RAPID CITY, S.D. -- One-third of America's wildlife is vulnerable to extinction, including 104 species in South Dakota. But a new bill in Congress could dramatically improve their survival chances.
The Recovering America's Wildlife Act would dedicate funding to allow state and tribal wildlife managers to step up their conservation efforts. Chris Hesla, executive director with the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, said the bill would provide about $10 million to South Dakota to proactively keep species off the endangered list - which is far less costly than rescuing a species in trouble.
"Things like butterflies, bats, box turtles and blue suckers here in South Dakota, and even the Greater Prairie Chicken, which was a game animal, but right now it's so sparse, it doesn't have habitats to live," Hesla said.
State agencies have identified about 12,000 species across the U.S. that could benefit from this type of funding. If passed, the bill would allocate about $1 billion annually to wildlife conservation efforts.
Western states share authority for managing wildlife with tribal nations, but federal funds now go almost entirely to state fish and wildlife agencies. Shaun Grassel, a biologist with the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, said the legislation would improve conservation efforts on tribal lands.
"Each tribe can develop their own 'species of greatest conservation need' list," Grassel said. "So, what I keep telling folks, it's landmark legislation for tribes. For the states, it's a significant piece of legislation - but for tribes, it's landmark."
Grassel said additional funding would also help the Lower Brule Tribe continue its efforts to save the black-footed ferret. Considered North America's rarest mammal, the ferret was nearly extinct until tribes collaborated with the Forest Service to save the species.
"This is a project that has national significance, where the tribe voluntarily stepped up to be a partner with the federal government to recover ferrets," he said. "But we have no idea where our funding's going to be from one year to the next."
The bill has more than 130 co-sponsors, both Democrats and Republicans, although South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Republican, has not taken a position on it.
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A new report found four dams in the Columbia River Basin are big emitters of methane.
Research from the organization Tell The Dam Truth showed the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington emit the equivalent of 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Robin Everett, deputy western region field director for the Sierra Club, said it undercuts some of the claims the dams are helping provide the region with clean energy.
"It's really clear from this report that we have to take this a lot more seriously that there are some real impacts as far as emissions go from these dams," Everett asserted.
The reports showed the dams produce the equivalent emissions of burning 2 billion pounds of coal annually. Defenders of the dams counted they are important for barging and irrigation for the area's agricultural lands.
But Everett pointed out the dams have another effect on the region: they block the dwindling population of salmon and steelhead from traveling upstream on the Snake River. She noted it not only hurts fish populations but the tribes relying on them.
"We have an obligation for them to be able to fish and if there are no fish to fish, we have broken the treaties," Everett contended
Chinook salmon are also an important source of food for orca on the West Coast. Everett added protecting salmon is important for tribes and the region as a whole.
"Our moral obligation to the salmon and the orca that depend on them are met as well," Everett concluded.
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A proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric facility for Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County has been challenged by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The foundation filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is considering granting a preliminary permit to build a 1.8-mile-long dam for the project.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said they are working to stop the project in order to protect the unique Cuffs Run area and its ecological benefits for future generations.
"If approved, this project would destroy it about 580 acres of prime farmland, fields and forests, some of which have not been disturbed in about 100 years," Campbell pointed out. "Those farms, fields and forests exist harmoniously with and in support of a plethora of plant and animal life."
The foundation is circulating an online petition and encouraged Pennsylvanians to provide comments before Sunday.
The stream is home to naturally reproducing brook trout. Advocates worry the $2.5 billion project would also be harmful to the Susquehanna River. Campbell noted about 40 families would be displaced.
"For those who call Cuffs Run home, it's more than just a place to live. It's their heritage and they want it to be part of their legacy," Campbell asserted. "This project just simply is the wrong idea in the wrong place. In order to honor that heritage and that legacy, we need to preserve this area."
Campbell emphasized the Cuffs Run project is about 993 acres of land draining into a 2.5-mile unnamed tributary. He added in terms of stream habitat, the rocks, pebbles and woody material have been identified as among the best in the region for supporting critters living in the water.
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Tennesseans want more say in how the Tennessee Valley Authority plans for their future electricity needs and a bill now in Congress could give the public more influence.
The "TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act," would require a more open decision-making process for the utility.
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the TVA is currently developing its new Integrated Resource Plan to meet future energy demands. The bill would require more public participation in the plan's proceedings.
"Right now the stakeholders who get to provide input early on in the IRP process are all hand-selected by TVA," Knisley pointed out. "You can't choose to be in that IRP working group. And those are the only folks who get substantial input in the architecture of the IRP, as it's being designed."
The utility serves more than 10 million people across six states. The TVA said it is reviewing the legislation. A draft of the plan will be published at a later date. The TVA said it already has a "robust stakeholder engagement plan."
After the plan is released, Knisley noted public input happens during what's known as the scoping phase of the National Environmental Policy Act. Open houses are set up, where the TVA answers questions from the public. Knisley encouraged Tennesseans to raise any of their concerns during the public and virtual hearings.
"I think additional public input into our region's long-term energy plan is only going to strengthen outcomes," Knisley contended. "And make that long-term energy plan better meet the needs of the Tennessee Valley, as a whole."
She added it is important for Tennesseans to work with Congress on the best way to improve public input in the TVA decision-making process.
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