If you know about or have read about the clay-loving wild buckwheat on our website, then you know it is one of the most endangered plant species in Colorado.  It grows only in the adobe hills between Delta and Montrose, and its habitat is quickly disappearing under suburban sprawl and dirt bike tires.  The largest population of the wild buckwheat is found mostly on a private ranch east of Montrose, and we have an opportunity to buy it and set it aside as a rare plant preserve.  This is likely the single most important thing we can do to save the clay-loving wild buckwheat from extinction.  Experts at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program have said, "[i]n order to protect the clay-loving wild buckwheat  we need to protect this stie as the cornerstone."  The team assembled to make this purchase is top notch:  us, the Colorado Natural Areas Program, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of Colorado Natural Areas.  Together, we have created the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund to raise the money to buy the property and to endow its future management as a rare plant preserve.  Now, the Colorado Native Plant Society has joined the fray with a pledge to match contributions from their members 2 to 1, up to $5,000.  This is huge boost to our efforts and an excellent opportunity to make our goal of a protected buckwheat population and a valuable educational and biological diversity asset in the adobe hills a reality.  If you are a member of the Colorado Native Plant Society and haven't donated to the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund, please do so right away so we can take advantage of the CoNPS match and make your generosity go even farther.  If you are a Center for Native Ecosystems member and have not yet donated to the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund, we'd love for you to do so also.  After all, with so many powerful ally organizations participating in this collaborative effort, we'd be proud to show a lot of participation from our members as well.  And a big thank you to all of you who have already made a contribution.  You can truly participated in a ground-breaking effort-- certainly a first for CNE-- and one that will make a concrete, permanent difference for a highly endangered piece of our natural heritage.

Democratic control of the House and Senate is very exciting for those of us who care about preserving our nation's natural legacy.  It's not that there aren't pro-conservation Republicans, because there are, but the party as a whole, and certainly party leadership, has been extremely anti-conservation for such a long time.  But a lot of mischief is possible even under Democratic leadership, so the conservation community has been watching leadership and committee appointments carefully.  So far the news is pretty good.

The Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), which has jurisdiction over the Endangered Species Act, will be chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).  Senator Boxer has been a pretty reliable pro-conservation voice in the Senate and this should mean good things on many of our priority issues.  The chair of the EPW subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Act (with the awkward name "Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection") will be Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who has been very pro-conservation during his Senate tenure.  That, too, is good news.

Incidentally, Senator Salazar landed a coveted spot on the Finance Committee, which puts him in an exceptional position to help move bills that improve tax incentives for good on-the-ground conservation.  His ongoing position on the Agriculture Committee means he can do similarly important work on the Farm Bill.

On the House side, the expected new chair of the Resources Committee is Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV), although I noticed a report earlier in the week that he might face some competition for the spot.  Congressman Rahall has also been a really strong conservation champion.

I was hoping to see our own Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) end up with the majority whip position - to have such a strong conservation champion in the number three spot would have been fun - but it sounds like she'll probably remain as chief deputy whip and so should still have a great deal of influence in shaping the Democrat's agenda.

This week I spent a little time seeing how species protected under the Endangered Species Act in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah tracked with species included on the international Red List.

Since August I've been attending a conservation genetics discussion group, and our reading for next week includes de Grammont and Cuarón (2006):  "An Evaluation of Threatened Species Categorization Systems Used on the American Continent".  It was intriguing to view some endangered species issues through the eyes of conservation biologists from Mexico, and to see just how many other countries in the Americas have adopted some kind of method of identifying species most at risk of extinction.

Building on Mace and Lande (1991), the authors suggested 15 "desirable characteristics of threatened species categorization systems" (p. 19) and then evaluated systems in use in 20 countries in the Americas, including the Endangered Species Act.  They concluded that "the most adequate system" (p. 21) was the one used by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) because of its emphasis on defining extinction risk quantitatively, but they also conceded that "much of the information required by this system may not be available" (p. 23).

