Defenders Wildlines #69
December 10, 2001

A weekly publication of Defenders of Wildlife bringing you the most current and relevant news and resources on state environmental issues across the country.

Email:  [email protected] 
Phone: 608-252-9800 
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IN THIS EDITION:

WATCH DOG: Farm Bureau Attacks Factory Farm Law
ISSUE SPOTLIGHT: Isolated Wetlands
NEWS FROM THE STATES:

 WA: State Logging Area Scorched by Wildfires
 CO: Conservation Plan "First out of the Chute"
 OK: Upstream CAFOs Harming Water Quality
 SD: Farmers Union Supports Industrial Hemp
 MI: Study Predicts Sprawl Nightmare
 KY: Debate Over Selling Nitrous Oxide Allotment
 MA: Takings Battle Over Habitat Protection 

WATCH DOG: FARM BUREAU ATTACKS FACTORY FARM LAW

The Farm Bureau has initiated a trial in U.S. District Court to overturn a 1998 state constitutional amendment designed to keep large out-of-state companies from farming or owning farmland in South Dakota. During the 
trial last week, a witness for the Farm Bureau testified that the amendment will turn the state into an agricultural backwater. "My conclusion is that South Dakota appears to be losing competitive advantage in livestock 
production," said Ohio State University economist Luther Tweetan. Lawyers defending the amendment said corporate factory farms can hurt family farms and rural towns and threaten the environment. The amendment came about after two years of wrangling in the state Legislature about how to provide adequate environmental safeguards for large-scale hog farms or other animal-feeding operations. Although hogs are not mentioned in the amendment, one issue in the debate over the amendment was whether large, out-of-state companies 
such as Murphy Family Farms of North Carolina should be allowed to own hogs in South Dakota and contract with South Dakota farmers to raise them. The trial is expected to end soon and U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann will decide whether the amendment approved by 59% of South Dakotans is indeed constitutional.
 

ISSUE SPOTLIGHT: ISOLATED WETLANDS

Wetlands prevent flooding, filter our water and protect wildlife. In a closely divided 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January 2001 that the federal government no longer has the jurisdiction to protect 
certain widespread but isolated wetlands. It will now require state action to ensure wetland survival. Without legislative protection, valuable, beautiful wetlands will be drained or filled by developers. The picture 
on the right shows a Wisconsin wetland being destroyed one month after the SWANCC decision. The State Environmental Resource Center's website extensively deals with this issue. Included on the site are the tools 
necessary to introduce and pass state legislation to protect vulnerable wetlands, including a model bill, talking points, a clip pack, a fact pack, research and other background information. For more information, check 
out the isolated wetland section at: http://www.serconline.org/wetlands/index.htm 
 

NEWS FROM THE STATES

WASHINGTON: STATE LOGGING AREA SCORCHED BY WILDFIRES
The 12/3 Spokesman-Review reported that the state Department of Natural Resources is trying to hustle timber to market from areas scorched by last summer's wildfires. Under pressure from local legislators, the agency 
is trying to sell about 30 million board feet of state-owned timber, valued at $4.8 million, from four areas in central and northern Washington. Environmentalists question whether the logging damage and disruption is worth it. Several say it would be wiser in the long run to let the forests naturally recover and re-seed. George Wooten, a botanist for the Kettle Range Conservation Group, argues that the sales are likely to turn little or no profit, after the cost of setting them up. Also, he said the fast-track process is ignoring possible problems with soil erosion and the likelihood of logging scattering half a dozen types of noxious weeds that blanket part of one of the Methow timber sales.

