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Arctic and Atlantic Oceans Receive Reprieve from Drilling

By on November 20, 2016 in Conservation, In the News

Alaska Maritime NWR

ANCHORAGE, AK/NEW YORK, NY – November 18,2016 – Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it will remove the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from the offshore leasing program for the next five years, 2017-2022. This move spares crucial wildlife habitats, including the Arctic’s Barrow Canyon, Harrison Bay, and Smith Bay, from new leasing activities.

“Hitting the pause button on offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic is exactly the right thing to do,” said David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. “Offshore drilling is a dirty and dangerous business, and removing the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from the offshore leasing plan gives everyone time to think hard about how well water and oil mix. The Obama Administration understands that the productivity of our oceans is jeopardized when we drill in the wrong places. We should be thinking first about protecting ocean life and quickly moving to cleaner sources of energy”

There are ten globally-significant Important Bird Areas, supporting millions of birds, in the Arctic Ocean and along its shoreline in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas lease areas. The Chukchi and Beaufort seas are also home to polar bears, walrus, four species of ice seals, and several species of whales.

“The Arctic Ocean contains vital ecological areas that are critical for the survival of many birds and wildlife species,” said Nils Warnock, Executive Director for Audubon Alaska. “This prudent Five-Year Program prevents new leasing in this crucial habitat at a time of unprecedented ecological change in the Arctic.”

Offshore from Barrow, the farthest north community in the US, Barrow Canyon is a hotspot of biodiversity. The seafloor drops suddenly, creating an underwater canyon. When the cold, nutrient-rich Arctic Current encounters this barrier, it rises to create a fertile upwelling of foods consumed by many types of larger marine animals, such as bowhead and beluga whales.

In the shallow waters of Harrison Bay, millions of birds congregate to take advantage of the rich aquatic foodweb. The Colville River is Alaska’s largest Arctic river, and the nutrient supply from the Colville combines with shallow water of Harrison Bay, resulting in higher productivity than other areas nearshore in the Beaufort Sea. The sheltered waters support a remarkable diversity of bird species of concern, from Artic Terns to Yellow-billed Loons, from Surf Scoters to King Eiders. Harrison Bay harbors a substantial abundance, as well as diversity, of seabirds and seaducks.

Smith Bay, another vital ecological area in the Arctic Ocean, is also well known for its bird life. Several rivers flow into Smith Bay, where a ring of barrier islands shelters shallow waters from the greater Beaufort Sea. Smith Bay is adjacent to the Teshekpuk Lake area, a known ecological hotspot for molting and nesting shorebirds and waterfowl. These birds also forage along the nearby coasts and marine waters. Birds such as Pomarine Jaegers, Red Phalaropes, shearwaters, and Thick-billed Murres rely on these areas; feeding bowhead whales use these waters in the summer and fall; and ice edges provide foraging and maternal denning habitat for polar bears.

“Removing the Arctic Ocean from the Five-Year Program is a tangible first step toward alleviating the pressures of oil spills and climate change on these most important Arctic marine areas,” said Warnock.

The Proposed Final Program now goes to Congress for a 60-day period, before BOEM registers the final Record of Decision.

More Information

The Vital Arctic Ocean Areas Storymap highlights ecologically important areas, told through articles written by Arctic field biologists and researchers

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Since 1977, Audubon Alaska’s mission is to conserve the spectacular natural ecosystems of the state, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations. Audubon Alaska uses science to identify conservation priorities and support conservation actions and policies, with an emphasis on public lands and waters. Audubon Alaska is a state office of the National Audubon Society. www.AudubonAlaska.org

CONTACTS:

Susan Culliney, Policy Associate, Audubon Alaska, sculliney@audubon.org, 907-276-7034

Nick Gonzalez, Media Relations Manager, National Audubon Society, ngonzalez@audubon.org, 212-979-3068

Something for the Canaries to Sing About

By on October 29, 2016 in BirdWords, Conservation
Rufus Hummingbird at Sunflower

As this hummingbird refuels on sunflower nectar, her heart beats over 615 times a minute, and she take 110 breaths

Fortunately for old miners, clean air may be even more immediately important to our feathered friends than it is to us.

