And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/may99/1999L-05-05-09.html NWF WOULD FUND VACCINATION OF MONTANA CATTLE The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has a plan to both protect the cattle of Montana ranchers and end the slaughter of America's largest wild buffalo herd now under way outside Yellowstone National Park. NWF will reimburse ranchers who graze cattle along the Montana-Yellowstone border for the cost of vaccinating vulnerable animals against the abortive disease brucellosis. No case of brucellosis transmission from wild bison to cattle has ever been documented. But fear of disease transmission has been used by Montana officials to justify the killing of 1,200 wild buffalo wandering outside park borders since the winter of 1996-97. "Scientific evidence has always shown that transmission from wild buffalo to cattle was a matter of very low risk," said NWF buffalo project manager Steve Torbit, Ph.D. "With this proposal, we take it from low risk to no risk and eliminate any claim of justification for the slaughter." While not directly participating in the vaccination process, NWF will reimburse any rancher grazing cattle in areas designated by a federal environmental impact study as posing a risk of contact with wild buffalo. The RB-51 vaccine to be used under the plan has a high rate of efficacy that will render an already negligible risk virtually non-existent. Efforts to protect and restore wild buffalo are part of a broader NWF campaign to restore dwindling grasslands habitat and the many species that depend on it. *********************** TROUT UNLIMITED IN WATER COURT TO SAVE COLORADO FISH Trout Unlimited (TU) has gone to court to protect fisheries in the Eagle and Fraser River basins of Colorado. In the Eagle basin, TU went to water court April 29 to try and block new water withdrawals by Denver Water from Eagle basin streams, including some in a wilderness area, for use on the Front Range. These conditional rights serve as a place-holder for the project in Colorado's water rights system. The proposed diversions could harm several tributaries in the Eagle basin and reduce flows in the Eagle River. The project's future is in question, since it relies in part on storage at Two Forks - the reservoir blocked in the early 1990s by the Environmental Protection Agency. Endangered species concerns in the Colorado also make the project less viable. In the Fraser basin, TU filed a protest April 21 in a move to prevent the Colorado Water Conservation Board from making a 40 percent reduction in an instream flow appropriation on St. Louis Creek. The two cases are the first filings TU has made in Colorado under its new Western Water Project. The Project's goal is to protect and restore instream flows for coldwater fisheries and to increase citizen participation in water management decisions. * * * WASHINGTON PRISON PROJECT FINED FOR WATER CONTAMINATION The Washington state Department of Corrections has been fined $44,000 for inadequately controlling storm water that has spoiled water quality and fish habitat in a creek and a wetland just west of Aberdeen. The Department of Ecology issued the fine and ordered Corrections to restore water quality in Stafford Creek and the health of the adjacent wetland. The construction project has caused repeated discharges of sediments and cloudy storm water that silt up the creek and degrade water quality. Silt can kill salmon by clogging their gills and blocking their oxygen supply. An Ecology water quality inspector observed multiple violations of Corrections� stormwater pollution prevention plan on six days from November 1998 through February 1999. Separately, Corrections voluntarily reported 61 violations of the project�s stormwater permit during four months beginning October 28, 1998. Self-reporting is a requirement of the permit. "We realize that Corrections is on a fast track to meet construction deadlines and that we have experienced an extraordinary amount of rainfall this winter, but adequate measures should have been taken to protect the environment," said Megan White, who manages Ecology�s water-quality program. Department of Corrections secretary Joe Lehman expressed concern for his agency�s environmental damage and promised to take corrective action immediately. * * * BACTERIA BREAK DOWN DDT IN NEW PATENTED PROCESS Chicken and cow manure, old newspapers, straw and wood chips can be used to clean up land contaminated with dangerous chlorinated pesticides such as DDT, according to Canadian scientists at the life sciences firm AstraZeneca. "New Scientist" reported in its May 8 issue that the team at AstraZeneca has come up with an alternative, using local bacteria that feed on organic waste to break down hazardous substances into less harmful ones. The soil bacteria convert chlorinated pesticides to less toxic by-products by using enzymes known as dehalogenases to chop out offending chlorine groups. They hope the landowners in the U.S. who are liable for cleaning up tens of thousands of contaminated sites, such as old chemical plants, will adopt their technique. In a year-long test at an old pesticide factory in Tampa, Florida, AstraZeneca's process, called Xenorem, cut DDT levels in the soil by more than 95 per cent. DDT is considered one of the worst pollutants because its breakdown products, such as DDE, were thought to be almost indestructible. But in the Tampa trial the bacteria reduced levels of DDE, DDD and other chlorinated pesticides to below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety limits. Stauffer Management Company, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, has patented the technology, which it presented to a bioremediation symposium in San Diego last week. The new technique will remove contaminants at around two-thirds the price of incineration, the next best solution, says Frank Peter, AstraZeneca's director of environmental services. ********************** Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky Tuesday announced that their agencies will hold 11 public listening sessions on agricultural trade priorities for the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. "Glickman said, "The advice of farmers and ranchers, processors, exporters, and consumers will be critical in establishing U.S. agricultural trade objectives and goals for the upcoming Seattle Ministerial Meeting in late November and for the ensuing WTO negotiations." Environmental issues in agriculture include genetic engineering, waste management, organic food standards, pesticides, herbicides and fumigants as well as exotic invasive species. Listening sessions are scheduled for Winter Haven, Florida, on June 4; St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 7; Memphis, Tennessee, on June 16; Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 24; Sacramento, California, on June 29; Pullman, Washington, on June 30; Austin, Texas, on July 8; Burlington, Vermont, on July 19; and Newark, Delaware, on July 23. Listening sessions are also planned for Des Moines, Iowa, and Bozeman, Montana, with dates to be announced. People must register with their State Departments of Agriculture for the regional sessions. Written questions and comments are also welcome through July 26. Contact: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Trade Policy Comments, Stop 9920, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9920. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more information, contact Marlene Phillips, FAS Outreach Office, Tel: 202-720-0103; Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * MICHIGAN FUNDS 1999 ZEBRA MUSSEL STUDY A new state initiative will assess the impacts of exotic species invasions in Michigan rivers, according to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The DEQ�s Office of the Great Lakes today announced funding for river surveys of freshwater clams and other aquatic life that are impacted by zebra mussels. A $35,000 grant under Michigan�s Comprehensive State Management Plan to Control Aquatic Nuisance Species will enable researchers to survey the Grand River and its tributaries between Lansing and Grand Rapids. The effort involves researchers from the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and other agencies. Participants are members of the Michigan Freshwater Mussel Conservation Committee, a forum created to identify and promote actions necessary to maintain and recover native mussel populations in the state. "Landscape changes and the proliferation of exotic species such as sea lampreys, zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil and rusty crayfish have impaired aquatic ecosystems in Michigan," said DEQ director Russell Harding. Michigan�s lakes, rivers and streams harbor remarkable aquatic biodiversity, including 129 native fish species and 45 native freshwater mussel species. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
