Urgent Wildlife Issues

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCCB2" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id23_urgent_wildlife_issues.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nature and Wildlife"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-758/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A>     </div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFCCB2" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>Native Spirit</B></I><I><B> </B></I><I><B>   </B></I><I><B> |     </B></I><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Native Spirit"><U><I><B>home</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PONDS"><U><I><B>PONDS</B></I></U></A><I><B>   |   </B></I><A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Gardening"><U><I><B>Home Gardening</B></I></U></A><I><B>   |   </B></I><A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Feeding Wildlife "><U><I><B>Feeding Wildlife </B></I></U></A><I><B>   |   </B></I><I><B>Urgent Wildlife Issues</B></I><I><B>   |   </B></I><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Miracle :The White Buffalo"><U><I><B>Miracle :The White Buffalo</B></I></U></A><I><B>   |   </B></I><A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PETS"><U><I><B>PETS</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Urgent Wildlife Issues</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>  <img src="HTMLobj-1068/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="154" height="46">  on 12/01/2008</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Papyrus" ><B>INFO</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Extremely Urgent</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>12/18/08</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT><A HREF="#bush_is_giving_oil_and_gas_companies_the_christmas_of_a_lifetime_by_robbing_the_american_people_of_their_western_natural_heritage_and_handing_it_over_to_those_who_will_gut_it_for_personal_gain" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Bush is </B></U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Papyrus" ><A HREF="#bush_is_giving_oil_and_gas_companies_the_christmas_of_a_lifetime_by_robbing_the_american_people_of_their_western_natural_heritage_and_handing_it_over_to_those_who_will_gut_it_for_personal_gain" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B><U>giving </U></B></U></A></FONT><A HREF="#bush_is_giving_oil_and_gas_companies_the_christmas_of_a_lifetime_by_robbing_the_american_people_of_their_western_natural_heritage_and_handing_it_over_to_those_who_will_gut_it_for_personal_gain" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>oil and gas companies the Christmas of a lifetime by robbing the American people of their Western natural heritage and handing it over to those who will gut it for personal gain</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Curlz MT" ><A HREF="#alaska_governor_sarah_palin_and_safari" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Safari Club International </B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="#alaska_governor_sarah_palin_and_safari" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>want to allow polar bears to be killed and mounted as trophies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#wolf_update_our_victory_for_the_wolves" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Wolf Update: Our victory for the wolves</B></I></U></A><I><B> <A NAME="wolf_update_our_victory_for_the_wolves_top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#victory_for_northern_rockies_gray_wolves" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Victory for northern Rockies gray wolves</B></U></A><B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#click__to_reduce_carbon_article_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>CLICK  TO REDUCE CARBON</B></U></A><B> <A NAME="click__to_reduce_carbon_top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#puppy_mills" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Puppy Mills</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="mills"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I> </I><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Papyrus" ><I><B><U>List of Petitions </U></B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#tell_secretary_kempthorne_to_stop_the" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Tell Secretary Kempthorne to stop the attack on wildlife</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#greenpeace__anti_whaling_activists_charged" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>GreenPeace  Anti-Whaling Activists Charged</B></I></U></A><I><B> <A NAME="greenpeace__anti_whaling_activists_charged_top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#bears_killed_for_illegal_trade_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Bears Killed for Illegal Trade</B></I></U></A><I><B> <A NAME="bears_killed_for_illegal_trade2"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#wolves_return_to_yellowstone_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>  the wolves return to yellowstone!!!</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#wolf_struck_and_killed_by_vehicle_in_yellowstone_national_park_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Wolf Struck and Killed by Vehicle in Yellowstone National Park</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#give_wolves_a_chance" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Give Wolves A Chance In Oregon </B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#help_protect_america_s_wetlands" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Help Protect America's Wetlands</B></I></U></A><I><B>  </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_polar_bears_need_real_help_not_empty_listing" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Polar Bears Need REAL Help, Not Empty Listing</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#save_campus_wildlife" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Save Campus Wildlife!</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_global_warming" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Help Stop Global Warming! </B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#ban_slaughtering_of_cows_and_ban_the_slaughtering_houses_in_india" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>BAN SLAUGHTERING OF COWS AND BAN THE SLAUGHTERING HOUSES IN INDIA</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_urge_congress_to_permanently_protect_the_arctic_refuge" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic Refuge!</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#prevent_wolverines_from_disappearing_forever" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Prevent Wolverines from Disappearing Forever</B></I></U></A><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#iceland_could_resume_whaling___please_act" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Iceland Could Resume Whaling - Please Act</B></I></U></A><I><B>  </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#support_a_national_wolf_recovery_plan" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Support a National Wolf Recovery Plan</B></I></U></A><I><B>    </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_save_yellowstone_s_bison_stop_the_senseless_killing" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Save Yellowstone's Bison:</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="#_save_yellowstone_s_bison_stop_the_senseless_killing" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B> Stop the Senseless Killing</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#urge_the_board_of_directors_at_san_antonio_zoo_to_free_lucky" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Urge The Board of Directors at San Antonio Zoo to Free Lucky</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_bush_administration_s" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>The Bush administration's plan for </B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#_bush_administration_s" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>11 million spectacular acres in Utah</B></I></U></A><A HREF="#_bush_administration_s" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B> </B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#cloned_food" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Tell Your Senator to Support Labels on Cloned Food! </B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#end_euthanasia_of_healthy_and_treatable_animals" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>End Euthanasia of Healthy and Treatable Animals!</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#aerial_hunting_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B> Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act to end aerial hunting!</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#coral_reefs" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Make the pledge to help coral reefs today!</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_polar_bear_seas_" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>protect the Polar Bears from drilling</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#polar_bears_" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>The Polar Bear Protection Act</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#british_badgers" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Save British Badgers from Massive CullTarget</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#save_tigers" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B> Save Tigers:Help Stop Trade in Tiger Parts</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#stop_the_prairie_dog_poisonings" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Stop the prairie dog poisonings!</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id23_stop_the_prairie_dog_poisonings.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nature and Wildlife"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="4b0643e0.gif" border=0 width="100" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#urgent_counter_the_lies_and_help_save" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B><U>URGENT: Counter the Lies and Help Save Southwest Wolves</U></B></U></A><B><U> <A NAME="wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#golden_retriever_finds_new_home_new_purpose" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Golden Retriever Finds New Home, New Purpose</B></I></U></A><I><B> <A NAME="top_golden_retriever_finds_new_home_new_purpose"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#support_bill_to_save_california_sea_otters" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>Support Bill to Save California Sea Otters</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#trapped_for_21years" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Help Mercedes the Polar Bear - Trapped for 21years</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#save_the_harp_seal_pups" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Save the Harp Seal Pups</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#please_help_the_san_diego_seals_keep_their_home" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>PLEASE HELP THE SAN DIEGO SEALS KEEP THEIR HOME!!</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#end_animal_cruelty_at_japanese_bear_parks" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>End Animal Cruelty at Japanese Bear Parks!</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#stop_animal_abusers" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>Stop Letting Animal Abusers Get Away With Murder</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#help_save_alaska_s_wolves" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>Help Save Alaska's Wolves</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#protect_gray_wolves" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>Protect Gray Wolves - Don't Kill Them!</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#adopt_a_wolf_program" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>DEFENDER'S OF WILDLIFE ADOPT-A-WOLF PROGRAM</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#end_seal_slaughter" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>Call on Canada's New Prime Minister to End the Seal Slaughter!</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#tell_gale_norton_to_do_her_job_and_protect_wolves" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>Tell Gale Norton to Do Her Job and Protect Wolves!</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I> </I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#_protect_big_cats_end_internet_canned_hunts" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>Protect Big Cats: End Internet Canned Hunts</I></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#myanmar_s_wild_elephants__abducted_enslaved" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><U>Myanmar's Wild Elephants  Abducted Enslaved</U></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#dog_savagely_beaten_stabbed_and_lost_its_life_to_this_killer" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>DOG SAVAGELY BEATEN, STABBED, AND LOST ITS LIFE TO THIS KILLER</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>ISSUES</U></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#puppy_mills" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Puppy Mills</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="mills_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#pro_golfer_tripp_isenhour_1" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Lalique" ><IMG SRC="151481e0.gif" border=0 width="72" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#the_great_bear_rainforest" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>The Great Bear Rainforest</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#endangered_species__conservationists_call_for_new_polar_bear_protections" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><U>ENDANGERED SPECIES:CONSERVATIONISTS CALL FOR NEW POLAR BEAR </U></I></U></A><A HREF="#endangered_species__conservationists_call_for_new_polar_bear_protections" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><U>PROTECTIONS</U></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#grizzly_bears_in_peril" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>Grizzly Bears in Peril</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#laguna_san_ignacio_gray_whale_nursery" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U>Laguna San Ignacio Gray Whale Nursery</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#study_finds_military_sonar_the_most_likely_cause_of_recent_mass_stranding_of_whales_in_europe" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I>STUDY FINDS MILITARY SONAR THE "MOST LIKELY" CAUSE OF RECENT MASS STRANDING OF WHALES IN EUROPE</I></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#five_whales_wash_ashore_in_fla_" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Five Whales Wash Ashore in Fla.</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                 </B><A HREF="#hal_the_central_park_coyote_dies" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Hal, the Central Park Coyote, Dies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>    </B><A HREF="#crafty_sea_lion_befuddles_fish_biologists" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Crafty Sea Lion Befuddles Fish Biologists</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#sibling_calves_born_21_days_apart" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Sibling Calves Born 21 Days Apart</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>     </B><A HREF="#deadly_syndrome_detected_in_fla__horses" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B> </B></U></A><A HREF="#deadly_syndrome_detected_in_fla__horses" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Deadly Syndrome Detected in Fla. Horses</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>               </B><A HREF="#panda_cub_brings_boom_times_to_zoo" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B> </B></U></A><A HREF="#panda_cub_brings_boom_times_to_zoo" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Panda cub brings boom times to zoo</B></U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#006633" FACE="Papyrus" ><B>       </B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="#beetles_aid_in_global_warming_research" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B> </B></U></A><A HREF="#beetles_aid_in_global_warming_research" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>Beetles Aid in Global Warming Research</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2fab58a0.jpg" border=0 width="181" height="138" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <A NAME="stop_animal_abusers"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>                                       <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-832/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/689641656" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U>Stop Letting Animal Abusers Get Away With Murder</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2fcc0800.jpg" border=0 width="192" height="128" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="help_save_alaska_s_wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT>                   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-833/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/867854889" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I>Help Save Alaska's Wolves</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Arial" ><I><B><IMG SRC="55c18d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></FONT> <A NAME="pro_golfer_tripp_isenhour_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="55ee07d0.jpg" border=0 width="224" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>                                                         Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B> faces criminal charges for killing hawk </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>in tree with shot 2:44 PM </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>PGA Tour golfer Tripp Isenhour was charged </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Isenhour was with a film crew for ''Shoot Like A Pro'' </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The 39-year-old golfer, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III,</B></I></div> <div> <I><B> was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Isenhour allegedly said</B></I><I><B><U> ''I'll get him now,''</U></B></I><I><B> and aimed for the hawk.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>''About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close,'' Baine wrote.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Isenhour's agent, John Mascatello with SFX World Sports Management, did not immediately return an e-mail or telephone message Thursday.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>''He just kept saying how he didn't think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say,'' said Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot. d engineer at the shoot. ''He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that's, I don't know, a couple hundred feet away?''</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Senger said it was ''basically like a joke to (Isenhour).'' He said no one in the roughly 15-person crew intervened, and many later regretted it.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>''It was one of those cases where there's some trepidation on whether or not they should speak up and do something,'' Senger said.