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The I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News

Category: Politics & Elections

  • Developments from Cory Gardner US Senator for Colorado

    Developments from Cory Gardner US Senator for Colorado

    The Connected Government Act Heading to the President’s Desk

    WASHINGTON –The bipartisan Connected Government Act, which was introduced by Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), passed the Senate and is heading to President Trump’s desk for signature. The bipartisan measure will expand access to government services and information by requiring all new federal websites to be mobile-friendly. The Connected Government Act will support low-income Americans who rely on mobile broadband at higher rates, as well as the 80 percent of Americans who experience disabilities who use wireless technology every day.

    I am thrilled that this common-sense piece of bipartisan legislation has passed the Senate and is on its way to the President’s desk. As more and more Americans rely on their mobile devices to access information and websites, it’s important the federal government has websites designed for mobile platforms. The Connected Government Act will promote transparency and bring the government into the 21st century. — Senator Gardner

    “As mobile devices continue to surpass desktop use for accessing the internet, it is important that the federal government is up to speed with the latest technology that allows our people and economy to thrive,” Senator Hassan said. “I am pleased that the bipartisan Connected Government Act passed the Senate, and I urge President Trump to sign the bill into law as quickly as possible so that Granite Staters and Americans who use mobile technology, including low-income individuals and Americans who experience disabilities, can access government services, resources, and information to help them succeed.”

    The Connected Government Act requires all new government websites intended to be used by the public to be mobile-friendly. The bill also requires the General Services Administration to submit a report to Congress on agency compliance with this law within 18 months of enactment.  Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced the companion to this bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 15, 2017.

    See Bill text here.

     

    Gardner Supports Potential CHIP Funding Extension

    Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) released the below statement regarding discussions to allow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide sufficient funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to March 31st in the Continuing Resolution (CR) that Congress will consider as soon as today. Cancellation notices for Colorado are expected to go out on December 26th if Congress does not act this week to extend funding.

    I will do everything I can to ensure that the 90,000 Colorado children and pregnant mothers that utilize CHIP do not go a day without this funding. While the five year extension of CHIP funding that Senator Bennet and I continue to push in the Senate is by far the best path forward for Coloradans, absent movement on that legislation today we need to make sure funding is extended past Colorado’s deadline of January 31st. I support the inclusion of language in the must-pass CR that allows CHIP funding to continue while a long-term bipartisan agreement is worked out. — Gardner said

    Senator Gardner is one of six Republicans to sponsor The Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act, legislation to extend CHIP funding through Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.

     

    Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Assoc. Seeks to Fix Foreign Worker Program

    The Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) met last week with the staff of Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and with Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., to appeal for quick legislative action to fix the current foreign worker program before the 2018 growing season. The appeal comes as Colorado fruit and vegetable growers contemplate if they can continue to grow produce given the extreme labor shortage of qualified and willing farm laborers.

    Federal legislation to replace the current H2A foreign agricultural worker program, dubbed H2C, was introduced this past fall.

    “Even though the current program has its shortfalls, causing Colorado growers to be less competitive in the world market, the proposed H2C program would be even worse,” said CFVGA President Robert Sakata, Sakata Farms, Brighton, Colo.

    “Let’s not be under the illusion that foreign, temporary produce workers are taking American jobs,” Bruce Talbott, Talbott Mountain Gold, Palisade, Colo., told both senators. “In all the time we’ve used the H2A program, we’ve had two of 200 foreign workers not complete a contract. During that same time, we’ve had only two Americans complete contracts, and that is only because we have moved them into equipment operation jobs. Our foreign workers return year after year and are glad to have the work and what we pay them. Americans just do not want this intensive work for a time limited harvest season.”

    Talbott and other growers told the senators the H2A requirements for recruiting American workers are burdensome and costly with virtually no return on their efforts and that the requirements also create untimely delays getting workers.

    Ryan Fagerberg, Fagerberg Produce, Eaton, Colo., said 2017 was the first year his family’s operation used H2A. “We were happy with the results and the assurance we would have the labor we needed, but it did increase our labor costs 30-40 percent, due to the additional fees, travel costs for workers and housing requirements.”

    Gardner told the growers he believes there is a better chance of enacting a good guest worker program once legislation to secure the border is put in place. He believes this action needs to be taken prior to expiration of the DACA program, which enables children brought to the United States illegally by their parents to remain and seek citizenship.

    “I don’t know how much longer we will be able to continue raising fruits and vegetables, given all the regulatory requirements, and even more so this labor shortage,” said David Asbury, Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch, Longmont, Colo. “The H2A program requires us to provide housing for our workers, but renting houses for such a short period is difficult, and here in Boulder County, the average cost of a home is $400,000, with prices in Boulder itself close to $1 million. That isn’t sustainable.”

