January 25, 2010
Contacts:
Mark Salvo, Director, Sagebrush Sea Campaign, WildEarth Guardians · (503) 757-4221
Protection
Sought for Sagebrush Sea Inhabitants
Fifth Week of BioBlitz Focused on Vast, Neglected Sagebrush Grasslands
Santa Fe, NM - WildEarth Guardians' BioBlitz,
an eight-week campaign to induce the U.S. Department of Interior to more
aggressively respond to the biodiversity crisis, continues this week with
"Sagebrush Sea Week." This week the organization will initiate
actions to protect butterflies, beetles, a springsnail, a fish and a flower
that live in the Sagebrush Sea.
"The Sagebrush Sea, one of the most used
and abused landscapes in North America, is also home to hundreds of diverse
and imperiled species," said Mark Salvo, Director of the Sagebrush
Sea Campaign. "We must act to protect them before it's too late."
The BioBlitz began on December 28, the 36th anniversary
of the Endangered Species Act, in tribute to the law's role in
protecting biodiversity and in celebration of 2010 as the United Nation's
International Year of Biodiversity. Guardians will take action to obtain
Endangered Species Act protection for imperiled species on each of the
36 consecutive working days of the BioBlitz.
Conservation actions during "Sagebrush Sea Week" are:
- January 25:
a petition to protect ten Great Basin butterflies under the Endangered
Species Act. These butterflies occur in small populations and in narrow
habitats that are susceptible to a variety of threats. Habitats for
some are threatened by water development and groundwater withdrawal
in southern and central Nevada. Factsheet:
"Sagebrush Sea
Butterflies"
- January 26: a lawsuit to compel federal protection for the Pipe Springs Cryptantha, a plant that occurs on the southern edge of the Sagebrush Sea, near Fredonia, Arizona. Threats to this rare, one-foot-tall flower include off-road vehicle use, livestock grazing and trampling, development and even garbage dumping. Factsheet: "Pipe Springs Cryptantha"
- January 27: a petition to obtain Endangered Species Act critical habitat designation for the Banbury Springs Limpet, a small, aquatic snail found in four isolated freshwater spring complexes along the Snake River in central Idaho. The species has never been found anywhere else, and a recent assessment concluded that the snail remains imperiled throughout its limited range. Factsheet: "Banbury Springs Limpet"
- January 28: a lawsuit to compel federal protection for the Northern Leatherside Chub, a rare minnow that swims in the Bear River and Snake River drainages in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho. Chub populations are declining due to habitat degradation caused by irrigation, water diversion, and competition and predation by nonnative fish. Factsheet: "Northern Leatherside Chub"
- January 29: a petition to protect six
sand dune beetles under the Endangered Species Act. The beetles are
endemic to dunes in Nevada that are also favorite areas for off-road
vehicle use. The six scarabs are threatened by limited populations,
restricted range, and mismanagement of their habitat. Factsheet:
"Sagebrush Sea Scarab
Beetles"
Despite its size, the Sagebrush Sea is one of
the most endangered ecosystems in North America. WildEarth Guardian's
report, The Shrinking Sagebrush
Sea, found that less than five percent of the landscape is afforded
some level of federal protection.
Each week of the BioBlitz has a theme. Previous
weeks were "Climate Week," "E.O. Wilson Week," "Prairie
Week," and "On the Prowl Week."
WildEarth Guardians has been at the forefront of endangered species enforcement in the U.S. The group is a formal partner in the United Nation's Year of Biodiversity, in which "The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity."
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