</B></I></div> <div> <B>A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. </B></div> <div> <B>The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.</B></div> <div> <I><B>Senger said the killing was not captured on video. The bird was buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators.</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Isenhour, of Salisbury, N.C., turned pro in 1990. He had two wins on the Nationwide Tour in 2006.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1371/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2ffa57c0.jpg" border=0 width="165" height="124" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <A NAME="protect_gray_wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>                                                                <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-834/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/895981355" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I>Protect Gray Wolves - Don't Kill Them!</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="30164920.jpg" border=0 width="100" height="146" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <A NAME="adopt_a_wolf_program"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>                                                <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-835/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://wildlifeadoption.defenders.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adopt_wolf&s_src=WD06ADOPT&s_subsrc=HADOPT" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://wildlifeadoption.defenders.org/si"><U>DEFENDER'S OF WILDLIFE ADOPT-A-WOLF PROGRAM</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="30ecb990.jpg" border=0 width="203" height="153" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="end_seal_slaughter"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div>                                                                                        </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/566342047" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U>Call on Canada's New Prime Minister to End the Seal Slaughter!</U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-836/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0baac810.jpg" border=0 width="172" height="129" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="stop_the_prairie_dog_poisonings"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Stop the prairie dog poisonings!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Prairie dogs are an important part of ecosystems on the American Plains. <B>So why is the U.S. government trying to use your tax dollars to kill them?</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=hypKoB9Dcc2rGTCDnCEzQA.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=hyp"><U><B><U>Tell the Forest Service to stop the prairie dog massacre, before it starts.</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Last fall, more than 35,000 activists like you sent comments asking the Forest Service to stop the massacre of tens of thousands of prairie dogs on our National Grasslands.</div> <bR> <div> Prairie dogs provide food for eagles, hawks, badgers, swift fox, endangered black-footed ferrets and other Great Plains predators. Prairie dog burrows provide shelter for burrowing owls, salamanders, black-footed ferrets and many other creatures. </div> <bR> <div> <B>But the Forest Service wants to use your tax dollars to poison and kill tens of thousands of these furry critters </B>and destroy the vital habitat prairie dogs create in our National Grasslands.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=CwWvFhF_ZWjMoWW2RpTsCw.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=CwW"><U><B><U>Take action now -- write the Forest Service and urge them to stop the prairie dog massacre.</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Tens of thousands of prairie dogs could be poisoned and killed</B> -- but it’s not only these tunneling critters that stand to suffer. Because so many other creatures depend on prairie dogs for survival -- from burrowing owls to badgers, swift foxes to snakes -- <B>the entire grassland ecosystem is at risk</B>. </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=F0zXVEBo8e9F1ZBox5D0iQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=F0z"><U><B><U>Help stop the Forest Service plan to poison and kill tens of thousands of prairie dogs. Help protect the balance of life on the American Plains.</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> After a similar rule change in 2005 allowed poisoning in National Grassland areas bordering private land, more than <B>70,000 prairie dogs were killed</B>. Poisoning now occurs each year in these areas near private land, <B>killing thousands of prairie dogs annually</B>.</div> <bR> <div> Now, the Forest Service is <B>proposing to make it easier to poison and kill prairie dogs anywhere on three public grasslands.</B> They’re even targeting an area in South Dakota’s Buffalo Gap National Grassland called Conata Basin -- key habitat for the recently reintroduced swift fox and our nation’s most important recovery area for the endangered black-footed ferret.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=qbP-0pPgQmfsyWXyWLRhCA.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=qbP"><U><B><U>Don’t let this dangerous proposal see the light of day -- write the Forest Service now!</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1198/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="4b1c8c80.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="urgent_counter_the_lies_and_help_save"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <I><B>URGENT: Counter the Lies and Help Save Southwest Wolves</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Can you imagine the southwest without wolves? You might have to if Representative Steve Pearce (NM) is successful in his bid tomorrow to end the federal recovery program for southwest wolves.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=CuKZ3YN0D19nWIeM7G-y0Q.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=CuK"><U><B>Urge your U.S. Representative to oppose efforts to end the southwest wolf recovery program. Congress is expected to vote on the future of southwest wolves tomorrow, so please take action now.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>In one of the great conservation accomplishments of the 20th century, the “lobo” was reintroduced to New Mexico and Arizona in 1998 after being driven to extinction in the wild during the early part of the last century. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>These captive-bred wolves and their wild offspring have done well -- forming packs, hunting elk, pairing up and having pups. Left alone, these wolves thrive. Unfortunately, they’ve struggled against local opposition, illegal killing and mismanagement.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Just 59 southwest wolves now remain, and some in Congress want to end federal efforts to save them.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>An amendment expected to be offered tomorrow by Representative Steve Pearce (NM) would eliminate funding for the southwest wolf reintroduction program -- completely ending the program and dooming the wolves to extinction.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In preparation for the vote, Pearce and his anti-wolf allies have even stooped to spreading misinformation about the southwest wolf recovery program, circulating factually inaccurate reports of wolf attacks. At a recent hearing on the Endangered Species Act, Pearce even made the outrageous statement that “Nothing is more attractive to a wolf than the sound of a crying baby.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For the record, there is not one documented case of a healthy, wild wolf killing a human in the United States. In fact, you are more likely to be killed by a meteorite than a wild wolf.     </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Southwest wolves can’t write Congress, but you can.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=ho2o3oj3bDWCTorfinT25A.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=ho2"><U><B>Help us counter the lies. Take action right now to save Southwest wolves.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1202/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="310bf8f0.jpg" border=0 width="191" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT> <A NAME="tell_gale_norton_to_do_her_job_and_protect_wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/304300192" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U>Please sign this Petition</U></A></div> <div> <I>Tell Gale Norton to Do Her Job and Protect Wolves!</I></div> <div> <I>Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, who is charged with protecting our nation's natural resources, is not doing her job when it comes to wolf protection and conservation. In fact, too many of her actions have further threatened America's wolves.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Last year, a federal court overturned Secretary Norton's attempts to reduce wolf protections in the lower 48 states. But just weeks ago, Secretary Norton transferred responsibility for wolf management in central Idaho from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over to the state of Idaho - a state that, in 2001, passed a memorandum calling for the eradication of wolves in Idaho "by any means necessary." </I></div> <div> <I>           </I></div> <div> <I> </I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1285/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="54fc8c80.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="golden_retriever_finds_new_home_new_purpose"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Golden Retriever Finds New Home, New Purpose</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>As a rescued dog, Bailey knows what it’s like to be scared and alone. When she was 3 years old, her owners divorced and brought her to a rescue group for golden retrievers. The stress of suddenly losing the family she loved and adjusting to life in a foster home made her so nervous her beautiful fur started falling out.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Luckily, Bailey was soon adopted. She found a great new permanent home -- and a new role that she loves. For the past five years she has been working weekly as a therapy dog in two different treatment centers for children and adults who need her help -- and the help of donors like you.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Whenever Bailey’s handler takes out the special vest Bailey wears to work, the lovable retriever wags her tail and runs to the door. She seems to know that soon she will be helping people who are as scared as she was before her adoption.   </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Help Sustain the Power of Animal-Assisted Therapy</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>There is something about a dog’s wagging tail, a cat’s purr or a guinea pig’s gentle nudge that can touch even the most desperate heart. The animal-assisted therapy work that Bailey and other registered therapy animals perform through American Humane is critical -- to people and to animals. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Part of our animals’ success may be due to the fact that, like Bailey, about 30 of the 110 animals who participate in our program were rescued themselves. The bonds these formerly homeless pets forge with people in need are incredibly powerful -- from abused children learning to trust again, to depressed adults recovering from suicide attempts, to injured people trying to speak or walk again. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Bailey and our other therapy animals take great pleasure in their work, and the people they help absolutely light up when the animals visit. But American Humane can only continue our vital animal-assisted therapy program with donor support. A donation is the perfect way to bring greater meaning to both animals’ and other people’s lives.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top_golden_retriever_finds_new_home_new_purpose" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1360/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="504f2aa0.jpg" border=0 width="242" height="170" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="_bush_administration_s"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>The Bush administration's plan</B></div> <div> <B> for 11 million spectacular acres in Utah is alarming</B></div> <div> <B> - a sharp increase in oil </B></div> <div> <B>and gas development and off-road vehicle use.</B></div> <div> <B> This could permanently alter the rocky canyons and stunning wilderness that are home to a wide variety of wildlife and a delight to nature lovers. </B></div> <div> <B>Your petition signature today is urgently important. </B></div> <div> <B>Unless the public speaks out now, </B></div> <div> <B>President Bush's land management team </B></div> <div> <B>will forge ahead aggressively, with little thought </B></div> <div> <B>to the permanent impact on this fragile, irreplaceable ecosystem. </B></div> <div> <B>This administration is on a dangerous course </B></div> <div> <B>that will inevitably destroy some of the greatest wilderness in our country. </B></div> <div> <B>These fragile and magnificent public lands in Utah need protection - </B></div> <div> <B>not exploitation. </B></div> <div> <B>Sign this petition to the director of the Bureau of Land Management. </B></div> <div> <B>Act now.</B></div> <div> <I><B> The deadline to comment is Feb. 8!</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/305476234/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-837/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>  </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="72d18d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="tell_secretary_kempthorne_to_stop_the"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Tell Secretary Kempthorne to stop the attack on wildlife</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Endangered species beware. The current administration has decided to use its final 6 months to try and weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a law that was designed to protect some of our most threatened wildlife from extinction. </B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://ga1.org/campaign/Endangered_Species_Act/8d7s8sb9136d6wk?" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://ga1.org/campaign/Endangered_Speci"><U><B>Tell Secretary Kempthorne to stop the attack on wildlife</B></U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calligraph421 BT" ><B>. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>The ESA is one of our nation's bedrock environmental laws and for more than 30 years, the Act has protected many species from extinction. For years this administration has been trying to find a way to dismantle the ESA. But this time, in the waning days of the administration, government lawyers have engineered an attack on the ESA that will severely undermine the Act and result in more wildlife at risk of extinction. The latest attempt severely undermines the safety net provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The ramifications could be dire for some of the world's most endangered wildlife.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We need your voice on this issue, and with such a short window of opportunity, this could be the only chance we've got. Write your letter today and urge Secretary Kempthorne to pull the plug on the destruction on the ESA. Take action!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#greenpeace__anti_whaling_activists_charged_top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1838/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="6c1aeb80.jpg" border=0 width="430" height="184" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>GreenPeace  Anti-Whaling Activists Charged</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="greenpeace__anti_whaling_activists_charged"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>It's a sad day for all of us at Greenpeace.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> We're prepared to risk our lives to protect whales,</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> but we didn't expect such a politically- motivated reaction </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>by the Japanese government. In fact, the very same day our </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>activists were arrested, the public prosecutor dropped</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> the investigation into the true crime of embezzlement </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>of whale meat from the Japanese government-sponsored Southern </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Ocean whaling program.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HFytyszGkGRxDCVa1Ef4XJum9Cxl5k9R" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/t"><U><I><B>TAKE ACTION NOW!</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The outpouring of support for Junichi and Toru has been amazing, and I can't thank you enough for your support. Almost a quarter of a million people have sent letters to the Japanese government calling for their release and demanding a full investigation into the whale meat embezzlement scandal. Protests have been held outside Japanese embassies and consulates in 35 cities across 30 countries. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We all want the same thing: It's time for the Japanese government to end whaling altogether instead of prosecuting peaceful protesters who exposed crimes within the whaling program. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Even though they've been charged, we're not giving up! We're still working hard to get Junichi and Toru out of detention, so if you haven't already written to the Japanese government yet, please take action now! And please, spread the word as far and wide as you can - Junichi and Toru need your support more than ever. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>I'll be in touch very soon as events unfold. Please keep Junichi and Toru in your thoughts and be ready to do more to help secure their freedom. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>In solidarity, </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=rsNlBKtw40jVFFLC642lj5um9Cxl5k9R" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/t"><U><I><B>Tell a Friend </B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Forward this message to a friend. Spread the word to help Junichi and Toru gain the freedom that they deserve.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uWeZr95nQJUO807tdSdDLpum9Cxl5k9R" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/t"><U><I><B>Learn More</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Check out the Greenpeace site to read more about the scandal, how it developed and what has been happening over the last three weeks.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#greenpeace__anti_whaling_activists_charged_top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1728/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Arial" ><I><B><IMG SRC="558c8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></FONT> <A NAME="urge_the_board_of_directors_at_san_antonio_zoo_to_free_lucky"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Urge The Board of Directors at San Antonio Zoo to Free Lucky</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Urge The Board of Directors at San Antonio Zoo to follow the lead of other large zoos and release Lucky to the Elephant Sanctuary where her needs can be better met.