Like us, birds are warm-blooded. That pretty much guarantees a high rate of metabolism, the routine internal processing done by a healthy body. Cold-blooded bodies generally work slowly–the heart rate of a resting one-pound snake is about 16 beats/minute—and these animals usually become inactive in cold seasons. But warm-blooded creatures burn their food to keep active even in cold weather. Their bodies must work faster. The heart rate of a one-pound crow is 345 beats/minute, five times ours and over twenty times as much as the snake’s!

Heart beats, of course, are pushing blood to every cell in the body, carrying food and, more urgently, the oxygen that can unlock food energy and keep each cell functioning. So along with their fast heartbeats, birds breathe rapidly. That puts a premium on clean air.

As birds process the air they breathe, any toxins present can take a toll. As I drive to work I create a whole cloud of trouble. Over time, ozone and nitrogen oxides can rupture blood vessels in the lungs. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can cause DNA mutations, decrease body weight, and probably reduce egg-laying and hatching. Inhaled particulates damage lung tissue. Together, pollutants reduce red blood cells, effectively cutting the birds’ ability to process food. Further, extra carbon dioxide in the air creates climate change, altering habitats the birds need to live.

Some 20-50% of these pollutants are from vehicle emissions. Hence, the problem with me driving to work.

So what’s a person in intelligent consideration to do? One solution would be to quit work. Sometimes tempting, but fortunately there are less drastic fixes.

Not long ago it seemed reasonable to think that buying a cleaner emission car was reserved to Hollywood glitterati and Silicon Valley CEO’s. But it’s not that way now. An MIT study of ten-year costs, including purchase, fuel, and maintenance, of America’s 125 most popular vehicles showed that low-emission vehicles are often less expensive than their guzzling counterparts. Clustered at the least-expensive/least-polluting corner of the data are electric, battery-powered vehicles such as the Chevrolet Spark, Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus, Smart Fortwo, and Fiat 500E. Many of these vehicles have internal combustion versions, but with reduced fuel consumption and federal and state refunds the electric versions cost comparably or less.

And their emissions are cleaner—better already than 2030 Paris Accord goals.

Now a small car that needs recharging rather than refueling might not meet everybody’s needs. But it will meet some needs, and apparently can do so without requiring a second mortgage. The increasing options in affordable, cleaner cars may give the canaries something to sing about!

Federal Judge Rules to Protect Izembek Wilderness

By on September 9, 2015 in Conservation, In the News, National Wildlife Refuges

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Court Upholds Interior Department’s Decision Against Road

ANCHORAGE, Alaska— In a victory for the conservation of Alaska’s wild public lands, the U.S. District Court today upheld U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’s decision to protect Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and its designated wilderness.

Last year the court dismissed most of the legal claims made by King Cove and the state of Alaska, allowing only limited claims to go forward. The federal government has repeatedly studied a proposed land swap and road through the refuge, and consistently rejected the project because of its negative effects on the ecological resources and wilderness values of the refuge.

Izembek’s lagoon complex is a globally important ecosystem that contains one of the largest eelgrass beds in the world, providing food and habitat for fish and crabs that feed migratory birds from multiple continents. Virtually the entire world populations of Pacific black brant and emperor geese, and a significant portion of the threatened Steller’s eider population visits the refuge to rest and feed during spring and fall migrations.

Of Izembek’s 315,000 acres, 300,000 are protected as congressionally designated wilderness.

Since passage of the landmark Wilderness Act in 1964, no wilderness area has been stripped of protection for the purpose of constructing a road.

Organizations dedicated to protecting Izembek intervened in the case to protect the exceptional values of the refuge and its wilderness. The groups were represented by Trustees for Alaska, a nonprofit, public interest law firm.

“This decision is the right choice for Izembek wildlife and many Alaska communities. Izembek provides globally important habitat for migratory birds from several continents, including species that people use for subsistence across western Alaska,” said Jim Adams, policy director for Audubon Alaska.

