The nation will now be safe
— from endangered species such as red-legged frogs,
southwestern willow flycatchers and manatees. Congress has exempted
the military from the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (HCN, 3/31/03: While the nation goes to war, the
Pentagon lobs bombs at environmental laws). Although miffed that
environmental rollbacks are cloaked in “patriotic
slogans,” John Kostyack with the National Wildlife Federation
is trying to look on the bright side: Congress did not approve
military exemptions from the Clean Air Act, Superfund or the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Mining for copper and silver in the wilderness
“will provide some beneficial effects” for grizzly
bears in Montana (HCN, 2/18/02: Battle brews over a wilderness
mother lode). So says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in its new
biological opinion, which gives the Sterling Mining Company a green
light to begin a 35-year mining project beneath the Cabinet
Mountains Wilderness Area. As part of the deal, the company will
give 2,400 acres of privately owned grizzly habitat to the Forest
Service.
Traditional reclamation bonds
may soon be a thing of the past: The state of New Mexico
is planning to allow Phelps Dodge to post a “corporate
pledge” in lieu of a bond for three open-pit copper mines in
southern New Mexico (HCN, 5/12/03: Phelps tries to dodge bond). The
state hasn’t worked out all the details yet, but
environmental groups say that if the company takes a nosedive, New
Mexico will be stuck with more than $300 million in cleanup costs.
Environmentalists aren’t to
blame for forest fires, after all: The U.S. General
Accounting Office released a study in mid-May that shows 76 percent
of the Forest Service’s “fuels reduction”
projects went ahead without any appeals or litigation. (HCN,
5/26/03: Congress jousts over forest health). Projects that were
challenged by environmental groups usually proceeded within 90
days, and those that didn’t were more often delayed by
inadequate staffing — not lawsuits or appeals.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Latest Bounce.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