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Lucky the last surviving elephant at San Antonio Zoo is lucky only in that she has managed to outlive her companions Alport and Ginny, both of whom have died prematurely in the last three years.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Elephants in the wild live in large groups and will walk for tens of miles every day. Lucky has spent over 40 years in her prison - a small, barren, concrete, zoo enclosure. It is estimated that over 60% of zoo elephants have arthritis or foot disease problems of the sort that killed her companions. Such an environment cannot meet either the physical or psychological needs of a large and social creature.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald Tennessee is willing to provide a more humane and natural lifestyle for Lucky - with 2,700 acres for Lucky to roam in with her new compan ions. The Sanctuary will also pay transport costs.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.elephants.com/" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.elephants.com/"><U><I><B>http://www.elephants.com/</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>After 45 years of imprisonment, the life of such a beautiful and innocent lady is more important than the few dollars from visitors who walk past her sad and lonely figure.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Other metropolitan zoos have accepted that the cruel confinement they provide can no longer be justified, and have closed their elephant exhibits.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Now is the time to Free Lucky!</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Dear Board Member,</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We the undersigned urge you to reconsider the future of Lucky your last surviving elephant. Please ask yourselves which would be better for her - continued confinement in a small concrete enclosure, or the freedom to walk many miles every day with other elephants?</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>With talk of animals welfare and conservation it is important to remember the natural "wild" lifestyle of elephants. They live in large social groups. They walk for tens of miles every day. Females such as Lucky do not live alone, they do not stand in barren concrete enclosures, and they do not live in such conditions for over 40 years!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>They also live longer and breed longer - surely the best form of conservation.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>There can be little educational value in keeping Lucky in such unnatural conditions. Many other large metropolitan U.S. zoos have considered the long-term alternatives for their elephants, have accepted that the small cramped conditions of a zoo cannot compare to the life of a wild elephant, have permanently closed their enclosures, and sent the elephants to sanctuaries.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald Tennessee is willing to care for Lucky. It is 5,000 times the size of your elephant enclosure. It will also arrange transport - at no cost to your zoo.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Such a move would be best for Lucky, and would show the world that San Antonio is capable of being a modern and forward looking city.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We thank you for taking the time to consider our views, and politely urge you to Free Lucky!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Please sign:</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Free-Lucky " TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Free-Lu"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>                                                                                                     <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1367/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4f5fc8c0.jpg" border=0 width="252" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="_global_warming"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Help Stop Global Warming!  </B></div> <div> <B>   Bioenergy can be part of the solution to America's energy and environmental needs.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> But it must be produced in a way that protects our air, soil and water. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Help make a difference today - send a quick message to Congress in support of a </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>smart Renewable Fuel Standard! </B></div> <div> <B>Bioenergy -- electricity and fuels derived from materials such as corn, soybeans, and grasses -- can be part of the solution to America's energy and environmental needs. But it must be produced in a way that protects our air, soil and water and generates the lowest amount of global warming pollution.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Congress recently passed a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) as part of the Energy Bill. This standard would require the production of as much as 36 billion gallons of biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, by 2022 and includes important environmental oversight over the full lifecycle of biofuels production. In addition, it mandates that 21 billion gallons come from fuels that release at least 50 percent less global warming pollution than gasoline.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Unfortunately, a competing version of the RFS, one stripped of these vital environmental safeguards, has been included in the Senate Food and Farm Bill. If this version of the RFS passes and is signed into law, it will trump the stronger RFS signed by the president on December 19. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Please urge your Representative to support a smart Renewable Fuel Standard that protects our air, soil and water and significantly reduces global warming pollution. The RFS included in the Energy Bill - not the Senate Food and Farm Bill - represents the best opportunity for bioenergy to play a real role in America's global warming solution</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/487334999/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B> PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1266/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="561c8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="ban_slaughtering_of_cows_and_ban_the_slaughtering_houses_in_india"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>BAN SLAUGHTERING OF COWS AND</B></div> <div> <B> BAN THE SLAUGHTERING HOUSES IN INDIA</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Target:Government of India and Animal Welfare Board of India</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sponsored by: Kalyana KrishnaOn our Birth our mother breast fed us for a period of time. </B></div> <div> <B>Then for the rest of our life we are fed by cows, without even feeding their calves. After squeezing out even the last drop of its milk, humans slaughter it for its meat.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>India has a rapid rise in slaughter houses of cows from about 350 to 36,000 in span of thirty years.This is the official number.Don't know what is unofficial number.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The highly merchandised of the slaughter houses are ALKABIR ( Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh), FRIGORIFICO ALLANA (Aurangabad), Hind Industries (Aligadh), Allana Sons (Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra), Devanar ( Maharastra). They employ inhuman process and torturous way of getting meat and skin.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The animals agonies start long before they are dead. They are brought to Alkabir in trucks, from far away distances. For economy, 20-25 huge buffalos are stacked up in each truck. Nobody cares to feed them food, or even water while in transit. They are packed so tightly in the truck, that they are hurt by each other. By the time they arrive, they are no more capable of standing on their own feet. Their tails are cut and chilli powder is rubbed into their eyes to make them move.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>They are brought into the final ground, where at least a thousand animals are stored. This is their last open air. They are kept here for four days, hungry and thirsty. Then their legs are broken and eyes poked, so that a 'certificate' can be obtained about their uselessness. The hunger and thirst of four days cause the hemoglobin to move from blood in to fat. The meat with higher hemoglobin fetches better prices.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now these animals are pushed into washing showers. Extremely hot water (200 degrees!) is sprayed on them for five minutes, to soften their skins, so they will be easy to remove. The animal faints at this point, but it is not dead yet.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now it is hung upside down with one leg, on a chain-pulley conveyor. Then half of the neck is slit. This drains the blood, but does not kill the animal. After death, the skin swells thick, which sells for a poor price. But the skin of a live animal is still thin, which has better economic value. On one side the blood is dripping from the neck, and on the other side a hole is made in stomach, from which air is pumped inside. This causes the body to swell, making it easier to peel the skin. After removing the leather, the animal is cut into four pieces: head, legs, body, and tail. The machines remove bones, and pack small pieces of meat into cans for shipping. Most of the importers are Gulf Countries.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Right now, there are 36,000 slaughterhouses (official number), of which 10 are highly automated, where daily 250,000 animals are hacked.At this time the population of buffalos in the country is only 75 millions, and cows 200 millions. Alkabir alone is licensed to kill 600,000 a year, but Deonar (Mumbai) is licensed to kill 2,500,000 a year, in addition to 120,000 cows and 60,000 buffalos. Kolkata located slaughterhouse kills 1,200,000 cows and buffalos per year. These are just official numbers for a few large facilities.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We hereby request the Government of India and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to enforcea complete ban on slaughtering of cows and ban the Slaughtering houses Alkabir, Frigorifico allana , Hind Industries.On our Birth our mother breast fed us for a period of time. Then for the rest of our life we are fed by cows, without even feeding their calves. After squeezing out even the last drop of its milk, humans slaughter it for its meat.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>India has a rapid rise in slaughter houses of cows from about 350 to 36,000 in span of thirty years.This is the official number.Don't know what is unofficial number.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The highly merchandised of the slaughter houses are ALKABIR ( Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh), FRIGORIFICO ALLANA (Aurangabad), Hind Industries (Aligadh), Allana Sons (Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra), Devanar ( Maharastra). They employ inhuman process and torturous way of getting meat and skin.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The animals agonies start long before they are dead. They are brought to Alkabir in trucks, from far away distances. For economy, 20-25 huge buffalos are stacked up in each truck. Nobody cares to feed them food, or even water while in transit. They are packed so tightly in the truck, that they are hurt by each other. By the time they arrive, they are no more capable of standing on their own feet. Their tails are cut and chilli powder is rubbed into their eyes to make them move.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>They are brought into the final ground, where at least a thousand animals are stored. This is their last open air. They are kept here for four days, hungry and thirsty. Then their legs are broken and eyes poked, so that a 'certificate' can be obtained about their uselessness. The hunger and thirst of four days cause the hemoglobin to move from blood in to fat. The meat with higher hemoglobin fetches better prices.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now these animals are pushed into washing showers. Extremely hot water (200 degrees!) is sprayed on them for five minutes, to soften their skins, so they will be easy to remove. The animal faints at this point, but it is not dead yet.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now it is hung upside down with one leg, on a chain-pulley conveyor. Then half of the neck is slit. This drains the blood, but does not kill the animal. After death, the skin swells thick, which sells for a poor price. But the skin of a live animal is still thin, which has better economic value. On one side the blood is dripping from the neck, and on the other side a hole is made in stomach, from which air is pumped inside. This causes the body to swell, making it easier to peel the skin. After removing the leather, the animal is cut into four pieces: head, legs, body, and tail. The machines remove bones, and pack small pieces of meat into cans for shipping. Most of the importers are Gulf Countries.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Right now, there are 36,000 slaughterhouses (official number), of which 10 are highly automated, where daily 250,000 animals are hacked.At this time the population of buffalos in the country is only 75 millions, and cows 200 millions. Alkabir alone is licensed to kill 600,000 a year, but Deonar (Mumbai) is licensed to kill 2,500,000 a year, in addition to 120,000 cows and 60,000 buffalos. Kolkata located slaughterhouse kills 1,200,000 cows and buffalos per year. These are just official numbers for a few large facilities.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We hereby request the Government of India and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to enforcea complete ban on slaughtering of cows and ban the Slaughtering houses Alkabir, Frigorifico allana , Hind Industries." The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated " - Mahatma Gandhi</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In India, the cow is often, but not universally, considered sacred and respected as a matriarchal figure.India is the only country in world that provides in its Constitution for mercy and care of the animals. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But it is not as what appears.thousand of cows are sent for slaughter everyday for its meat and leather.Cows and other animals are forced to endure transport in extremely crowded trucks, suffering broken bones and dehydration.Even young calves are not spared from this cruelty.Then they are slaughtered in a very inhuman and torturous way.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Slaughterhouses don't kill animals only; they also murder 'humanity</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-slaughtering-of-cows-and-ban-the-slaughtering-houses-in-india" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-sla"><U><I><B> PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1378/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="56322f00.gif" border=0 width="290" height="240" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="_urge_congress_to_permanently_protect_the_arctic_refuge"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic Refuge!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to caribou, snow fox and millions of migratory birds. It is also the most important onshore denning habitat for America's vanishing polar bears. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But this natural treasure is constantly under siege. Time and time again, the oil industry and their allies in Congress have sought to open this special place to harmful new drilling, threatening all of the wildlife that depend on it for survival. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>And now President Bush has called for drilling in the Arctic Refuge by 2010 in his new budget proposal! </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We need to permanently protect the Arctic Refuge! Urge your Representative to support the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act (H.R. 39) to permanently protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. </B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/567728305?z00m=14099068" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1380/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Arial" ><I><B><IMG SRC="59e9c6f0.jpg" border=0 width="156" height="111" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></FONT> <A NAME="bears_killed_for_illegal_trade_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Bears Killed for Illegal Trade - Tell Your Senator to Act!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>One of the biggest threats faced by wild bears today is an illegal yet thriving trade in bear parts.</B></I><I><B> Black and brown bears are being killed so that their parts can be sold in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM) shops in the U.S. and abroad.</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Unfortunately, </B></I><I><B>state laws relating to the trade in bear parts are inconsistent and, in some cases, non-existent. </B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://go.care2.com/e/3pE8/u73Y/x_hc" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://go.care2.com/e/3pE8/u73Y/x_hc"><U><I><B>The solution is clear: We need one federal law to protect bears from illegal poaching. Take action >></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva has introduced H.R. 5534, the Bear Protection Act of 2008, to protect North American bears. </B></I><I><B>This Act bans the import, export and interstate trade of all bear parts and products, while closing loopholes in existing state laws.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>In a recent undercover investigation, the World Society for the Protection of Animals found that the trade in intact bear gallbladders - an ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine - had actually increased since their last investigation in 2000.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The time to act is now! </B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://go.care2.com/e/3pE8/u73Y/x_hc" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://go.care2.com/e/3pE8/u73Y/x_hc"><U><I><B>Urge your Representative to co-sponsor the Bear Protection Act today >></B></I></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#bears_killed_for_illegal_trade2" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1439/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="565c88f0.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="prevent_wolverines_from_disappearing_forever"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Prevent Wolverines from Disappearing Forever</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The Bush/Cheney administration has spurned the wolverine again, defying scientific evidence and refusing to list this rare creature under the Endangered Species Act. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> New scientific evidence reported by Defenders of Wildlife documents the wolverine's uncertain future, raising concerns about the effects of global warming and continued trapping of this elusive carnivore. