Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

A federal program that kills and removes beaver and other aquatic mammals in New Mexico is under scrutiny by conservationists. WildEarth Guardians filed a 60-daynotice of intent under the Endangered Species Act to sue the USDA Wildlife Services in New Mexico for its failure to consider the impacts of trapping beaver and the effects this has on associated ponds, and threatened and endangered wildlife, including the Mexican gray wolf and native trout species.

“Beaver is such a critical animal for water supplies and other wildlife, particularly with looming climate change and drought,” said Bryan Bird, Wild Places Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “The Department of Agriculture failed to consider sufficiently the impacts of trapping and killing beaver on other imperiled wildlife.”

The United States Department of Agriculture “Wildlife Services” kills an average of 31 beavers each year in New Mexico and over the last decade has killed nearly 230,000 nationwide. And yet beaver are crucial in creating wetlands, maintaining wildlife habitat,controlling flooding and even adapting to climate change. Numerous wildlife relies on the wetlands engineered by beaver including river otter, cutthroat trout,leopard frog and the willow flycatcher.

WildEarth Guardians points out in it’s 60-day notice to sue that the Wildlife Services failed to consult the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on its proposal and therefore violated the ESA. Guardians is concerned about the unintentional impacts on wetlands and threatened and endangered species that utilize beaver habitats or engineered ponds. In particular the Chiricahua leopard frog, New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, Gila cutthroat trout and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Removal of beaver and their dams as well as the vegetation associated with beaver-created wetlands could result in take of these species. WildEarth Guardians is also concerned about the unintentional take of the Mexican grey wolf or lobo with lethal traps set for beaver.

“As climate change causes water supplies in the Southwest to seriously dwindle and runoff to come earlier in the season, beaver are going to be essential in slowing down that runoff, ensuring water supplies over the growing season, and creating the habitat for other more imperiled species such as fish and amphibians,” said Bird.

As a keystone species, beaver can play a significant role in efforts to improve ecological conditions and build resilience and adaptation to climate change in the watersheds that provide our water supply. Beaver populations,with their dams and ponds and the wetlands and the aquatic ecosystems associated with each, can increase water storage of streams that are undergoing dramatic changes in runoff patterns.

WildEarth Guardians 60-day notice

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For more information:
http://www.wildearthguardians.org/site/PageServer?pagename=priorities_wild_places_jemez_mountains_beavers

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/mammals-animals/rodents-and-rabbits/beaver_lifecycle.html

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424053111904253204576512391087253596-lMyQjAxMTAxMDIwOTEyNDkyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email