Tucson, AZ - 27 members of Congress, including three from Arizona, are urging the nation's Department of Homeland Security to reverse some of its policies created in the Secure Fence Act, which are now being implemented as the Department constructs a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico. The lawmakers have written a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking her agency to comply with all laws - environmental, state, local and tribal - in any further border fence construction. Congress voted in 2005 to allow many laws to be circumvented in order to speed the process.

But, United Methodist minister John Fanestil says the result has been damage to the environment and landowner rights.

"These landowners have had access to their lands restricted for grazing, for recreation, for simply the enjoyment of the land, which has been a part of their culture and their heritage. All those things have been plowed under in the rush to build the border wall."

Rev. Fanestil is concerned Secretary Napolitano and President Obama believe it’s necessary to make a show of force at the border in order to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

"Unfortunately, the border wall doesn’t accomplish the stated objective. It’s a demonstration project, a symbol of force more than it is a practical solution to the problems of immigration."

Under previous secretary Michael Chertoff, Fanestil adds, Homeland Security ran roughshod over local land-use plans.

Because environmental impacts weren't reviewed, Matt Clark of Defenders of Wildlife, says the wall is harming the health of animals like deer, javelina and endangered jaguars by blocking their movement.

"Wildlife need to be able to access food and water sources, and to find mates and establish new territories."

The wall has also caused damage to public lands, says Clark, such as the severe erosion that occurred last summer during a monsoon storm at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

"The border fence basically created a dam effect, caused scouring, damaging vegetation and resulting in flooding. It actually increased flooding down into the port of entry there."

One of the letter's signers is U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz, who has also introduced legislation, the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009, to address the issues. Among the proposed changes, the new Act would compel Homeland Security to obey environmental laws and to consult with state, local and tribal governments when considering border security programs.

Other Arizona lawmakers signing the letter to Napolitano are Representatives Giffords and Pastor.





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Today is Earth Day, and one initiative in southern Arizona is helping build public gardens providing beneficial habitat for pollinators, from Monarch butterflies to bees and bats.

Emily Bishton, founder and coordinator of the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project, said the human population depends on these animals and insects, as many of our foods and plant-based products require pollination. But human activity and climate change have put pollinators in jeopardy and Bishton wants to increase awareness of how crucial they are.

"The best chance you have for attracting and nurturing pollinators is with the species that they've co-evolved with," Bishton explained. "They will instinctively know that is food for them, or a place they can lay their eggs. They also are more likely to be able to put up with the way our climate is now and the way it is changing."

Bishton pointed out one focus of the project is to get Arizonans to plant more native species like milkweed, which is especially critical for Monarch butterflies. She would also like people to reconsider the use of pesticides since they do kill pests but also other beneficial insects. She suggested contacting a local county extension service or master-gardener program for alternative methods.

Madian Romero, technical assistant supervisor for the Caviglia-Arivaca Library, has been responsible for getting teenagers in the area to participate in the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project. They not only help build garden spaces around town but grow their knowledge behind the importance of pollinators, as well as community building.

"The teens, they've come up with ideas on how to fundraise for the projects," Romero emphasized. "Each business that agrees to have a garden, it can be free."

Romero added the project has also been a character-building exercise for the young people of Arivaca, and hopes it is an experience they will cherish.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are looking for volunteers to help create a new Bumble Bee Atlas.

Bees are an important part of the ecosystem, and scientists are figuring out their habitats to help them thrive.

Iowa is home to at least 14 species of bumble bees that help pollinate native wildflowers and flowering crops in farm fields and backyard gardens.

Iowa State University University Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and plant pathologist Matt O'Neal said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently listed several bee species as endangered.

"And that includes the Rusty Patch bumble bee," said O'Neal, "20% of what it used to be, and that includes parts of Iowa. There is also evidence that other bumble species are in decline and so, this survey will give us a chance to see where those bees are and how abundant they are."

With that information, O'Neal said scientists can work to protect the bees' habitats and create Iowa's Bumble Bee Atlas.

It's part of a larger project to map the bees and foster bee development nationwide. Sign up online to volunteer.

The national project is part of a collaboration with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Some 900 people have volunteered for the national atlas project, and counted more than 20,000 bumble bees - which O'Neal said face several major threats.

"Pesticide exposure, parasite and pathogens," said O'Neal, "and then the last 'P,' and probably the most important, is poor forage."

The researchers will work to alleviate those threats by knowing where the bees are.

Volunteers have discovered species thought to be gone from their states, contributed to new field guides, and improved scientists' understanding of bumble bee populations across the country.




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A coalition of conservation groups has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to relist wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Helena-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies is part of the suit. The Alliance sued to successfully overturn the wolf's delisting in 2012 but the move fell victim to congressional funding bill negotiations.

Mike Garrity, executive director of the alliance, said the wolves clearly qualify to be protected under the Act and hunting is driving down their numbers, which could cause problems for the animals.

"As their numbers decline, they are at greater risk for inbreeding," Garrity pointed out. "Once inbreeding sets in, the population is sunk."

Livestock and cattle owners argued wolves are a threat to their flocks and herds and want their numbers reduced. The suit was filed in federal District Court in Missoula.

Beyond keeping a robust population of wolves on Montana's lands and helping their species thrive, Garrity noted wolves can also help reduce the population of diseased animals.

"We're starting to have disease in deer, such as Chronic Wasting Disease," Garrity explained. "Predators like wolves are really good at focusing on the sick animals, so that's an excellent way to control Chronic Wasting Disease."

Garrity added wolf management policies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, all of which allow aggressive hunting of the animals, fail to protect wolves and all native species for future generations, the primary mandate of the Endangered Species Act.