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But despite the growing body of scientific evidence, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a court-ordered decision declaring for the second time that it will do nothing to assist this rare creature -- leaving the wolverine in desperate straits. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We need to let the Bush/Cheney administration know that we strongly believe wolverines and their habitat need federal protection, before it's too late. </B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Please sign our petition to the administration to list the wolverine as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/127358455" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1382/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="56796c80.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="iceland_could_resume_whaling___please_act"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Iceland Could Resume Whaling - Please Act</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>After announcing six months ago that it would stop hunting whales due </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>to lack of market for whale meat, Iceland has now confirmed it is</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> "likely" to resume whaling this summer. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Iceland's whaling industry is pushing for permits to </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>kill 100 minke whales as well as some fin whales, which are an endangered species. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Iceland's Minister of Fisheries will make a final decision soon </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>and whaling could begin in May. </B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Please sign our petition today and urge Iceland to stop whaling forever! </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/185576194" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1384/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="569fac80.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="support_a_national_wolf_recovery_plan"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Support a National Wolf Recovery Plan</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>In the wake of the federal delisting of wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies, Defenders of Wildlife and our allies have filed a formal petition with the Fish and Wildlife Service calling for a national wolf recovery plan. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Such a plan would help ensure a lasting future for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies and provide a needed boost for wolf recovery and management efforts in the Southwest, Northeast and Pacific Northwest. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Help support this forward-looking effort to protect the gray wolf's important part in America. Sign our petition to send your personalized comments to Dale Hall, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. </B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/706371424" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1387/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="56dc8450.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="325" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="_save_yellowstone_s_bison_stop_the_senseless_killing"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Save Yellowstone's Bison: Stop the Senseless Killing</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Yellowstone National Park is home to America's last free-roaming buffalo herd, a reminder of the great American West. Yet these buffalo are needlessly killed when they leave the borders of the park by state officials who fear the animals will spread brucellosis to cattle, even though there has never been a single case of a buffalo in the wild spreading the disease to cattle. More than 3,000 of these buffalo have been killed in the past 15 years. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Even worse, our government is spending taxpayer money to kill bison that migrate out of Yellowstone to the Horse Butte Peninsula - in the name of protecting cattle – even though there are no longer any cattle grazing on the peninsula. </B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Local landowners and conservation groups are urging the federal government to stop killing bison immediately on the Horse Butte Peninsula and to undertake a new environmental impact study to update the current bison management plan. Please urge the Department of the Interior to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's bison now! </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/140387673" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1388/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4f10bb20.jpg" border=0 width="267" height="178" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="cloned_food"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Tell Your Senator to Support Labels on Cloned Food! </B></div> <div> <B>   With very little data to go on, the FDA has decided that milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat. But without labeling, you won't be able to choose whether or not to buy meat from clones.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Soon, the livestock industry could be shipping these items to your supermarket with no labeling. Ask your Senator to co-sponsor the Cloned Food Labeling Act today! </B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>  With very little data to go on, the FDA has decided that milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat. This means that within a few months, the livestock industry could be shipping these items to your supermarket with no labeling.</B></div> <div> <B>Cloned cows and pigs suffer from numerous health problems. Many are born with deformities and birth defects, and a majority don't live to adulthood. Those that survive often have weakened immune systems. These sickly animals are frequently treated with antibiotics, which may contribute to an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. Without labeling, you won't be able to choose whether or not to buy meat from clones. </B></div> <div> <B>Act now! Ask your Senator to co-sponsor the Cloned Food Labeling Act (s.414) introduced by Senator Barbara Mikulski.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/306139662/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1267/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="49c18d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="end_euthanasia_of_healthy_and_treatable_animals"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>End Euthanasia of Healthy and Treatable Animals!</B></div> <div> <B>Every year, an estimated four to six million dogs and cats are euthanized in animal care and control facilities in the United States. This problem is pervasive, and it remains a source of shame for our country. </B></div> <div> <B>The American Humane Association's Getting to Zero® Initiative is a national undertaking based on the profound belief that, within our lifetime, American society can reduce to zero the number of healthy or treatable dogs, cats and other companion animals that are euthanized in animal care and control facilities. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This program will help identify, support and obtain funding for the replication of community-based interventions that have demonstrated success in reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals. These include adoption, foster care, spay/neuter, training, transfer and generally bringing community support where it is needed most. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Sign this petition today to support programs like American Humane's Getting to Zero® Initiative, because these animals all deserve a chance to live!</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/723066513/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1286/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4f65ee10.jpg" border=0 width="350" height="225" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </B><B> <A NAME="aerial_hunting_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Alaska is truly our nation's last frontier.</B></div> <div> <B> It is also the last place in the U.S. where a few hunters still use aircraft to chase and kill wolves. They shoot these animals from the air or chase them to exhaustion before landing and shooting them point blank. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thirty five years ago, Congress passed a law to put an end to aerial hunting. But Alaska is exploiting a loophole in federal law to resume the practice, not only for wolves, but bears as well. Hundreds of scientists have condemned what Alaska is doing, even as other states threaten to follow Alaska's lead. It's time to stop aerial hunting once and for all. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Rep. George Miller (CA) has introduced the Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act, legislation to close a federal loophole and curb Alaska's brutal aerial hunting program -- and prevent programs like it from spreading to places like the Greater Yellowstone region. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Please urge your Representative to sign on as a cosponsor to Rep. George Miller's PAW Act. </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/477616584/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1273/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4fb17280.jpg" border=0 width="279" height="296" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="coral_reefs"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Coral reefs are some of the most </B></div> <div> <B>diverse ecosystems on the planet  - home and nursery for almost a million fish and other species. </B></div> <div> <B>Unfortunately, about 70 percent of the world’s coral reefs are threatened or destroyed, and 20 percent of those are damaged beyond repair. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The resources coral reefs provide are worth about $375 billion each year – and they cover only one percent of the earth’s surface. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2008 has been designated as the International Year of the Reef to raise awareness about the increasing threats to coral reefs. Whether you live near the ocean or thousands of miles away, you can help restore this amazing habitat. Pledge to:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>Use ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions threatening coral reef survival. </B></div> <div> <B>Use naturally-derived and biodegradable detergents and cleaning products. The chemicals we use end up in our waterways and are carried to the oceans. </B></div> <div> <B>Do not give coral as presents. Corals are already a gift, and it takes corals decades or longer to create reef structures. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Make the pledge to help coral reefs today!</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/917230698?z00m=12499042" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1274/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4fcc8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="_polar_bear_seas_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas — </B></div> <div> <B>also know as the </B><B>Polar Bear Seas </B><B>— could be opened to drilling as early as February. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Please help protect the bears from further harm by signing this petition to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/465483188/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION </B></I></U></A></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1277/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="4ffe1af0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="175" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="polar_bears_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Polar bears already face a daunting future</B></div> <div> <B> because of global warming, oil and gas exploration and toxic chemical pollution. But there's another threat that many Americans aren't aware of – trophy hunting. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> The United States does not allow sport hunting of polar bears in their Alaskan habitat. But more than half of the world's polar bears live in Canada, where hunting is legal. And due to a huge loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, American trophy hunters can travel to Canada, kill a polar bear, and bring back polar bear trophies. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>From 2002-2005, a total of 298 requests were made by US citizens to import sport hunted polar bear trophies from Canada. Of these, 252 - a staggering 85 percent - were issued. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Polar Bear Protection Act would put an end to imports of polar bears taken as trophies from Canada - and help safeguard the world's remaining polar bears. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell your Senators and Representative to support the Polar Bear Protection Act today! </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/608577711/tf_link" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1278/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="500c8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="british_badgers"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Save British Badgers from Massive CullTarget:</B></div> <div> <B>the Secretary of State for Environment Hilary BennSponsored by: Cissy MarjakangasTens of thousands of Britain's badgers face the threat of a massive, unprecedented cull. This killing would defy official recommendations from a 10-year study that the much-loved badgers should be spared, but the minister responsible believes that it cannot legally be stopped.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Tens of thousands of Britain's badgers face the threat of a massive, unprecedented cull. This killing would defy official recommendations from a 10-year study that the much-loved badgers should be spared, but the minister responsible believes that it cannot legally be stopped.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Farmers, landowners and vets are drawing up detailed plans for a mass extermination of badgers over a vast area of the West Country in the hope of controlling tuberculosis infections in cattle. They hope to start killing the animals this summer and plan to repeat the operation annually for the next three years. The proposed cull area includes Britain's best-known badgers, on the Fishleigh Estate near Okehampton, whose antics have delighted millions on BBC2's Springwatch. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The plan flies in the face of the conclusions of the official Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB headed by Professor John Bourne, which concluded that killing badgers "cannot meaningfully contribute" to controlling the disease, and might even increase its spread. Culling badgers only makes things worse, as infected animals flee the killing fields and thereby infect new areas. It is also more effective to control the cattle trade and erect electric fences to keep badgers out of barns. Most of the TB  cases in the cattle, as much as 70 %, are caught from other cattle, not from badgers. This killing is therefore senseless, cruel and needless. Please sign to save the British badgers!</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/16/help-save-the-british-badgers" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/16/help-s"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1281/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="5035e5e0.jpg" border=0 width="350" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="save_tigers"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Save Tigers:</B></div> <div> <B>Help Stop Trade in Tiger Parts</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>China is considering lifting its 1993 ban on domestic trade in tiger parts. Lifting the ban could be devastating for the remaining wild tigers, leading to increased demand and poaching.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Please send a polite message to China today urging it to maintain the ban on trade in tiger parts</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Tigers are the largest of the big cats, and they are also one of the most threatened. According to a new report, tigers are on a "catastrophic" path to extinction - and China's proposal to lift its ban on domestic trade in tiger parts could spell the end for these majestic wild cats. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> Poaching and the illegal trade in tiger parts are major threats to wild tigers. China banned the trade in tiger parts in 1993. But China just told the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) that it would allow trade in tiger parts from farmed tigers if a scientific review showed it would reduce poaching. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The owners of private Chinese tiger farms - the source of some of the current illegal trade in tiger parts - are putting pressure on the Chinese government to lift the ban, claiming that lifting the ban will benefit tigers by regulating the tiger parts trade. But lifting the ban could be a death sentence for tigers. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Please send your respectful message to the Chinese Ambassador today to ask China to help conserve tigers by continuing its ban on the trade in tiger parts. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/973664192/tf_link " TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1282/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="51013c10.jpg" border=0 width="275" height="193" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Give Wolves A Chance In Oregon </B></I><I><B> <A NAME="give_wolves_a_chance"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Wolves have begun to wander back into the state, but unfortunately every other time this has happened they have been shot before they were ever able to start an established pack.  Part of the problem is they have virtually no protection from the state, and something needs to be changed.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/776425164" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wildlifecommunity.com " TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.wildlifecommunity.com "><U><I><B>WEBSITE</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1293/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The first link is the link to the petition, and the second link (WEBSITE)is to the sponsor of the petitions, website.  Feel free to check out both, and please sign the petition</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="65bc8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Help Protect America's Wetlands</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="help_protect_america_s_wetlands"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Target:</B></I><I><B> The President of the United States</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Sponsored by:</B></I><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership</B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>Our nation's wetlands, streams and other waters have a tremendous impact on everyone's lives. But development and draining of these areas result in </B></I><I><B>the loss of an average of 80,000 acres of wetlands each year.