    CFVGA produce growers attending these meetings, told both senators that an effective guest worker program must:

    • Not have a worker cap limiting the number of seasonal agricultural workers
    • Change the requirements to recruit American laborers that more closely fit local availability
    • Not require e-Verify, a system that has slowed hiring and flagged legal workers inaccurately until a workable seasonal guest worker is up and running and the E-verify system is accurate and reliable
    • Change housing requirements to allow employers to provide housing vouchers in lieu of providing housing and making housing requirements compatible with local community availability
    • Calculate the wage rate for guest workers on a more realistic basis, rather than the current adverse wage rate, taking into consideration the financial benefits of housing and transportation that are provided
    • Move program to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which understands agricultural operations, especially the time-sensitivity of agricultural labor
    • Allow area farmers to share guest workers to meet ever changing operational needs
    • Provide flexibility to meet the needs of shorter growing and harvest seasons of produce growers in states with seasonal production

     

     

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  • EPA sets Gold King Mine spill of Bonita Peak Mining District of Colorado — Priority CleanUp

    EPA sets Gold King Mine spill of Bonita Peak Mining District of Colorado — Priority CleanUp

    Gardner Applauds EPA Decision to Elevate Bonita Peak Mining District as a Priority Superfund Site

    Designation Includes Gold King Mine Area

    Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) released the below statement applauding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to list the Bonita Peak mining district as a top priority superfund cleanup site.

    Secretary Pruitt assured me when I met with him before his confirmation and when we visited the site in August that the EPA would make the right decision for the people of Southwest Colorado, and I appreciate his agency following through on their promise. The Gold King mine spill has had a significant impact on our state and there will continue to be a lot of work done by our elected officials and community. This latest commitment to the Bonita Peak Mining District along with continued attention to Pueblo cleanup actions are important steps in the progress that needs to be made by the EPA at both locations. — Gardner said

    Gardner, along with his colleagues in the Colorado Congressional delegation, has been working since the Gold King Mine spill occurred in 2015 to make sure Southwest Colorado has the necessary resources to clean up abandoned mines and prevent a similar catastrophe from happening in the future. Before voting to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, Gardner secured a commitment from Pruitt to work together to address the continued fallout from the Gold King Mine spill. In March, Gardner invited EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to visit Southwest Colorado to hear from Coloradans regarding the Gold King Mine spill.

    According to the EPA, the Bonita Peak Mining District (BPMD) became a Superfund site on Sept. 9, 2016, when it was added to the National Priorities List. The site consists of historic and ongoing releases from mining operations in three drainages:  Mineral Creek, Cement Creek and Upper Animas, which converge into the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. The site includes 35 mines, seven tunnels, four tailings impoundments and two study areas where additional information is needed to evaluate environmental concerns.

    On Aug. 4, 2017, EPA chief Scott Pruitt, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper toured the Gold King Mine near Silverton  – Check out footage from the tour now, courtesy of The Denver Post.

    Video credit: The Denver Post August 4, 2017

    What happened exactly?

    The 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill was an environmental disaster that began at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, when EPA personnel, along with workers for Environmental Restoration LLC (a Missouri company under EPA contract to mitigate pollutants from the closed mine), caused the release of toxic waste water into the Animas River watershed. They caused the accident while attempting to drain ponded water near the entrance of the mine on August 5. After the spill, the Silverton Board of Trustees and the San Juan County Commission approved a joint resolution seeking Superfund money.

    Contractors accidentally destroyed the plug holding water trapped inside the mine, which caused an overflow of the pond, spilling three million US gallons (11 ML) of mine waste water and tailings, including heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, and other toxic elements, such as arsenic, beryllium, zinc, iron and copper into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River in Colorado. The EPA was criticized for not warning Colorado and New Mexico about the operation until the day after the waste water spilled, despite the fact the EPA employee “in charge of Gold King Mine knew of blowout risk.”

    The EPA has taken responsibility for the incident, but originally refused to pay for any damages claims filed after the accident on grounds of sovereign immunity, pending special authorization from Congress or re-filing of lawsuits in federal court. Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper declared the affected area a disaster zone. The spill affects waterways of municipalities in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as the Navajo Nation. As of August 11, 2015, acidic water continued to spill at a rate of 500–700 US gal/min (1.9–2.6 m3/min) while remediation efforts were underway. — Wikipedia

     

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  • New Study: Forest Regeneration Declines by 33% Post-Fire in wake of Climate Change

    New Study: Forest Regeneration Declines by 33% Post-Fire in wake of Climate Change

    The forests you see today are not what you will see in the future.

