Free Republic

It’s no coincidence that sage grouse habitat also happens to intersect both the largest untapped coal deposits in the country as well as large parts of the Bakken oil field. It’s clear the primary motivation to focus on sage grouse for ESA listing is to provide yet another tool for special interest groups to block energy development. And in this obstructionist toolbox, there’s no heavier sledgehammer than the Endangered Species Act. What an interesting irony, then, that so much effort is going into “protecting” one bird from energy development, when the Obama administration is turning a blind eye to hundreds...

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon hasn't made the case for exemptions from three environmental laws or provided examples of how military operations have been impeded by them, a congressional report said Friday. The Government Accountability Office report came after the Navy lost in court over training exercises it was conducting under an exemption to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Environmentalists contended that the Navy's use of sonar could harm whales off the Southern California coast, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled March 2 that the Navy had to limit the sonar use. In a written response included in...

Bird Flu Could Reach Americas in 6 Months By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 27 minutes ago The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu could reach the Americas in six to 12 months or even sooner as infected wild birds migrate toward the Arctic and Alaska, the U.N. bird flu chief said. Migratory patterns will probably take birds carrying the virus from West Africa to the Arctic and Alaska this spring, Dr. David Nabarro said Wednesday. Some infected birds will then likely move south in the fall on a migratory route to the Americas. "I think it's...

Key Democrats, joined by a number of conservation groups, pledged on Tuesday to stop what they call the Defense Department’s stealth attack on the environment. The 2003 Defense authorization bill, H.R. 4546, contains language that would grant the department broad exemptions from the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The legislation, which the House Armed Services Committee approved 57 to 1, is expected to go to the House floor Thursday. With increased responsibilities for homeland security, Defense has pushed for freedom to expand training operations into areas inhabited by endangered species. The language would...

A federal judge's ruling that live-fire military training at Farallon de Medinella a tiny speck of coral and scrub near Saipan in the Pacific Ocean violates the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act potentially could halt future bombing or shelling there. This development potentially has serious implications not just for U.S. Pacific Fleet gunners and aviators who use the island to hone their combat skills, but for any other military-training site that hosts migratory birds. Finding on behalf of the plaintiffs the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, representing the Center for Biological Diversity ? U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled...