And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: July 13, 1999 To: Friends of bears From: Louisa Willcox, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] RE: Urgent Help Needed for Bears!! Senate Interior Bill: Bad for Bears Several weeks ago, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an Interior Appropriations bill laden with anti-environmental riders that threaten our National Forests, public lands and endangered species such as the grizzly. The bill is expected to be passed by the Senate within a week or ten days. Montana Senator Max Baucus is key to stripping these riders. The grizzly rider, described below, is particularly egregious. Not only is it aimed at blocking bear reintroduction in the Selway-Bitterroot--an essential step to recovering the bear in the lower forty-eight states--it could also prevent emergency room relocations for the beleaguered, tiny populations of the Selkirks and Cabinet/Yaak. PLEASE CALL MAX BAUCUS TODAY AT 202-224-2651 AND TELL HIM THIS RIDER IS BAD FOR BEARS, AND THE WILDLANDS ECOSYSTEMS THEY REPRESENT. Please remind him too that tacking on "riders"--non-related "must pass" legislation like appropriations bills--undermines the appropriate democratic process for debating bills openly and in the light of day. (This is a sneaky, underhanded and undemocratic way to legislate.) Sec. 328: Prevent Grizzly Bear Introduction - would be disastrous for grizzly bear recovery and sets a very dangerous legislative precedent. This language prohibits the Department of the Interior and all other federal agencies from expending funds in any fiscal year to introduce grizzly bears anywhere in Idaho and Montana without express written consent of the governors of those two states. The language requires federal agencies to get state permission to implement a federal law on federal lands and sets a broad precedent, both for other endangered species recovery actions and for all other federal laws. Moreover, this provision would derail efforts restore grizzly bears to the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem in Idaho and Montana, the largest roadless area remaining in the lower forty-eight states. This is an effort vital to grizzly bear recovery. Also, both Idaho and Montana have existing populations of grizzly bears outside the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem. This restrictive language is so unclear and broad that it could prohibit "emergency room" recovery measures such as importing bears to augment populations. Of particular concern are the Selkirks and Cabinet/Yaak populations, which at roughly 30 and 20 bears respectively, are in imminent danger of extinction. PLEASE CALL MAX TODAY! BEARSXII\Riders.alert ************************************************************************ This list is a public service provided by WIN: http://www.wildrockies.org 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/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