“Izembek is a gem. It’s a national treasure that is—and should be—protected for generations to come. Today’s ruling is an affirmation that protecting wild places enriches all of us,” said Miyoko Sakashita, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The court has rightly recognized the weakness in the legal claims underlying this lawsuit, and correctly upheld the Secretary of Interior’s rejection of a deeply flawed proposal to drive a road through this pristine wilderness of international significance,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is critically important for iconic wildlife, including brown bears, caribou, salmon and hundreds of species of migratory birds. It deserves to be protected for future generations.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted extensive scientific studies that repeatedly demonstrate the destructive nature of this unnecessary and extremely costly proposed road,” said David C. Raskin, president of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. “We applaud the decision of the court to uphold Secretary Jewell’s wise decision to protect this natural treasure, and we will continue our efforts to find a non-destructive solution to the concerns of the local communities.”

“We are heartened that the U.S. District Court recognized the congressionally designated wilderness resources of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge by upholding a decision by Secretary Jewell and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said David Houghton, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “We can now move forward with helping the people of King Cove find a transportation solution that does not include a road through one of the most biologically important places on the planet.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior have studied this issue exhaustively, and ruled that the road should not be built,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska regional director for The Wilderness Society. “We are very pleased by the court’s ruling, and hope that this issue can finally be resolved by all parties working together to find a non-road alternative that will address local residents’ concerns while leaving Izembek’s globally significant resources intact.”

“Wilderness Watch and all of our members are gratified by the U.S. District Court ruling which upholds the decision made by Secretary Jewell against building a road across the Izembek Wilderness,” said Fran Mauer, Wilderness Watch Alaska chapter representative. “We will continue to work to assure that this great wildlife refuge and wilderness remains as it is, wild and free of human developments.”

Climate Change is Beginning to Take Its Toll on Bird Populations

By on June 3, 2015 in BirdWords, Conservation, In the News
Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Last month I wrote about insect-eating birds swarming into Shasta County to raise their young. Unfortunately, I was indulging in a bit of optimistic nostalgia. The migration itself is as real as ever, but our nesting numbers are dismally down.

It can’t really be a surprise. Everything needs its habitat, and in actions that seemed reasonable, we have converted much wildland to more prosaic purposes. But the yellow-headed blackbird can’t nest where the marsh is drained, nor can the meadowlark make a home where grasslands are converted to row crops. The thrasher can’t sing where the chaparral is cut for houses, or the pet cat kills its young. The kestrel can’t nest where old woodpecker holes have been cut down to reduce hazards, and the pygmy owl can’t stalk grasshoppers where the woodland is paved into yet another retail center.

Driving up the valley as a kid it seemed there was a hawk on every telephone pole. But we reasonably want produce, and farmers pragmatically maximize their production. So after forty years of our plowing through the lairs of fieldmice, gophers, and snakes, of course the hawk numbers are down; after forty years of pesticides to kill hungry insects, of course the songbirds are reduced; after more recent advances to mow right to the fenceline, of course the hedgerow birds are gone.

Unfortunately, our personal perceptions of too-quiet treetops, empty telephone poles, and vacant fencelines are confirmed by research around the globe. Complementing the 115 year old Christmas Bird Count, the North American Breeding Bird Survey has run each May since 1966. It documents declines of 40-60% in a quarter of our birds, and up to 96%, depending on the species and region.

And that’s what has happened already. Now farm produce is being bio-engineered to withstand yet more pesticides, and their application has begun. Climate change is beginning to take its toll. At current carbon emission projections, 314 of 588 species studied by Audubon will lose at least half their seasonal habitat within the lifetime of this year’s graduates.

Many birds will face challenges as seasons unsynchronize: hummingbirds can’t sip on flowers that have already fruited, and fields gone dry offer fewer insects to bring to the nest. Some birds will be unable to shift northward as quickly as this climate change is demanding—especially if they need vegetation that moves north more slowly. Those who successfully shift will encroach on existing nesting grounds; ravens, which eat eggs and nestlings, are already increasing in the arctic, and invaded tundra birds have no Farther North to flee to.