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>That is why we need 80,000 people to let the President know how important wetlands are to us. Parents want clean drinking water for their children. Families want to live without fear of their homes being flooded. Sportsmen want to protect habitat for fish and wildlife and enjoy the opportunities to hunt and fish. </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Wetlands provide all these things and more. Tell the President we need to protect these areas for our future. </B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/573485811" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>Sign the petition today!</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/573485811" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1629/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="65cc5a00.jpg" border=0 width="197" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Polar Bears Need REAL Help, Not Empty Listing</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="_polar_bears_need_real_help_not_empty_listing"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Target:</B></I><I><B> Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Sponsored by:</B></I><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Defenders of Wildlife</B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>The Bush/Cheney Administration has just listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), after four months of delays. Unfortunately, it could be an empty gesture, </B></I><I><B>lacking in any meaningful protections for polar bears.</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>With this listing, the administration has failed to: </B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7016800000000.png" HEIGHT="24" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">designate critical habitat for polar bears; </B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7016800000000.png" HEIGHT="24" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">stop destructive oil drilling in prime polar bear habitat; </B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7016800000000.png" HEIGHT="24" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">require specific steps to be taken to address global warming and its disastrous effect on Arctic sea ice and polar bears' survival. </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>In fact, Interior Secretary Kempthorne made clear that the listing should not be used to address global warming or habitat loss -- the two main factors contributing to the decline of polar bears in the U.S.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>This week's listing is already coming at the eleventh hour for polar bears -- these majestic bears can't wait for another administration. Demand REAL protections with a meaningful ESA listing for America's polar bears!</B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2008/05_14_2008_polar_bear_listed_as_threatened_but_protection_uncertain.php" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_"><U><I><B> </B></I></U></A></FONT><A HREF="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2008/05_14_2008_polar_bear_listed_as_threatened_but_protection_uncertain.php" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_"><U><I><B>(</B></I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2008/05_14_2008_polar_bear_listed_as_threatened_but_protection_uncertain.php" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_"><U><I><B>Learn more about this listing.</B></I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2008/05_14_2008_polar_bear_listed_as_threatened_but_protection_uncertain.php" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_"><U><I><B>)</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/775821510" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1630/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="660c8a00.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Save Campus Wildlife!</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="save_campus_wildlife"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Target: </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>KSU Stark's Students </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Sponsored by: </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Tammy Meade</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>The point of this petition is to end the killing of Canada geese eggs on the Kent State stark Campus. This (unfortunately legal) killing is done simply to reduce the amount of feces on the walkways- feces that could actually be used as environmentally-friendly fertilizer.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Canada geese actually have many benefits, primarily helpful as to fertilize the area, spread seed and eat bugs and insects. Given the recent issues with West Nile-carrying mosquitoes, why would anyone want to kill the birds that eat them?</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-campus-wildlife" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-ca"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1631/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="51118d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="wolves_return_to_yellowstone_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  the wolves return to yellowstone!!! </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://animals.about.com/b/2008/01/28/wolves-of-yellowstone.htm " TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://animals.about.com/b/2008/01/28/wo"><U><I><B>WEBSITE</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1298/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="51557010.jpg" border=0 width="343" height="257" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="wolf_struck_and_killed_by_vehicle_in_yellowstone_national_park_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Wolf Struck and Killed by Vehicle in Yellowstone National Park</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>A three-year-old male wolf from the Mollie’s pack was struck and killed by a car Sunday night in Yellowstone National Park.The carcass was discovered just after 9:00 p.m. near Le Hardy Rapids north of Yellowstone Lake. </B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>The driver who struck the wolf did not report the accident.However, a necropsy revealed a broken leg, massive internal injuries and blood in the wolf’s mouth, consistent with a vehicle strike.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>If anyone has any information on this accident, please call Yellowstone’s Communication Center at (307) 344-7381.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Visitors and employees are reminded to obey the speed limit and be extremely cautious when driving through the park, especially in the late evening and early morning hours and during rain or snow, as wildlife are more difficult to see under these conditions. If you do accidentally strike wildlife in the park or are witness to an accident, please report the incident immediately at the nearest ranger station. - NPS</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>- Is it time to reduce speed limits at night in the more popular wolf and wildlife corridors such as Canyon, Lamar etc?</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1299/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="6c5248c0.jpg" border=0 width="292" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="6c7248c0.jpg" border=0 width="292" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336600" FACE="Papyrus" ><A HREF="http://www.mycarbonclick.com/b/index.php?guaid=0008CABAEE01FE0143630D8FFCE637C0&liveCon_Params=JPR6O3MCBpOF0lwyEfAbyw" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.mycarbonclick.com/b/index.php"><U><I><B>CLICK  TO REDUCE CARBON</B></I></U></A></FONT><I><B> <A NAME="click__to_reduce_carbon_article_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>If you've never heard of a daily C02 impact before,</B></div> <div> <B> it's the amount of harmful carbon gas we're all responsible for putting into the air each day when we do basic things like drive a car or use a computer.</B></div> <div> <B> You can help us raise awareness about this important issue simply by adding your name and clicking below. </B></div> <div> <B>The more clicks we collect, the more carbon credits we'll be able to purchase. Our donation made on your behalf will be no less than $.10 per unique registration, based on the support of our sponsors. Thank you for your support. </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#click__to_reduce_carbon_top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>TOP</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="7bd6eb10.jpg" border=0 width="110" height="177" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="bush_is_giving_oil_and_gas_companies_the_christmas_of_a_lifetime_by_robbing_the_american_people_of_their_western_natural_heritage_and_handing_it_over_to_those_who_will_gut_it_for_personal_gain"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>  </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Native Spirit"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><B>Bush is </B></FONT><B><U>giving</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><B>oil and gas companies the Christmas of a lifetime by robbing the American people of their Western natural heritage and handing it over to those who will gut it for personal gain.</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>Coalition Calls for Administration to Halt Midnight Lease Auction of Utah Wilderness</B></div> <div> <B>Groups take legal action against Bureau of Land Management</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>December 17, 2008 </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>Washington, DC -- Robert Redford joined members of Congress and a coalition of environmental, preservation and business groups to stop the Interior Department from auctioning Utah wilderness to oil and gas companies. Congressmen Baird (D-WA), Hinchey (D-NY), and Holt (D-NJ) are leading the charge on the Hill to stop the auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 19. At a press event today, the environmental groups -- led by NRDC, the Southern Utah Wilderness Association, and Earthjustice -- announced that they are taking legal action against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to halt the leasing of more than 110,000 acres of land near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and Nine Mile Canyon. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"You can't put a price on silence or solitude," said Robert Redford, actor, director and NRDC trustee. "Future generations deserve to experience the wildness and beauty of these lands, and to leave them as a legacy to generations that follow."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Utah Bureau of Land Management has conducted a series of controversial lease sales throughout the Bush administration, but the upcoming sale has been unusually contentious because of the sensitivity of the wilderness lands and because BLM inadequately consulted with the National Park Service. In November, the Park Service asked BLM to omit 93 parcels of land that would impact parks and BLM has since deferred the leasing of 33 of these parcels. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday's sale would include lands that contain the nation's greatest density of ancient rock art and other cultural resources. These lands were recently made available to industry through hastily approved resource management plans that will have serious ramifications for 3 million acres of public lands.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"This sale is an early Christmas present to the oil and gas industry, from a lame duck administration with one foot already out the door," said Congressman Baird. "The way the Bush administration has tried to do this in secret is simply outrageous. Secretary Kempthorne must put a stop to this. Once these pristine wilderness lands are destroyed we can never get them back."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Congressman Rush Holt added: "Some people have criticized this as a gift to the oil companies. I think it is more a theft from the people. It is not too late for the Bureau of Land Management to overturn this. If they won't, maybe the courts will."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The lawsuit filed today by a coalition of environmental and preservation groups seeks to stop BLM from selling Utah's wilderness to the highest bidder, including oil and gas companies.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Following are additional statements by the groups who are trying to prevent this 11th hour giveaway:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"The Bush administration has rushed to get these leases out the door," said Sharon Buccino, Senior Attorney for NRDC. "In their midnight maneuvering, BLM failed to complete the analysis required by federal law for the protection of America's natural and cultural treasures."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"BLM cut corners on this lease sale, which will do nothing to lower the price that Americans pay at the pump or to heat their homes," said Stephen Bloch, Conservation Director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "What it will do, however, is leave a legacy of ruin in some of Utah's most iconic landscapes."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Although the short-term fix is to cancel the lease sale, in the longer term, we will be urging the Obama administration to revise six recently finalized BLM land-use plans for Utah and make sure no new leases are issued on lands deserving wilderness or other protection in the meantime," said The Wilderness Society's Dave Alberswerth. "If not fixed, the land-use plans would cement a short-sighted legacy of destruction for these irreplaceable lands." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Bush is giving oil and gas companies the Christmas of a lifetime by robbing the American people of their Western natural heritage and handing it over to those who will gut it for personal gain," said Robin Cooley, the Earthjustice attorney who is handling the lawsuit.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Nine Mile Canyon is often called the World's Longest Art Gallery because it contains the nation's densest collection of prehistoric rock art sites, including over 10,000 Native American rock art images," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "We included Nine Mile Canyon on the list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places because it's being damaged, perhaps permanently, by oil and gas drilling-related truck traffic near the canyon. BLM agrees that dust and chemicals from the traffic are damaging this fragile place, which makes its decision to approve even more leases -- and more truck traffic -- bewildering."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"The BLM's December lease sale still contains numerous lease tracts that would despoil the experience of visitors to Utah's national parks," said Karen Hevel-Mingo, National Parks Conservation Association Southwest Regional Office Program Manager. "Viewing oil rigs alongside arches, or industrialization while driving to the world famous Dinosaur Quarry Wall, is not what Americans expect or deserve in our national parks." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Utah's Red Rock country is one of our nation's most magnificent wild landscapes, and represents one of the last remaining remnants of America's wilderness heritage. Unfortunately, Utah's wilderness quality lands are some of the most threatened," said Myke Bybee, Public Lands Representative for the Sierra Club. "The Bush administration's gift to the oil industry is just the final act in their eight-year campaign to turn Utah's irreplaceable wilderness legacy into short-term profits."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.suwa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=December2008_LeaseParcelMaps" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.suwa.org/site/PageServer?page"><U><B>View more information about the December 19 lease sale, including maps and photos.</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Contact:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Terry Winckler, Earthjustice, (510) 550-6716</B></div> <div> <B>Erin Allweiss, NRDC, (202) 513-6254</B></div> <div> <B>Stephen Bloch, SUWA, (801) 428-3981</B></div> <div> <B>Dave Slater, The Wilderness Society, (202) 429-8441</B></div> <div> <B>Virgil McDill, NTHP, (202) 588-6218</B></div> <div> <B>Andrea Keller Helsel, NPCA, (202) 454-3332</B></div> <div> <B>Kristina Johnson, Sierra Club, (415) 977-5619</B></div> <div> <B>Bill Hedden, Grand Canyon Trust, (928) 774-7488</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#click__to_reduce_carbon_top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><B>TOP</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="78eef120.jpg" border=0 width="239" height="274" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="alaska_governor_sarah_palin_and_safari"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>               </B><B><IMG SRC="790d6930.jpg" border=0 width="214" height="147" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><U>please click on article!!!</U></B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Safari Club International </B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>want to allow polar bears to be killed and mounted as trophies</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Safari Club International want to allow polar bears to be </B></U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Curlz MT" ><A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>killed and mounted as trophies or used as area rugs </B></U></A></FONT><A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>-- even as these magnificent animals face extinction.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Defender of Wildlife is going to court to stop them, and your meaningful holiday gift can help us save these beleaguered and beloved bears. </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Adopt a polar bear today for a family member, a friend -- or even yourself -- and help us protect polar bears from trophy hunters and Governor Palin’s deadly attack.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Polar bears are already struggling to survive in a changing climate. These Arctic icons are drowning in open water as the sea ice they need to survive quickly melts away. Some are starving to death or even resorting to cannibalism to survive. </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Scientists fear that without adequate protection, America’s white bears could disappear in just a few decades.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>But Governor Palin and Safari Club International have launched an all-out effort to eliminate life-saving protections for threatened polar bears and once again allow rich U.S. trophy hunters to kill struggling polar bears in Canada -- and bring their carcasses back as trophies.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Give a polar bear adoption to those on your holiday list and your gift will help support our efforts in Congress, in court and on the ground to save polar bears and stop Governor Palin and the Safari Club.