Virginia Trout Making Progress on Long Road Back from Acid Rain

Members of Congress trying to roll back or prevent new air pollution regulations might want to have a chat with Virginia trout anglers. It's been two decades since acid rain regulations went into effect, but the state's native brook trout population is only now making a significant comeback from that abuse.

A new report from the University of Virginia found that between 1987 and 2000 only 55 to 57 percent of streams sampled were suitable to brook trout reproduction. But between 2000 and 2010 that number had jumped to 77 percent. According to the researchers, the lag in improvement reflected "the streams' ability to purge acidification that has settled for years into surrounding soils and that continues to leach into streams."

The lesson here is that turning back regulations might allow polluters to make a quick buck, but results in long-term expenses for the rest of society.

Conservation Update: Go Fishing, Create Jobs

Sarah Smith — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:17:45 -0500

Fisheries Programs Tip the Economic Scale

Here's even more ammunition for conservationists fighting the claim that the nation "can't afford" conservation spending in these tough economic times: A new report proves fisheries conservation programs contribute $3.6 billion to the nation’s economy, and supports 68,000 jobs across the country.

The report "Conservation America's Fisheries, An Assessment of Economic Contributions from Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Conservation" was released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency.

You've been seeing a steady stream of these "environmental protection creates jobs" stories lately for good reason. Since the Great Recession began in 2008, business lobbies such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute have spent hundreds of millions telling Congress and the American public that the nation should roll back protection for fish and wildlife habitat because they cut industry profits and "kill jobs."

Conservation Update: How To Make A Farm Friendly to Wildlife

Sarah Smith — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:43:08 -0400

by Bob Marshall

Future-Friendly Farming Report Just in Time

With Congress likely to chop funding for conservation sections of the Farm Bill, the timing couldn't be better for a new report from the National Wildlife Federation on wildlife-friendly farming practices. "Future Friendly Farming: Seven Agricultural Practices to Sustain People and the Environment" centers on these principles:

• Cover crops increase water management capacity, reduce erosion and nutrient loss, and improve wildlife habitat.
• Conservation tillage reduces erosion while increasing nesting cover for birds and wildlife.
• Organic farming eliminates chemical use, increases soil fertility and increases wildlife habitat.

Study: 9.4 Million American Jobs Rely On A Healthy Outdoors

Sarah Smith — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:20:58 -0400

by Bob Marshall

Sportsmen, Allies Make a Dollars-and-Cents Argument for Conservation

Finally, some hard facts and figures on the reason America should not retreat on conservation and environmental protection during these tough economic times: Cutting those programs and rolling back those regulations would put at risk 9.4 million American jobs, $1.06 trillion in total economic impact, and $107 billion annually generated in tax revenue.

That was the bottom line of a major initiative rolled out Monday at The National Press Club in Washington D.C. by "America’s Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation” (AVCRP), a coalition that includes almost every major sportsmen's group, environmental organizations and historic preservationists whose programs are threatened with deep budget cuts. The complete list of organizations in AVCRP can be found in the signatories of this letter to Congress.

Conservation (Bad) News: Salmon Plague Spreads to Wild Pacific Stocks

Sarah Smith — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:10:38 -0400

by Bob Marshall

Deadly Disease Threatens Wild Pacific Salmon

File this one under: Just when you think things couldn't get worse.

Earlier this month fishery officials in Canada and the U.S. confirmed the deadly infectious salmon anemia had been found for the first time in wild Pacific salmon. This is the same disease that devastated salmon farms in Chile and other countries. The disease was found in two sockeye salmon smolts off British Columbia.

The news sent shock waves through the fishing industries and communities that depend on salmon. It was good to see the threat also quickly cut through the entrenched partisanship in Washington resulting in a bi-partisan bill to address the outbreak.

Conservation Update: Limits on Roads—and Fish?

Sarah Smith — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:52:42 -0400

by Bob Marshall

Sportsmen Cheer Roadless Rule Victory

Looks like backcountry hunters and anglers--not to mention elk herds and trout populations--won't have to contend with logging trucks and four-wheelers in the near future.

That's the near-term impact of the decision last week by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that reinstated the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as the law governing 49 million acres of inventoried roadless areas located on the nation's national forests and grasslands.

The ruling overturned a 2008 lower district court's decision enjoining the rule and should resolve uncertainty about federal management of roadless areas across America.

The Roadless Rule is a multiple-use management regulation that limits road building and timber harvest on undeveloped public lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture outside of Idaho. The decision was cheered by sportsmen and wildlife officials, as well as the tens of thousands of jobs related to hunting, fishing and other backcountry recreation.

Conservation Roundup: Expensive Pollution, Missing Shrimp, Feds Open More Land to Drilling

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:37:02 -0400

by Bob Marshall

Dirty Air Hurts the Economy, not just Fish, Wildlife and Sportsmen
The more industry lobbyists and their allies in Congress tell Americans they need dirtier air and water to "help the economy" the more the actual evidence shows what they're actually looking for is quicker profits - and the health of humans and critters be dammed.

The latest revelation comes via the paper "Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy" which shows current regulations on coal powered plants are actually too lenient because the ultimate costs to the U.S. economy in human and ecosystem damages is higher than the price we pay for that power.

This paper didn't appear in some lefty-environment magazine, but in the prestigious American Economic Review and was authored by three economists considered center-right. You can find the paper here.

A clear lay review is found here.

Why should sportsmen wade though a paper like this? Because pro-industry forces have mounted a full-court press in Congress pushing for a rollback of many regulations that have been key protectors of the fish and wildlife habitat that is the platform for all we cherish.