As in most places, in Shasta County we have not, to my knowledge, lost any entire bird species in recent history. But the music is fainter, the voices fewer. Not so long ago, when the canaries started dying we recognized a problem and acted on it. We should be so wise and disciplined today.

Documentary Highlights Threatened Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Ecosystem

By on May 13, 2015 in Conservation
Greater Sage-grouse

Greater Sage-grouse

Ithaca, NY — One of the biggest conservation challenges in the nation’s history is coming to a head this year and it is resting on the shoulders of an increasingly rare bird—the Greater Sage-Grouse. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s film, The Sagebrush Sea, reveals the hidden world of this iconic species at a time when its fate is being decided in state houses, agencies, and courtrooms across the West and in the nation’s capital.

The Sagebrush Sea makes its broadcast premiere May 20, on NATURE at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time/7:00 p.m. Central on PBS. (Check local listings.)

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is under court order to decide by September if the Greater Sage-Grouse should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. If the grouse is listed, states fear it could cost their economies hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas revenue and threaten the ranching culture that defines many local communities.

“The listing debate is taking place largely in a vacuum of public understanding about the species and the ecosystem,” says Cornell Lab producer Marc Dantzker, “And that’s where we hope our film can make a real contribution. People who drive by on the highways and even many of the people who live within it, think this vast region that covers parts of 11 western states is empty, but it isn’t.”

At least 250 birds, mammal, and other vertebrates live in the sagebrush region, some of them found nowhere else. The documentary shows this treeless, high desert habitat as few have ever seen it—up close, in stunning ground-level and aerial scenes that bring to light the unexpected diversity of life too easily overlooked.

“Many compare the situation with the Greater Sage-Grouse to what happened with the Northern Spotted Owl, but on a much larger scale,” says Dantzker, referring to the heated battles of the 1990s that pitted Pacific Northwest logging interests against protection of a declining bird species. At one time there were many millions of Greater Sage-Grouse—16 million, by some estimates. Now most estimates are between 200,000 and 300,000.

“Everyone in the country is going to be hearing about the Greater Sage-Grouse in the coming months and we want them to know that it is more than a controversy–it is an amazing national treasure, as splendid as any bird on earth. And it is at the center of an ecosystem that is unique, underappreciated, and embodies the spirit and the romance of the American West,” says principal cinematographer Gerrit Vyn.

The documentary, more than two years in the making, begins on a springtime lek—the open stage where Greater Sage-Grouse males strut and perform their age-old displays, hoping to be one of the fortunate few able to pass on his genes. The females hold all the cards as they stroll the lek with a discerning eye.

The males are captivating with their intricately patterned spiked tail feathers and thin head plumes. Dantzker studied their display for years. He says, “Their intricate strut is just a few seconds long so you need to slow it down to really appreciate it. First they inflate an air sac inside their heavy white neck pouch. Then they strum the pouch’s bristled white feathers with their wings. Lastly, they heave the neck pouch up and pull their heads down, squeezing out two balloons and belting out a pair of ringing pops. There’s nothing like it anywhere on earth.” They do this hundreds of times each day for months, all while defending a territory. With a lifespan of only about four years, males don’t have much time to fulfill the genetic imperative.

The sage-grouse are just one of a suite of animals that has adapted over the eons to survive in this unforgiving landscape, including three other bird species found nowhere else: the Sage Thrasher, Sagebrush Sparrow, and Brewer’s Sparrow. The sage is also home to pronghorn, mule deer, prairie dogs, Golden Eagles, sagebrush lizards, and pygmy rabbits.

“There are ways to balance human land-use needs with the needs of the animals that depend on the sage to survive,” says Dantzker. “We produced this documentary because we believe that understanding and appreciating the region’s natural beauty will make people more willing to take a balanced approach toward development and at the same time make conservation and preservation a priority.”