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>Your tax-deductible polar bear adoption also comes with an important reminder of the amazing animals your adoption helps to protect. Each adoption comes with a cuddly plush polar bear toy, a personalized Certificate of Adoption, a handsome 5” x 7” color polar bear photograph and a fact sheet full of fascinating information about polar bears. </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2RgJIicho-i8GnFLloGsjQ.." TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=2Rg"><U><B>In just a few decades, we could lose our polar bears forever. But a caring gift can today make a big difference for these struggling bears and endangered wildlife. Please adopt a polar bear today. </B></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1931/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="6ca96a50.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Wolf Update: Our victory for the wolves </B></I><I><B> <A NAME="wolf_update_our_victory_for_the_wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>we've won the first battle in our fight to save the gray wolves of the northern Rockies.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> But there's still more work to do.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>As you may have learned from our president Trip Van Noppen's recent message, </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>we secured the temporary reinstatement of federal protections for the wolves </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>a short time ago. For now, the hunters' guns in Idaho, Montana, </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>and Wyoming are silent.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Without those protections, there's no guarantee of their survival.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> In fact, in the four months since the wolves first lost their protections 110 wolves were killed</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> -- including a charismatic, radio-collared individual beloved by wildlife watchers around the world.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>My team and I won't rest until we've won back long-term protections for the wolves -- and we are counting on</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> your generosity to help see us through the final stages of this challenge.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="https://secure.ga0.org/02/08_Wolves_TRO/nI7SvNrM1AoGY?" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="https://secure.ga0.org/02/08_Wolves_TRO/"><U><I><B> Please make a special contribution today.</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>We've won a temporary cease-fire for the wolves -- thanks to the support of people like you. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But their long-term survival depends on our final success in court.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> I hope that we can continue to count on your support.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>On behalf of the Earthjustice legal team working on this case here</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B> in Bozeman, Montana, thanks for all that you do to support our work</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#wolf_update_our_victory_for_the_wolves_top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B>TOP</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="72abee10.jpg" border=0 width="190" height="225" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I><I><B> <A NAME="victory_for_northern_rockies_gray_wolves"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <B>Victory for northern Rockies gray wolves</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We've secured a major victory in our fight to save the gray wolves of the northern Rockies</B>, and we couldn't have done it without your continued support.</div> <div> Last night, the Bush administration announced that it will drop its legal defense of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that declares these wolves fully recovered and removes them from the endangered species list.</div> <div> This doesn't mean the fight is over. The Fish and Wildlife Service will review the rule and could re-issue it, but until they do,<B> there won't be wolf hunting in the northern Rockies.</B></div> <div> <B>We want wolves to recover to the point where they can come off of the list</B> -- much like the success with the American bald eagle -- <B>but we want to see them come off under the right conditions, and we will remain vigilant until this happens.</B></div> <div> Because of supporters like you, we are on the right track to making this a reality.</div> <div> On behalf of the Earthjustice legal team working on this case here in Bozeman, Montana, <B>thank you for all that you have done to help us fight to protect the gray wolves</B>.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="17a643e0.gif" border=0 width="100" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="5929d760.jpg" border=0 width="157" height="118" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Puppy Mills</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="puppy_mills"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><A HREF="#mills" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="4b0643e0.gif" border=0 width="100" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Main Line Animal Rescue</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.mlar.org" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.mlar.org"><U><I><B>www.mlar.org</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Humane Society of the United States</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.hsus.org" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.hsus.org"><U><I><B>www.hsus.org</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Lange Foundation</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.langefoundation.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.langefoundation.com"><U><I><B>www.langefoundation.com</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.aspca.org" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.aspca.org"><U><I><B>www.aspca.org</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Petfinder</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Adoption service associated with the Animal Planet television series, including links to shelters across North America.</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.petfinder.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.petfinder.com"><U><I><B>www.petfinder.com</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Dogs in Danger</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dogsindanger.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.dogsindanger.com"><U><I><B>www.dogsindanger.com</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#mills" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="4b0643e0.gif" border=0 width="100" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Pets 911</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Features searchable lost and found dogs and information about neutering, adoption and training.</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.pets911.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.pets911.com"><U><I><B>www.pets911.com</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>World Animal Net</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Search for local shelters and adoptable pets.</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.worldanimalnet.org" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.worldanimalnet.org"><U><I><B>www.worldanimalnet.org</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>PetHarbor</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Search for local shelters, rescues and adoptable pets.</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.petharbor.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.petharbor.com"><U><I><B>www.petharbor.com</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Best Friends Animal Society</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the country</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.bestfriends.org" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.bestfriends.org"><U><I><B>www.bestfriends.org</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="17a643e0.gif" border=0 width="100" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>Protect Big Cats: End Internet Canned Hunts</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3128f7d0.jpg" border=0 width="143" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="_protect_big_cats_end_internet_canned_hunts"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://go.care2.com/e/lbB/MP/sugY" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://go.care2.com/e/lbB/MP/sugY"><U>WEBSITE</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-838/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="422956f0.jpg" border=0 width="149" height="111" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Help Mercedes the Polar Bear </B><B> <A NAME="trapped_for_21years"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Trapped for 21years!</B></div> <div> <B>Mercedes has spent 21 years in a small barren cage. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Her partner Barney died after choking on a toy thrown in by visitors</B></div> <div> <B> at the zoo.</B></div> <div> <B> Now she is alone and showing signs of sterotypical behaviour.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> She needs enrichment and she needs it now and can not wait untill 2011.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/891920111" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1059/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="42418d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Save the Harp Seal Pups</B><B> <A NAME="save_the_harp_seal_pups"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/145377155" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><B>PETITION</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1064/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="425f9c80.jpg" border=0 width="249" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>PLEASE HELP THE SAN DIEGO SEALS KEEP THEIR HOME!! </B><B> <A NAME="please_help_the_san_diego_seals_keep_their_home"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.savesandiegoseals.org/" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.savesandiegoseals.org/"><U><B>WEBSITE</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/549405801" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1065/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="427c8820.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="130" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Support Bill to Save California Sea Otters</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="support_bill_to_save_california_sea_otters"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/812598517" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>PETITION</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1066/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="42618d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>End Animal Cruelty at </B></I><I><B> <A NAME="end_animal_cruelty_at_japanese_bear_parks"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Japanese Bear Parks!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/455773738 " TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I><B>WEBSITE</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-1067/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Eurostile" ><I> <img src="HTMLobj-789/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="200" height="144">  </I></FONT><I> <A NAME="myanmar_s_wild_elephants__abducted_enslaved"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Myanmar's Wild Elephants-</U></I></div> <div> <I><U>Abducted Enslaved</U></I></div> <bR> <div> <I>6,000 Wild Baby Elephants illegally kidnapped,</I></div> <div> <I> tortured into slave-workers, remaining 2000 elephants at high risk. This signed petition will be openly presented to the CEO Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations and to world wildlife societies to pressure Myanmar's government to enforcre the law prohibiting the abduction of their wild forest elephants.</I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Kristen ITC" ><I> </I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400800882?ltl=1122012959" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I>Petition</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><U>TOP</U></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-839/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="dog_savagely_beaten_stabbed_and_lost_its_life_to_this_killer"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" ><I><B>DOG SAVAGELY BEATEN, STABBED, AND LOST ITS LIFE TO THIS KILLER</B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>Target: Chief Walter G. Fife.....and Dave Schlott, Chief of Township and Officer of Animal Services, Tinicum Township</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Sponsor: Kat SImpson, and Ami K.Signatures: 1,269 </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Goal: 1,000 </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Deadline: Ongoing... </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>See Full Petition </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Email this Petition </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>TINICUM -- A township man was charged with beating and stabbing his housemate’s dog that was later put down because of its severe injuries, authorities said. Gary Bradshaw, 41, was arrested Friday for cruelty to animals, possessing an instrument of crime and disorderly conduct, Police Superintendent Walter G. Fife Jr. said Saturday. </B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>Bradshaw was also arrested for a bench warrant from Delaware County on an unrelated offense. Arraignment information was not immediately available.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"I am sure he is in jail," Fife said, noting a holiday schedule for the long Memorial Day weekend.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>According to Fife, police were dispatched to a residence in the 200 block of Bartram Avenue in Essington for a report of a subject beating a dog, about 2:30 p.m. Friday. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Upon arrival, Otto, described as a mixed breed, was found on the porch. The dog was bleeding from the head and the mouth. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"Tears came to my eyes and pain to my heart," said one man who witnessed the dog’s injuries.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Fife was not at the scene but said he was told that Bradshaw "claimed the dog attacked him." Subsequently, officers received conflicting information.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Township animal control officer Alan Strickler was on the scene and called associate Dave Schlott for assistance, Schlott said Saturday.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"The dog was just laying on the porch in a pool of blood," Schlott said. "It made no sounds.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"It was struggling to breathe," Schlott said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Schlott said he was told that the dog, which weighed about 80 to 90 pounds, may have jumped up and bit Bradshaw on the lip.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>It is suspected that Bradshaw beat the dog with a crowbar. The dog suffered blunt force trauma to the skull. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>According to Schlott, he and Strickler got a comforter from inside the house and put it under the dog. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Later, the dog was put in Schlott’s truck and taken to Springfield Veterinary Hospital for initial evaluation. There, it was determined that the dog’s extensive injuries required the attention of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Schlott, who was still at Penn at 6:30 p.m. Friday and admitted he "welled up" a few times throughout the lengthy call, said the veterinarians determined it would be in the best interest of the dog to have it put down.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"I just felt so bad," said Schlott. "This dog was so badly beaten." The dog was euthanized and a necropsy was scheduled to determine the full extent of its injuries.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Schlott said he and many others are interested to learn the results of that final study. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Animal cruelty offense is a misdemeanor under the state crime code. A person convicted of animal cruelty can be sentenced to serve a maximum of two years in jail and be fined. Advocates for animals have long complained that the punishment doled out to convicted animal abusers is too lenient. </B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/726391814" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeactio"><U><I>PETITION</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>TOP</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-840/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><U>Issues</U></I></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#008000" FACE="arial" ><B>The Great Bear Rainforest</B></FONT> <IMG SRC="317b88a0.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="138" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <A NAME="the_great_bear_rainforest"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>            <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-841/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>On Canada's Pacific coast, between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska border, lies one of the earth's largest remaining tracts of temperate rainforest: the 19-million-acre Great Bear Rainforest. Great Bear's amazingly diverse ecosystem is home to salmon, sea lions, eagles, wolves and bears, including the rare white Spirit Bear. It boasts gorgeous lakes and magnificent waterfalls, as well as giant cedars, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and balsam fir.</B></div> <div> <B>In April 2001, the government of British Columbia announced a historic agreement to establish an ecologically sound approach to land use in the Great Bear Rainforest. The agreement proposed the protection of 20 rainforest valleys untouched by logging, and a temporary ban on logging in 68 others. A remarkable collaborative effort by environmental groups, logging companies, First Nations and government officials, the agreement was largely the product of consumer pressure that environmental activists, including NRDC BioGems Defenders, put on timber companies and their large corporate lumber customers.</B></div> <div> <B>In February 2006, the government of British Columbia finally made good on the agreement by granting formal protection to 5 million acres of the Great Bear Rainforest. Environmental groups including NRDC continue to work toward making the Great Bear Rainforest both a model of collaborative conservation, with permanently protected areas large enough to support British Columbia's unique coastal wildlife and biodiversity, and, on a limited scale, a commercially productive forest, strictly managed according to principles of ecologically sound forestry.