COLORADO:  CONSERVATION PLAN "FIRST OUT OF THE CHUTE"
The 12/3 Denver Post reported that in the development of a new regional species conservation plan, U.S. Forest Service land managers are incorporating the biological reality that plant and animal habitats conform to elevation, climate and other factors, not lines on a map. Instead of managing on a forest-by-forest basis, or focusing on a 
handful of endangered species, the agency will try to plan with an eye toward regional landscapes that encompass a collage of ecosystems and habitat types. "This project takes us beyond the piecemeal, street-fighting approach to conservation planning," says Jim Maxwell, the Lakewood-based forester leading the effort. Maxwell said the agency's Rocky Mountain region is the "first out of the chute" in taking this approach. The Rocky Mountain Region of the Forest Service covers 22 million acres in five states -- Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South 
Dakota and Kansas -- and includes 12 national forests, seven national grasslands and two wild-and-scenic river systems. 
 

OKLAHOMA:  UPSTREAM CAFOS HARMING WATER QUALITY
The 12/2 Oklahoman reported that State Attorney General Drew Edmondson said that the state and Tulsa appear headed to court in an attempt to hold Arkansas and Missouri poultry producers accountable for polluting Lake Eucha, which is where the city of Tulsa draws its drinking water. The more than 1.5 billion chickens raised each year in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma produce more than 3 billion tons of waste, some of which winds up in the watershed. State and Tulsa officials say the waste, a mixture of wood shavings and manure laced with phosphorus, is making its way into the Illinois River watershed and also is contributing to taste and odor problems in the drinking water the city of Tulsa draws from Lake Eucha.
 

SOUTH DAKOTA: FARMERS UNION SUPPORTS INDUSTRIAL HEMP
The 12/5 Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan reported that the South Dakota Farmers Union is supporting a petition drive to legalize industrial hemp production. The group's delegates were unanimous in supporting the 
petition during their convention last weekend in Sioux Falls. Supporters of the petition need 13,010 valid signatures by May 2002 to get the measure on the November election ballot, an effort that will be helped if 
rank-and-file union members sign. The measure would allow the planting, harvesting, possession and sale of industrial hemp in South Dakota if it contained no more than 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).  More than 20 other states are pushing similar measures. State and federal agriculture and law enforcement officials oppose legalization. "We truck Canadian hemp right past barely surviving South Dakota farms," said Bob Newland, 
president of SoDak-NORML. "The absurdity of the situation is glaringly obvious. Hemp would be a great crop -- especially in eastern South Dakota. The delegates saw this."
 

MICHIGAN: STUDY PREDICTS SPRAWL NIGHTMARE
The Michigan Economic and Environmental Roundtable (MEER) and Public Sector Consultants, Inc. on Friday released the final report of the Michigan Land Resource Project -- a study that projects the future of agriculture, 
forestry, tourism, and mining if present land use trends continue.  Using a land transformation model developed by researchers at Michigan State University, they projected the future of Michigan in a mapping format for the year 
2040.  The report predicted that by 2040: "Built" land will increase by 4.1 million acres across the state, more than tripling the existing amount of "built" land 1.9 million acres of farmland will be lost 25 percent of orchard land 
will be lost As the land becomes more fragmented, the price for harvesting Michigan's timber will increase Land available for hunting will dramatically decrease, while "edge" species such as white-tailed deer will continue to 
increase in numbers.
 

KENTUCKY: DEBATE OVER SELLING NITROUS OXIDE ALLOTMENT
The 12/4 Lexington Herald-Leader reported a number of legislators think the state can make millions by auctioning off allowances for nitrous oxide to the highest bidder. Opponents argue that if the state auctioned the 
36,500 allowances allocated to Kentucky by the federal government, it could flood the market and lower the price far below the currently projected $180 million. And whatever money the auction brought in would probably be overshadowed by increased electric bills that could hurt consumers and discourage economic development. The current plan is to give the allowances to the electric utilities that need them under new federal pollution-control guidelines. Existing utilities would get 95 percent, and new plants would get the other 5 percent. Besides legislators who see an auction as a way to ease the state's budget woes, some developers of new merchant plants have advocated selling the allowances. 
 