I decided to check the IUCN Red List to see how their categorization of species status matched up (or didn't) with species listed under the Endangered Species Act that occur in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and I especially was on the lookout for species that the IUCN considered to be Critically Endangered or Endangered that are not protected under the Act.

There didn't seem to be a way to search by state distribution, so I skimmed through the Critically Endangered and the Endangered lists for U.S. species to see what jumped out at me (which isn't terribly helpful for finding species slipping through the cracks).  I also checked Natureserve (the Natural Heritage Program's database) to see whether I could search by IUCN status there, but no luck.  Then I searched the IUCN database for the Endangered Species Act-listed and Candidate species in Colorado/Wyoming/Utah to see which they consider to be the most endangered. 

IUCN coverage is spotty - taxonomic groups show up on the list only if there's an expert who is actively involved with IUCN, it seems.  Keeping tabs on the world's biodiversity is a gigantic job, so this is a caveat rather than a criticism.  For example, plants are almost totally missing from the 2006 list because they have not been reevaluated since the IUCN changed criteria after 1994, as the FAQ page explains.

It was still a worthwhile excercise.  In those three states, the most endangered of the species protected under the Endangered Species Act that are included in the 2006 Red List are the black-footed ferret and the Wyoming toad, both of which IUCN lists as Extinct in the Wild.  I was surprised to see them placed in that category, because they both do occur in the wild now, but it's true that's because of captive breeding programs that continue to prop up existing populations. 

There were two Critically Endangered species from our region:  Eskimo curlew (listed Endangered, possibly extinct, no confirmed sightings since mid 1980's, former migrant through CO/WY/UT) and Kanab ambersnail (listed Endangered, three sites in SW UT and one in the Grand Canyon area of AZ).

Among the currently listed and Candidate species in CO/UT/WY, IUCN categorizes the following as Endangered:  bonytail chub, whooping crane, Preble's meadow jumping mouse, razorback sucker, relict leopard frog, and - get this - Gunnison sage-grouse.  I noticed the grouse when I was scanning the list; it has no federal status now.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made a politically motivated decision to remove the Gunnison sage-grouse from the Candidate list in April, and the IUCN's assessment is further testament to the fact that there was no biological basis for doing so.

The last of the three threatened or red-listed categories that IUCN uses is Vulnerable, which they still characterize as a "high risk of extinction in the wild".  Uncompahgre fritillary, humpback chub, Colorado pikeminnow, desert tortoise, woundfin, lesser prairie chicken, and Bonneville pondsnail fell into that category.  I also noticed Utah physa (a snail that I don't know much about - Natureserve says Utah Lake, Boulder County, CO, and possibly WY; Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says Utah Lake plus the Paradox/Dolores River drainage area in CO), and Dakota skipper (we joined Biodiversity Conservation Alliance's petition for this species) on the Vulnerable list.

Since many of our listed/Candidate/petitioned species do not seem to have been evaluated by the IUCN yet, the Red List can't stand alone as a prioritization tool, but it does reinforce that we are making good choices by focusing some of our efforts on the ferret, jumping mouse, sage-grouse, and skipper.  We need to be thinking more about what can be done for the Wyoming toad (chytrid fungus is the main threat), and I need to learn more about the Utah physa.

The Summary Statistics page was a bit of a shock, although again it could be a matter of uneven reporting.  The IUCN indicates that 236 animal species in the U.S. have gone extinct or are considered Extinct in the Wild.  This is by far the largest of any country - the second highest is French Polynesia, with 79.  The plant stats tell a similar story:  30 U.S. species extinct or Extinct in the Wild - runners up are Brazil and French Polynesia, both with 6.

Are there other species we should be paying more attention to, or other ways we can benefit from the IUCN's expertise?  Please let us know!

