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- Oct 7, 1999
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Article on the Center for Biological Diversity we page should make you feel better (or just ask a greenie friend -- if you have any):
NORTON REFUSES TO ENACT DESERT PROTECTION AGREEMENT CONTEMPT OF COURT CHARGES FILED
On 3-29-01, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed contempt of court charges against the Bureau of Land Management. Prior to Gale Norton being appointed Secretary of Interior, the agency had agreed to a set of sweeping court approved actions to protect the BLM’s 11.4 million acre share of the California Desert Conservation Area. But under pressure from Norton, the agency is now reneging.
Cattle and sheep have had a tremendous impact on the endangered Desert Tortoise by mowing down spring annual plants essential to its health and reproduction. The hoofed livestock also trample burrows, killing tortoises inside or wrecking their homes. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan calls for end to livestock within tortoise critical habitat areas. The legally binding settlement required the removal of livestock from over 504,000 acres by March 1st, but agency has refused.
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NORTON REFUSES TO ENACT DESERT PROTECTION AGREEMENT CONTEMPT OF COURT CHARGES FILED
On 3-29-01, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed contempt of court charges against the Bureau of Land Management. Prior to Gale Norton being appointed Secretary of Interior, the agency had agreed to a set of sweeping court approved actions to protect the BLM’s 11.4 million acre share of the California Desert Conservation Area. But under pressure from Norton, the agency is now reneging.
Cattle and sheep have had a tremendous impact on the endangered Desert Tortoise by mowing down spring annual plants essential to its health and reproduction. The hoofed livestock also trample burrows, killing tortoises inside or wrecking their homes. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan calls for end to livestock within tortoise critical habitat areas. The legally binding settlement required the removal of livestock from over 504,000 acres by March 1st, but agency has refused.
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