VIEW THIS ON THE American Rivers WEBPAGE WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!! http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html With Congress out of session until January, action on the legislative front will be slow. We will use this window of opportunity to bring you related river conservation information - news, science, and resource tools. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On November 9, representatives from the national poultry industry approved what they claim to be a sweeping, voluntary plan to limit runoff from chicken farms. Not all echoed the industry's praise for the plan, however. The US Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups countered that the move will have little impact on reducing the threat of polluted runoff from poultry farms. As detailed in the plan, poultry processing companies like Purdue will require local growers who contract with them to follow manure-management measures to prevent extra nutrients from washing into waterways. Although EPA officials welcomed the agreement, they expressed disappointment that small farmers will have to shoulder most of the financial costs of implementing the pollution control measures, rather than big poultry companies. EPA said it will consider the agreement as it finalizes new clean-water regulations for large meat producers. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The effort to clean up factory hog farms in North Carolina has a new webpage. Launched by the North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund as part of its Hog Watch campaign, the site provides data on each of the state's more than 2,500 hog farms, information on the public health effects of the industry, and a "poop counter" tracking the amount of hog waste being disposed of in North Carolina. NCEDF unveiled the new site as the largest hog-processing plant in the nation - located in Bladen County, NC - increased its daily production to 28,000 hogs -- 4,000 more that is allowed by North Carolina law. Smithfield Foods officials claim their hog waste discharge permit sets no daily limit on the number of hogs it can slaughter. The web address is http://www.hogwatch.org/. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New A number of environmental organizations are pushing President Clinton and Vice President Gore to include in the Administration's FY'00 budget package funds for a major new conservation initiative proposed by the Department of the Interior. If funded, the "Partnership for America's Resources" will devote up to $3 billion annually to conservation goals such as acquiring national forests and designating landmarks. The Office of Management and Budget rejected the idea, claiming the Administration needs to apply the current federal budget surplus to Social Security. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In response to the announcement last week that the survival of the New England cod fishery is in great danger, a number of environmentalists groups have expressed strong doubts about the viability of a 1996 federal law designed to prevent such a crisis. Biologists have criticized the New England Fishery Management Council in the past for failing to impose sufficiently strict limits on cod and other species, largely due to intense pressure from the fishing industry and a number of regional politicians, including Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). Last week, NEFMC moved to drastically reduce cod quotas, but many are calling for much more radical changes. One recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences urged governments to give individual fishers or communities property rights to specified amounts of fish or specific fishing grounds in order to provide fishers with an incentive to preserve the value of their share over the long term. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New As announced by US Fish and Wildlife Service managers at a meeting in Salt Lake City last week, states that develop cooperative conservation agreements may be able to avoid having cutthroat trout listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The USFWS is working to develop a grants program to help participating states fund work on the cutthroat recovery management plans and agreements. The Boulder, Colorado-based Biodiversity Legal Foundation has come out against the multi-state conservation agreement approach, claiming agreements alone have failed in the past to bring back species and are not enforceable or adequate for restoration efforts. BLF has petitioned the USFWS to list the Bonneville and Yellowstone cutthroat trout as federally threatened or endangered species and is preparing a petition to force the USFWS to list the Colorado River cutthroat trout. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The Packard Foundation recently announced what will be the largest grantmaking program for environmental conservation in the United States. The foundation will invest $375 million in such programs over the next five years. Grants, which will be announced in four stages over the course of 1999, will go to organizations protecting critical habitats and biological diversity, promoting sustainable resource use and advancing science for conservation. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has unveiled a two-year, $5 million plan to restore the Naugatuck River in Connecticut by removing five dams and constructing fish and boat passage facilities at two others. When completed, the restoration project will restore 32 miles of free flowing river for sea-run trout, American shad, alewives and herring for the first time since 1800. To complement the CT DEP plan, Trout Unlimited appointed Naugatuck Valley native Jon Ploski as a full-time River Steward for the Naugatuck. Ploski, a watershed reclamation specialist and former fishing guide, will serve as environmental watchdog for the river. The River Steward will be funded through a three-year grant from the Leever Foundation and MacDermid, Inc., operators of a major industrial facility on the river. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New In a report released on December 9, the US Office of Surface Mining condemned several mountaintop removal strip mines as illegal and blamed the rapid growth of such practices on the vagueness of laws passed to control them. Conducted over ten months, the OSM study found coal operators were guilty of indiscriminately dumping of mine fills into valleys to avoid the costs of rebuilding hilltops, West Virginia state environmental officials have issued mountaintop removal permits for projects that fail to meet federal environmental requirements, and the vagueness of applicable laws have allowed coal operators to avoid their legal obligation to restore the mountaintop site to its pre-mining appearance. The OSM report recommended that the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection adopt stricter laws to mirror federal standards for the practice and that the DEP review hundreds of already-issued permits to correct various illegal provisions. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On December 9, Arlington, Virginia based Conservation Fund and the states of New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont announced a $76.2 million purchase of 300,000 acres of the Northern Forest. The deal, possibly the largest public-private conservation project in US history, encompasses 18,000 acres in New Hampshire, 133,000 acres in Vermont and 143,000 acres in New York. The land, which is currently owned by the Champion International paper company, will be managed primarily for recreation and conservation, and only secondarily for timber extraction. About 70% of the property will be resold to private companies that must design timber-management plans approved by the Conservation Fund, and the remaining 30% will be publicly owned. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New According to the "National Report Card on Environmental Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors," the majority of Americans have failed to keep pace with the hard facts of today's most important environmental problems. The annual survey, conducted by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, revealed that "most Americans rely on outdated or incorrect information when making decisions about the environment and use common myths to guide their behavior." Despite the reliance on myths and faulty information, NEETF President Kevin Coyle viewed the overall survey results as encouraging - 71% of those surveyed considered environmental protection more important than economic development, an increase of 8% since 1995, and 85% claimed they engage in behaviors aimed at preserving the environment. To see a full copy of the report card, see NEETF's Webpage at http://www.neetf.org/reportcard/default.htm. American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550 CHECK OUT OUR HOMEPAGE!! http://www.amrivers.org QUESTIONS? Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org or 202-347-7550x3040. Legislative information taken from many sources including: Congressional Green Sheets, Environment and Energy Weekly, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
American Rivers Policy Update For the week of December 14, 1998
AGRICULTURE
Poultry Industry Agrees to Adopt Clean Water Plan:
New Hog Watch Webpage:
BUDGET
Environmental Groups Lobby Clinton and Gore to Fund DOI Proposal:
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Cod Collapse Ignites Dramatic Recommendations for Recovery:
Multi-State Recovery Plans May Stop EPA Listing:
FUNDING
New Funding Offered by the Packard Foundation:
HYDROPOWER/DAMS
Five Dams on Naugatuck River to Come Down:
MINING
US Office of Surface Mining Report on Mountaintop Removal Strip Mining Out:
PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS
Landmark Public-Private Conservation Project Launched:
PUBLIC OPINION
Poll Reveals Most Americans' Environmental Knowledge is Faulty:
Back to Whats New Index Page
Back to CRC Index Page
Back to Watershed Index Page
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council