Why We Campaign

All of us at CNE did some campaigning on our own time this week, and spent lunch Wednesday talking about the highlights.  For me, it is always the amazing people I meet.  Until 2004 I was a registered Green, always voted, never helped out with elections.  Then I decided to give life with a major party a shot, quickly found myself going to the state convention, and headed back to my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania for the weeks leading up to the election. 

Erie is a town of immigrants, where everyone has a last name that outsiders don't know how to pronounce (mine was Schaaf) and no one is interested in your pedigree.  It wasn't until I moved to Colorado 11 years ago and saw the "native" bumperstickers that I thought about it and calculated that I was a fifth generation native Erieite, a fact that has no bearing there.  A manufacturing town on Lake Erie, it has seen better days (picture Flint, Michigan of Roger and Me), and yet there is still much to love there.  For example, someone once asked me how I got the idea to do the kind of work I do at CNE, and I shrugged and said in second grade I wrote that I wanted to be a naturalist.  They asked me how I knew what that was, and I said, well, I went on the hikes that Ginny, the naturalist at the peninsula, led, and thought it would be neat to live in a lighthouse like she did.

Flying home to Colorado after the 2004 election I tried to capture some of the powerful campaigning experiences, and to work out a reason for hope, both in general and in our work.  There was a lot of sadness in there, but here are some excerpts of the bright spots and wonderful people I met then.

these are good things to fight for:  blessed are the meek, the last shall be first, blessed are the peacemakers, turn the other cheek, be stewards of the garden....
    Easter Moody invites me into her home.  Franklin Terrace.  Former election judge.  Even the grown up boy-men lounging on their dirt bikes who "don't vote" encourage me to wait for her - she's been sick - she'll vote for him.
    I wait, unconvinced, and the door finally opens to her large presence.  Clutching her robe, whiskered chin, I follow her in.  She needs a ride.  Her aide - sitting comfortably, watching TV, talking on the phone - briefly offers but no specifics.  Easter gives me a look, "You better give me a ride."
    ...Tina Rickard with her clear blue eyes, sitting on the steps genuinely saying, "I'm so glad you're here."  Recovering alcoholic, four kids, she is upfront and angry - and willing to fight.  Against the war.  Against the loss of funding for treatment programs.  Against the loss of her savings.  Against the losses of the last four years.  She will bring her kids door to door on Tuesday....
    Don Wright, wielding his cell phone to demand enfranchisement, and prevailing....
    Looking across the sea ice of clouds below, again the pangs of beauty.  And the waitress who set the plate down, "Here you go, baby."  And the one who said, "It makes it seem impossible."
    I am flying home to my amazing husband and my devoted dogs and my good job and my family who all cares for each other and a remarkable freedom from want.  Yes, a good life.  But what is its meaning if the backdrop is injustice?  What about the German families who lived good lives in the 30's?
    Wiesel lays it on me, "There is a response in responsibility."
    And Ann Richards, "Sometimes when I'm walking on the beach with my grandkids I think - this is a pretty good life.  And I long to leave the rest behind.  But as long as I live and breathe I cannot enjoy my own life if someone else is suffering - I must fight for them."
    And His Holiness the Dalai Lama - "For as long as space endures and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide to dispel the misery of the world."
    And Gandhi's active Ahimsa:  "To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself.  And a man who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life.  That is why my devotion to Truth has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say without the slightest hesitation, and yet in all humility, that those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means."
    ....The best news this week is that the wolves are eating the deer in Buffalo.  And pileated woodpeckers still drum at Presque Isle.  And someone is voluntarily saying, "Biodiversity is awesome!" at the peninsula.