MASSACHUSETTS: TAKINGS BATTLE OVER HABITAT PROTECTION
The 12/6 Boston Globe reported landowners in Grafton and Upton are pressing on with a takings lawsuit that contends that environmental-concern designations are being used with more vigor as a tool to control growth. In an effort to preserve five rare species, the state designated 8,700 acres near Grafton and Upton, as the state's 26th Area of Critical Environmental Concern, part of a program to protect ecologically sensitive land. In the lawsuit, currently in the appeals process, they argue the designation diminishes the value of their land by imposing broader regulations on development. The clash in this land of thick woods, rolling hills, and dairy farms has become another flashpoint in the war on sprawl, as environmentalists seek to protect undeveloped land and 
landowners raise constitutional objections based on property rights.
 

AGENCY ACTIONS

* The 12/7 Cook County New-Herald reported that "paper mills and lumber mills received some good news" when the Minnesota DNR announced plans to increase timber harvest by 15 percent over the next three years. The DNR will be receiving public comment at open houses throughout the state. For more information about the meetings, write to Gaylord Paulson at [email protected]

* The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking public comment on criteria and guidelines to be used for identifying old growth and biological diversity areas on state-owned lands. The public comment period 
ends Feb. 28, 2002.  For more information on the old growth and biodiversity stewardship planning process, contact Richard Hausler at [email protected].
 

COURT ACTIONS

* The 11/2 Billings Gazette reported that A state judge has upheld Montana's 1998 anti-cyanide mining law as constitutional. The Judge dismissed four claims in the suit against the state filed by Canyon Resources and others who planned a gold mine near Lincoln. He left one constitutional challenge in place, the voter-approved Initiative-137, which prohibits new cyanide heap-leach gold mines in Montana.
 

SPECIES ACTIONS

* The 12/2 Boulder Daily Camera reported that a prairie dog conservation plan approved this month by 11 Western states is meeting mixed reviews from both Colorado environmentalists. The plan -- "An Umbrella, Multi-State Approach for the Conservation and Management of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog" -- seeks to 
expand populations of the species by 55 percent over the next 10 years. Its provisions include increased management attention to the species, with inventories conducted every three years.  Catherine Johnson, regional 
director for the Boulder-based National Wildlife Federation, said Friday that the plan is a good start but still falls short of needed goals.  Johnson said the plan's shortcomings include overly modest population targets, a failure to 
recommend that states enforce regulations and a lack of specific rules to curb prairie dog poisoning. 
 

CONFERENCES / COURSES

January 31-February 2, 2001
Northwest Stream Restoration Design Symposium
Skamania Lodge, Washington
The symposium purpose is to advance the state-of-practice for professionals involved with stream restoration projects. For more information visit http://www.cwest.orst.edu
 

RESOURCES

* The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has posted the first ever publicly available, searchable Internet database of government farm subsidy payment records at:  http://www.ewg.org

* The grant cycle for National Widlife Federation, Keep the Wild Alive's Species Recovery Fund (SRF) 2002 is now open. 10 grants, each between $3000-$7000, will be given out this year for on-the-ground projects 
that directly improve conditions for the endangered species highlighted in the campaign. Deadline for applications is February 15th, 2002. For complete information, including a list of eligible species and grant guidelines please go to http://www.nwf.org/wildalive/SRF/srfhome.html  Contact YinLan Zhang [email protected] (202)797-6892 with any questions concerning the grant.
 

* Nomination forms are currently available from the Environmental Law Institute for the 2002 National Wetlands Awards. The Awards program honors individuals from across the United States. Awardees demonstrate 
extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The five categories for the National Wetlands Awards are: Education/Outreach, Science Research, Volunteer Leadership, Land Stewardship and Development, and Outstanding Wetlands Program Development. The 2002 National Wetlands Awards nomination form is on 
the ELI webpage: http://www.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm

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Do you have news about legislation, agency actions or court decisions in your state that affect wildlife or their habitat? Do you have an interest in expressing your views on a state wildlife issue in our "Activist Spotlight" section?  Please submit items to [email protected]

Defenders of Wildlife 
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