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-842/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>ENDANGERED SPECIES: </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Kristen ITC" > <img src="HTMLobj-794/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="156" height="156">  </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="endangered_species__conservationists_call_for_new_polar_bear_protections"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>CONSERVATIONISTS CALL FOR NEW POLAR BEAR PROTECTIONS</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Global Warming, Melting Ice are Rapidly Eroding Animal's Arctic Habitat</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>NEW YORK (October 12, 2005) -- Survival of the world's remaining polar bears is increasingly jeopardized by rapid disappearance of the arctic sea ice on which they depend for hunting, mating and migration, according to three leading conservation groups that today announced they are taking legal action to have the bears listed as "threatened" under America's Endangered Species Act. They point to extensive scientific evidence showing that the unprecedented polar meltdown is the result of global warming.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The groups include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace. Polar bears would be the first mammal to be officially declared at risk due to global warming.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"The polar bears' habitat is melting right out from under them as Arctic temperatures rise," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Their entire lifecycle, from finding food to finding mates, depends on these seas being frozen. If things continue as they are, these majestic animals will be driven out of existence."</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Polar bears, the largest of all bears, live only in the Arctic and are totally reliant on the sea ice. They feed mainly on ringed seals, which live in the same habitat. But a growing body of evidence is proving that the ice is vanishing much faster than previously documented. In late September, NASA and the University of Colorado released a report revealing that the Arctic ice cap has shrunk twenty percent since 1979, losing an area the size of Colorado in just the past year.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"We need to take action now to protect these animals and preserve their Arctic habitat. We cannot afford to ignore the threat any longer," said Andrew Wetzler of NRDC.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Turning Up the Arctic Heat</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Last year, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report, involving 300 scientists from the U.S. and seven other nations, also found that Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate, and identified global warming as the cause. Even under conservative estimates, the scientists said Arctic winter temperatures could rise as much as eighteen degrees Fahrenheit, eliminating year-round ice completely by the end of the century.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>In Canada's Western Hudson Bay, where the sea ice season has shortened by three weeks in recent decades, polar bears are already in decline. Fewer cubs are surviving, and the total bear population declined almost 14 percent from 1995 to 2004.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Global warming is caused by heat-trapping pollution such as carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, power plants, and other sources that accumulates in the atmosphere and prevents the sun's heat from escaping. The United States is the largest world contributor of those emissions.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>First Petition is Ignored</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The groups first petitioned to have the polar bear listed as threatened last February. The Endangered Species Act requires that the Secretary of the Interior respond within 90 days of receiving such notice, but the Secretary has yet to comply. Today's announcement is a legally-required notice of intent to sue the agency for action. Formal filing will occur after the agency has had 60 days from today's notice to comply with the law.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Listing under the United States Endangered Species Act will provide broad protection to polar bears, including a requirement that United States federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorized, or funded by the United States government will not "jeopardize the continued existence" of polar bears, or adversely modify their critical habitat.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Earlier this year the International Union for the Conservation of Nature/World Conservation Union's Polar Bear Specialist Group -- the leading polar bear scientific body, recommended the bears be classified as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of imperiled wildlife at high risk of extinction in the wild. The primary reason, they said, is global warming.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"If we want to save the majestic polar bear, we must cut global warming pollution," said Kert Davies of Greenpeace. "We have the know how to fix the problem, but we need leadership from the U.S. government to make it happen. Our addiction to dirty energy sources will exact its price."</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 1 million members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Impact" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-843/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Grizzly Bears in Peril</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" ><IMG SRC="31ddca50.jpg" border=0 width="220" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" > <A NAME="grizzly_bears_in_peril"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Plan to remove protections for Yellowstone grizzlies threatens their long-term survival</B></div> <div> <B>As many as 100,000 grizzly bears once roamed the western United States, but they were killed off and their habitat destroyed -- only about 1,500 inhabit the lower 48 states today.</B></div> <div> <B>Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1975 because their numbers had dwindled to the brink of extinction. Yellowstone's grizzlies have since rebounded to 500 to 600 bears, but now the Bush administration is planning to revoke endangered species protections, jeopardizing these bears' long-term survival. Officials are expected to announce their plan within days or weeks.</B></div> <div> <B>Stripping endangered species protection from Yellowstone's bears would open their habitat to oil and gas drilling and other development and would allow hunters to kill bears that roam outside the park. The states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho all have plans to allow grizzly hunting when the bears are delisted.</B></div> <div> <B>"Federal protection is the only reason these bears exist in Yellowstone today, and they aren't ready to survive without it," said Louisa Willcox, director of NRDC's wild bears project. "It is a tremendous success story, but the last chapters aren't yet written. Delisting the Yellowstone bear prematurely would drive it back to the brink of extinction."</B></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-844/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Laguna San Ignacio Gray Whale Nursery</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="arial" >  <img src="HTMLobj-799/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="128" height="73">  </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="laguna_san_ignacio_gray_whale_nursery"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO in Baja California, Mexico is best known as winter home to the until-recently-endangered gray whale. Every year the whales migrate over 10,000 miles between their summer feeding grounds above the Arctic Circle and the coastal waters of Baja. They have adopted the warm, shallow waters of the lagoons along the west coast of the Baja peninsula for their calving nurseries. Laguna San Ignacio is the </B><I><B>only</B></I><B> lagoon which is still relatively pristine. Here they spend the months of December to March birthing, feeding their calves, breaching and spyhopping, joined by hardy ecotourists.</B></div> <div> <B>The lagoon lies within one of the largest ecological preserves in Latin America, designated a Biosphere Reserve/World Heritage Site by the Mexican government in 1988. </B></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-845/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>STUDY FINDS MILITARY SONAR</B></I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Papyrus" ><I> <IMG SRC="0bdbf7c0.jpg" border=0 width="191" height="124" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="study_finds_military_sonar_the_most_likely_cause_of_recent_mass_stranding_of_whales_in_europe"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>THE "MOST LIKELY" CAUSE OF RECENT MASS STRANDING OF WHALES IN EUROPE</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Deaths Attributed to Newly-Named Acoustic Syndrome</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LOS ANGELES (March 17, 2006) -- In a preliminary scientific study released today, a team of investigators found that man-made ocean noise -- "most probably" noise from military sonar -- was the most likely cause of a recent mass stranding of beaked whales off the Almeria coast in southern Spain. Their findings were based on necropsies, or animal autopsies, carried out on four of these rarely-seen animals.</B></div> <div> <B>According to investigators, all four whales had suffered injuries "very similar" to those seen in some prior mass mortalities involving mid-range military sonar. Whales that died in earlier events appeared healthy, but on closer examination were found bleeding around the brain and ears with a host of lesions in their livers and other organs.</B></div> <div> <B>The pathology is now so well established in some species of whales that investigators have given it a name: "Gas and Fat Embolic Syndrome." It was this severe set of injuries that investigators believe led to the strandings and deaths of the Almeria whales on January 26, 2006.</B></div> <div> <B>"The investigation has produced hard evidence of the connection to sound--like seeing a bullet wound, but needing to identify the shooter," said Michael Jasny, a senior consultant for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "In light of today's findings, it's incumbent on navies and on industry to divulge what activities they were conducting in the area."</B></div> <div> <B>The Almeria event is only the latest in a long and growing series of mass strandings attributed to ocean noise in the Canary Islands, the Bahamas, North Carolina, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Greece, and other sites around the globe. Most have been linked to high-intensity mid-range sonar used by navies in training exercises, but some have been connected to other sources of man-made noise, like the airguns used by industry for oil-and-gas exploration.</B></div> <div> <B>Apart from injury, mid-frequency sonar has been shown to provoke dramatic behavioral responses in a range of marine mammal species, causing them to panic, abandon their habitat, or strand. It has also been blamed by commercial fishermen in some parts of the U.K. and the United States for declines in their catch rates.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-846/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32484630.jpg" border=0 width="132" height="99" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="five_whales_wash_ashore_in_fla_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <I><B>Five Whales Wash Ashore in Fla.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>From Associated Press</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>March 31, 2006 7:28 PM EST </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. - The body of a melon-headed whale, rarely found in Florida waters, washed ashore this week hours after four others were found dead or had to be euthanized because scientists determined they were too sick to be saved.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The first was found dead Wednesday morning at Vero Beach. The others were discovered on Hutchinson Island later that day, said Steven McCulloch, executive director of marine mammal research and conservation at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"It's been kind of a wild goose chase, and we're not sure it's over yet," McCulloch said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>All of the melon-headed whales, also known as electra dolphins, were about 7 to 9 feet long and appeared thin and malnourished, said Greg Bossart, director of marine mammal research and conservation at Harbor Branch, a research facility north of Fort Pierce.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Necropsies showed that the animals had ulcers in their stomachs, a sign of stress, and had not eaten for weeks.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-847/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32601ac0.jpg" border=0 width="257" height="172" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="hal_the_central_park_coyote_dies"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Hal, the Central Park Coyote, Dies</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>ALBANY, N.Y. - Hal, the coyote who paid a visit to New York City and was captured as he loped around Central Park, died as he was being tagged for release in the wild, a state official said Friday.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The coyote stopped breathing Thursday night during the routine tagging procedure and biologists could not revive him, said Gabrielle DeMarco, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Pathologists were trying to determine whether the stress of his capture or captivity or something else contributed to the death of the year-old, 35-pound coyote.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The coyote, nicknamed Hal by park workers, led dozens of police officers on foot and in a helicopter on a wild chase through the urban greenery March 21 and 22. He jumped into the water, ducked under a bridge and leaped over an 8-foot fence.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Hal was finally caught when a police officer shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Officials had taken Hal from a wildlife rehabilitation expert in Long Island on Thursday and had planned to release him in a state forest in upstate New York.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>How Hal reached Central Park is a mystery. He may have wandered into the city from the suburbs, or perhaps crossed the Hudson River from New Jersey by way of a bridge or a passing truck.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-848/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32818d20.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="crafty_sea_lion_befuddles_fish_biologists"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Crafty Sea Lion Befuddles Fish Biologists</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER (Associated Press Writer)</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>From Associated Press</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>March 31, 2006 7:25 PM EST </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. - In his way, C404 is kind of cute, with those sea-lion whiskers, soft brown eyes and furry little head. But to many he is a sea lion either from hell - or from Harvard.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>C404 has driven the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Bonneville Dam to near distraction as he and his ilk sit at the base and munch salmon gathered to continue upriver to spawn.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Numerous sea lions head for the dam each spring, but C404 is in a class by himself.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>He has figured out how to get into fish ladders that help fish past the dam - where endangered salmon and other fish become his easy prey.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The engineers have used everything legal to get rid of the California sea lion, who may weigh 1,000 pounds or more. They have installed grated exclusion gates and tried huge firecackers, rockets, rubber bullets, and noises sea lions don't like.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But C404 has given them the flipper.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>He and a handful of cohorts already are waiting for the spring run of chinook salmon, which starts in earnest in April.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Then C404, named because of a brand applied by a state and federal program, will personify a larger problem, as 100 or more of his buddies join him.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Last year they ate about 3.5 percent of the migrating run at a time when salmon numbers were down and demand was up. This year's commercial salmon season may be cancelled because of river problems elsewhere. The loss percentage is climbing.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Robert Stansell, a fish biologist at Bonneville with the Corps of Engineers, knows the lively and alert C404 all too well.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"If he were in a litter of puppies, he's the one you would pick," he said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>He said C404 has been showing up each year since at least 2003 and has learned to rub it in. Last year he appeared in a window where fish counters keep track of salmon migrating upstream. The data helps predict the size of future runs.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"He even rolled over a little so we could get a look at his brand," Stansell said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Other marine mammals haven't learned to pull that trick off.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Stansell says the sea lions are intelligent and can be taught. He would rather they not be taught by C404.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But he said the animals are showing up earlier and in greater numbers, and they are staying later. Now they have begun crawling onto the rocks to rest.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"They're becoming comfortable here," he said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The run peaks in about September, but the sea lions head back to southern California breeding grounds around late May when the water temperature in the river rises.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>They'll be back next year with their friends, and maybe their friends' friends too.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The animals have always been in the river. But now that the fish mass at the base of the dam, they provide a quick and easy meal for the sea lions.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>C404 and his kind aren't endangered, but they are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act and can't be killed.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Incorrigibles can be singled out for "lethal removal," a long, complicated process, Stansell said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>He said that nearly happened at the Ballard Locks in Seattle, where sea lions that nearly wiped out a winter steelhead run in the 1990s were marked for death.