My 2006 experience again linked me with folks I would never meet otherwise who humbled me with their passionate devotion to a better world.  In two days I was paired up with four people:  Emily, a take-charge CSU student studying agricultural economics listening to her ipod while dropping literature; Joyce, a retiree with perfect hair and makeup who had been volunteering with the campaign since March, who came straight from a luncheon with her sorority sisters (including the Hungarian who defected during the 1956 Olympics); Josh, a sixteen year-old who has been volunteering with campaigns since 2002 ("I didn't do much for the 2000 election, but I was 10."  "Since I can't vote yet, this is the best way I can make a difference.") - when asked if his parents got him started campaigning, he said yes, them, Saturday Night Live, and The Daily Show; and Mike, another conservationist working to keep the Colorado River flowing, who works out of our old building and who wore out one of his flip-flops dropping literature.

Even though our candidate lost, we made a difference, and I have new reasons to be inspired to keep on keeping on.  I hope many of you out there also found ways to be engaged this election season.

Congressman John T. Salazar yesterday added his voice to the chorus of those calling on the Bureau of Land Management to stop offering oil and gas leases in habitat for the highly imperiled Gunnison sage grouse.  Expressing "surprise" that the BLM has offered parcels containing "mapped Gunnison sage grouse habitat" for lease in its upcoming November 9 sale, the Congressman called on the BLM to withdraw those parcels and "institute a clear policy in the future to not offer for lease any occupied Gunnison Sage Grouse habitat."

In a letter to BLM State Director Sally Wisely, Congressman Salazar said he found out about the parcels in the upcoming sale from San Miguel County officials, who are involved in local efforts to conserve the bird.  Salazar wrote:

"All government agencies from the local to the federal level should be working in a cooperative effort to make sure that Gunnison Sage Grouse populations increase. Counties such as San Miguel and Gunnison are working hard and devoting many resources, including financial, to ensure we as a community can conserve the Gunnison Sage Grouse through cooperative efforts. When local counties are struggling to fund and lead conservation efforts the federal government should be working to complement their efforts."

San Miguel County recently joined Center for Native Ecosystems and others in warning the federal government that they planned to sue over the illegal decision in April to remove the Gunnison sage grouse from the Endangered Species Act candidate list.  This is one of several recent Fish and Wildlife Service decisions that were tampered with by political appointee Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In the case of the Gunnison sage grouse, it appears from internal agency documents that MacDonald fully reversed the recommendation of agency biologists to propose the Gunnison sage grouse for protection as an endangered species.

Given the congressman's  recent disparaging remarks on the Endangered Species Act during a candidate debate, his support of local efforts to conserve such a highly imperiled species is a welcome public stance in favor of conservation.

Supporters of the black-footed ferret – the most endangered mammal in North America – celebrated a small victory recently with the discovery of two wild born ferrets.  The Colorado Division of Wildlife announced the discovery of the pups as part of the results of their most recent field survey season.  This marks the second time the Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists have come across wild born pups since recovery efforts began in Colorado in 2001.  So far, 220 black-footed ferrets have been released in northwestern Colorado, and fifteen additional ferrets will be released in the Wolf Creek Management Area, a location selected for the existence of prairie dog colonies.

Unfortunately, the success of the ferret’s recovery effort continues to be marred by new threats from oil and gas drilling and inadequate efforts to recover the ferret’s primary prey – the white-tailed prairie dog.  In May of this year, the Bureau of Land Management leased the Wolf Creek ferret reintroduction area for oil and gas drilling, despite a host of experts warning against the move.  In July of 2002, CNE filed a citizen petition to list the white-tailed prairie dog as an endangered or threatened species.  On October 31, 2004, pursuant to a settlement agreement, the Fish and Wildlife Service issued a 90-day negative finding for the white-tailed prairie dog, despite mountains of evidence suggesting protection for the species may be warranted.  We have since discovered that a Bush appointee, Julie MacDonald, interfered with FWS biologists’ analysis that concluded that ESA listing may be warranted.  We will monitor the internal investigation and resulting Congressional hearings that will hopefully expose the full extent of MacDonald’s political manipulation.  In the meantime, we will continue to encourage FWS to do the right thing and provide protection for species like the white-tailed prairie dog.