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But the Humane Society sued and then-President Clinton urged clemency. The worst of the miscreants were packed off to Sea World in Orlando, Fla.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Then-Vice President Al Gore called Sea World to say thanks.</B></I></div> <bR> <div>              <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-849/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Sibling Calves Born 21 Days Apart</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="sibling_calves_born_21_days_apart"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>From Associated Press                                       <img src="HTMLobj-810/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="95" height="85">  </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>March 31, 2006 4:09 PM EST </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>MINDEN, Neb. - A cow recently gave birth to two calves within 21 days, but the pair aren't twins, experts say. The strange set of calves, born on Jim Jensen's farm southeast of Minden, prompted some confused discussion Wednesday afternoon among cattle specialists at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The first heifer was born March 6, and the second was born Monday.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>UNL Extension beef specialist Rick Rasby concluded that the calves were most likely from two different bulls - the cows are pasture-bred. He said he was surprised that the second calf wasn't expelled or hurt during the birth of the first.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"It seems to us that it doesn't occur at a very high frequency," Rasby said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>He added that it may occur more often than known, but the proof isn't apparent because the second calf could be lost in a larger herd or would not survive the labor from the first birth.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Jensen said he never would have connected the new calf to the mother, except that the cow was in a closed lot with her first calf.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"I'd still be looking. If I hadn't had her in close quarters, I never would have accepted the calf as hers," Jensen said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>When the mother cow bawled for the calf, he was convinced.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"Then I looked at the tag on the other calf, and I knew she'd had two babies 21 days apart," he said.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-850/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32c2f460.png" border=0 width="47" height="70" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Papyrus" ><I><B>Deadly Syndrome Detected in Fla. Horses</B></I></FONT><I><B> <A NAME="deadly_syndrome_detected_in_fla__horses"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>From Associated Press</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>March 31, 2006 7:29 PM EST                                         </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>A syndrome that can cause pregnant mares to abort their foals has been confirmed in at least one Florida horse, several years after a devastating outbreak of the disease in Kentucky's thoroughbreds.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome was detected in an Alachua County horse euthanized on March 18 at the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Center, marking the state's first appearance of the condition. Three other cases are under investigation as being consistent with the syndrome.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The disease wiped out more than 3,000 thoroughbred foals in Kentucky in 2001-2002, nearly a third of all foals. That caused more than $500 million in losses.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>University of Florida clinic pathologist Dr. John Roberts confirmed the Alachua County case after visiting the unidentified farm. But he said he doubts Florida's outbreak will compare to Kentucky's, which he was also involved in diagnosing.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"It's going to decrease over the next few weeks," he said. "Probably last week was the worst week for it and we didn't have that many cases."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Experts believe the disease is caused when a pregnant mare ingests Eastern tent caterpillars, which often nest in the cherry trees found on the Alachua County farm where two of the cases were found. Scientists said the caterpillar carries bacteria that don't become a problem unless they enter a pregnant mare's womb and attaches itself to the placenta.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Complications of the syndrome include miscarriages and early term fetal losses in mares recently bred back to stallions.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The caterpillars' one-year life cycle should come to an end soon in Florida, said Terrence Fitzgerald, an expert on Eastern tent caterpillars at the State University of New York College at Cortland. But before the season ends, the caterpillars will lay eggs, which will produce a new crop next year, he said. </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>         </B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U><I><B> <img src="HTMLobj-851/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32f05ba0.jpg" border=0 width="261" height="186" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="panda_cub_brings_boom_times_to_zoo"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Panda cub brings boom times to zoo</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Tai Shan thriving, with plenty of fans in attendance</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>By Karlyn Barker</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Updated: 6:13 a.m. ET March 31, 2006</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>A small group started to form yesterday about 7 a.m., intent on seeing one of the best nature shows in town. On cue, the National Zoo's giant panda cub, Tai Shan, crawled on and nipped at his mother, pranced about the yard, climbed a favorite tree, dangled upside down, got wedged between the branches, worked himself free and, exhausted, finally settled on a comfy sycamore limb to nap.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The regulars agreed: It had been a very good morning for cub watching.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I>  </I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>• More Metro news  <img src="HTMLobj-816/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="156" height="156">  </B></I></div> <div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"He's just so adorable," gushed Sharon Hordesky, 54, a District resident and zoo volunteer who tries to see Tai Shan a couple of times a week. "He has my heart."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Since his birth last summer, the National Zoo's first surviving panda cub has captured a lot of hearts. The zoo's giant panda Web site, with cameras that chronicle Tai Shan's every move, has had about 16 million hits since the cub was born July 9. And more than 388,000 people have visited the Panda House since he went on public view in early December.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>With the weather warming, the zoo expects its cub crowds to grow. It has been handling more visitors since January, when Tai Shan began going outside, and recently expanded the official viewing hours to between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Free timed-entry tickets continue to be available through May via the zoo's Web site. But truth be told, any cub lover can usually just drop by, especially early in the morning or after 3 p.m.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"We let people in who don't have tickets, depending on how crowded it is," said Peper Long, a zoo spokeswoman. "But that may change if the crowds get bigger."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The nearly 9-month-old Tai Shan (pronounced "ty shahn") weighs about 40 pounds and has definitely become a creature of habit.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"He spends all his day in a tree," said Lisa Stevens, an assistant curator and the author of the well-read, twice-a-week Web reports on the cub's progress. "He comes down for short periods to play and nurse."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>But some habits, she conceded, aren't as endearing.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Unlike his mother, Mei Xiang (may shyahng), or his father, Tian Tian (tyen tyen), Tai Shan has not yet associated humans with food. So he is in no hurry to come in at night.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"Right now, I'm paying overtime because he's not on our schedule," Stevens said. "On Saturday, a keeper didn't leave until 9:30 p.m. because he didn't come down [from the tree] until 8:30 p.m."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"We'd like to get him into a routine -- like the adults," she said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>‘A play toy for her’</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Mom Mei Xiang has gone from being super-protective of her baby to only casually observing any of his new activities. They play together, roughly, and she will give him a swat if he gets too rambunctious or tries to take her food.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"He's a play toy for her," Stevens said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Tai Shan still nurses four or five times during the day and probably at night, though the zoo no longer monitors panda activity 24 hours a day. The cub recently started sampling bamboo leaves but probably won't be fully weaned for another year.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"There's a very long transition for this species," said Mark Edwards, the zoo's animal nutritionist. "Milk is easier to digest, especially compared to bamboo, and is more nutritious."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Giant pandas are extremely rare, with about 1,600 in the wilds of China and about 160 in captivity worldwide. At panda reserves in China, the cubs are taken from their mothers four to six months after birth to help encourage new breeding.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The National Zoo's previous panda pair produced five cubs, but none survived. With Tai Shan, the zoo is trying to more closely replicate life in the wild while it collects data about the growth and development of the cub.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"This is an exciting opportunity" to study cubs, particularly in a more naturalistic setting, Edwards said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>When the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat opens this fall, there will be twice as much space, and more activity choices, for the pandas. Stevens said this will give the zoo the flexibility to let Mei Xiang keep tending to the cub and still proceed with plans to breed her next spring with Tian Tian.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The female will come into heat next year even if she is still nursing the cub, Stevens said.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Male pandas never stay with their offspring. Tian Tian and Tai Shan have "noticed" each other through the fence that separates their yards but will remain apart. Stevens said Tian Tian has adjusted very well to being by himself.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The zoo drew more than 1.9 million visitors in 2005, its best attendance since 2002, when it had 2.05 million. And the cub's birth has helped double overall merchandise sales, from $427,000 in the first quarter of 2005 to $850,000 in the first quarter of this year. Giant panda plush toys and T-shirts and other items with Tai Shan's name on them are big sellers.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Even Friends of the National Zoo, the animal park's nonprofit support organization, has benefited from panda fever. It gained about 9,000 recruits in 2005, about a third of whom joined late last year after learning that FONZ members would get a special early peek at the new cub.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Funds for conservation research</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The cub birth has helped raise money for the zoo's panda conservation research projects -- about $300,000 was budgeted this year. But Stevens and Edwards said the research program is still not fully funded. Edwards, for example, couldn't get $35,600 he sought to pay for a graduate student and lab equipment and supplies to study how pandas ingest bamboo.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>For now, the zoo wants Tai Shan to learn his name, respond to simple commands and associate keepers with food and other positive experiences. There will be more training in the future.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Under a 10-year, $10 million agreement with the Chinese, the zoo has its panda couple through 2010. It is hoping to negotiate a new, cheaper pact to keep Tai Shan's parents longer. But the cub is slated to be sent to China when he turns 2.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>"I don't even want to think about it," Stevens said.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Urgent Wildlife Issues"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-852/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="100" height="62">  </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>         </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>         </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="332cc6c0.jpg" border=0 width="204" height="108" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I><I> <A NAME="beetles_aid_in_global_warming_research"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Beetles Aid in Global Warming Research</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>By RACHEL D'ORO (Associated Press Writer) </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>From Associated PressApril 01, 2006 3:35 AM EST </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Beneath the lids of large coolers, thousands of tiny bugs devour the desiccated flesh of mammal carcasses destined for the vast specimens collection at the University of Alaska's Museum of the North.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>As they gnaw away, the stench is overwhelming, a rancid sweetness that stings the eyes and lungs, clinging to hair and clothes like a vile perfume.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>This is the smell of global warming research at work. The dermestid beetles have been used for decades by museums to clean bones because of their unmatched ability to strip them without damaging even the smallest, most delicate specimens. The skill also makes them valuable to scientists studying global warming, because they are capable of unveiling the most minute changes in a species.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Though use of the beetles is common across the country, their talent is increasingly crucial in preparing specimens from the Arctic, where effects of warming appear first and with greater intensity. The Fairbanks museum is the largest U.S. repository for high-latitude species.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"Dermestids may be low-tech, but there's no other method that does as good a job of cleaning skulls and skeletons for long-term archival preservation," said Link Olson, curator of the museum's mammals collection and a biology professor at the university.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Global warming researchers often have to look for tiny clues in bones to help them understand even the most minute effects of climate change on animals. Cleaner bones can give them a more accurate picture of changes.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>These drab little bugs are common household pests that eat through furs, clothing and cereal, shedding their telltale exoskeletons in drawers and cupboards. At the Fairbanks museum, the "bug room" is secluded from the museum's larger collection out of necessity. A dermestid infestation is a curator's worst nightmare. There's not much the bugs won't eat.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>That much was evident on a recent evening when Olson and mammals collection manager Brandy Jacobsen brought in frozen pieces of a musk ox.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Seemingly oblivious to the smell, Jacobsen set an ox leg and other chunks of meat under a range hood, where they would air dry for at least two days. Otherwise the meat would be too wet for the carrion-eating bugs, which were busy crawling all over the skull of a Sitka blacktail deer and the bones of other mammals, including a polar bear.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"They only eat dead flesh," Olson said. "They like jerky basically."</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Scientists also say the dermestid method is preferable to other methods of cleaning bones, such as maceration, in which bones are soaked in bacteria-laden water to break down soft tissue. That can loosen teeth or weaken sutures in skulls or long bones, Larry Heaney, curator of the division of mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Their cleaning prowess is invaluable when measuring changes over extended periods of time, he said. Researchers are often looking for tiny changes in density, proportion, shape and size of bones, which can reflect changes in resources available to the animal.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Israeli scientist Yoram Yom-Tov recently used 400 marten specimens obtained by the museum during the last 50 years to determine that the small carnivore had grown over the years by a few percentage points.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The most plausible explanation for the growth is that winters are shorter and warmer, said Yom-Tov, a professor of zoology at Tel-Aviv University. With a longer growing season in the Arctic, plants are more available to such prey as voles, so they become bigger and more plentiful, supplying a greater source of food for martens, he said.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"What researchers are often looking for at this point are very subtle changes taking place," Heaney said. "With specimens cleaned by beetles, you can look very precisely at tiny changes in the anatomy of the animals."</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>As for the smell?</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>"It gets more bearable as you get used to it," Jacobsen said.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>---</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.uaf.edu/museum" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.uaf.edu/museum"><U><I><B>On the Net</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>:</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  <center> <img src=http://ctr.vendio.com/cgi-bin/honesty-counter.cgi?df=gen.17657110.00036><br> <font size=-1>Free counters provided by <a href=http://app.vendio.com>Andale</a>.<br></font> </center>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nature and Wildlife"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-854/aniGif.gif" 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