    — This sobering statement is no longer a matter of question-ability, it is now a matter of fact. That’s the overarching finding from a new study on the resilience of Rocky Mountain forests, led by Colorado State University.

    Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,500 sites in five states — Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho, and Montana — and measured more than 63,000 seedlings after 52 wildfires that burned over the past three decades. They wanted to understand if and how changing climate over the last several decades affected post-fire tree regeneration, a key indicator of forest resilience.

    They found sobering results, including significant decreases in tree regeneration following wildfires in the early 21st century, a period markedly hotter and drier than the late 20th century. The research team said that with a warming climate, forests are less resilient after wildfires.

    We often talk about climate change and how it will affect us in the future, but the truth is we are already seeing those changes. Disturbances like wildfires are a catalyst for change. In many places, forests are not coming back after fires. What we’ve found is dramatic, even in the relatively short 23-year study period. — Camille Stevens-Rumann, assistant professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at CSU

    In one-third of the areas studied, researchers found no seedlings growing.

    The hardest-hit sites were the warmest and driest, and those where fires burned so severely that few trees survived to provide seed. One of the big surprises for the team was seeing the data for the average annual water deficit at study sites. Historically, forests change over time. But the research team said their findings suggest that it will take much longer after a wildfire for sites to return to forests, if they return at all.

    Even if we plant trees in those areas, it’s unlikely to be successful. We need to start expecting that these landscapes aren’t going to look the same in the future, whether it’s reduced density of trees or no longer a forest. In my lifetime, you can see these sites becoming substantially hotter and drier. Many forest managers want post-fire years to be cooler and wetter, to help with regeneration, and that’s just not happening anymore, or happening very infrequently. —  Stevens-Rumann

    What can be done to combat or lessen these effects?

    Stevens-Rumann said that ‘while trees similar to the ones that burned have typically been planted on a fire-ravaged site, that may no longer be the smartest approach. She’s been meeting with land managers and foresters to discuss what might be better. Managers may want to plant species that are adapted to the current and future climate, not the climate of the past. There also are areas that could support certain tree species but there isn’t any regeneration currently; these are the ideal places to plant after a fire.’

    The problem could also be addressed when a fire happens.

    Another strategy is to foster fires burning under less extreme conditions, so that more trees survive to provide seed for future forests. When fires are patchy, more areas are within reach of a surviving tree. — Penny Morgan, professor in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho and co-author of the study

    The research team includes scientists from University of Idaho, The Nature Conservancy, University of Montana, University of Washington, University of Colorado – Boulder, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

     

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  • Veterans Day Follow Up — Local WWII Hero: “Senator Gardner made a promise and kept it”

    Veterans Day Follow Up — Local WWII Hero: “Senator Gardner made a promise and kept it”

    Gardner Helps Secure Posthumous Bronze Star Medal for Pearl Harbor Hero

    Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) today spoke on the Senate floor to honor the U.S. Navy’s decision to award the Bronze Star Medal posthumously to Joseph George for saving six sailors stationed on the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack.

    On Veterans Day, Gardner visited with one of the sailors George saved, World War II veteran Donald Stratton, at his home in Colorado Springs where the two discussed Stratton’s “continuing effort to have the sailor who saved his life awarded a posthumous medal.” Mr. Stratton had been trying to get Joseph George honored for 16 years, and recently began to work with Senator Gardner to make it happen after all these years. Check out the original story here.

    Joe George is an American hero and deserves this long-awaited honor. Colorado Springs resident, Donald Stratton, has been fighting the bureaucracy for 16 years, and was finally able to make sure Joe George was honored for saving his life, and five other lives, that fateful day. I met with Donald Stratton twice over the past few months and am honored I was able to work with him to honor Joe George. Veterans like Joe George and Donald Stratton are the best this country has to offer and I thank God every day for Americans like them. —   Gardner

    “I thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I spoke what we wanted and Senator Gardner took it right to his heart. Senator Gardner made a promise and kept it. I just appreciate what he’s done. I knew when I met him that something was going to get done.” — said Donald Stratton
     
    “Without Senator Gardner, we would have never got this done. He took the bull by the horns and got in touch with the right people to get this medal finished. We have been working for 16 years and with the phone calls he made, Senator Gardner got it done just like he promised. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making this dream, this effort come true. — said Randy Stratton, Donald Stratton’s son

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  • Bipartisan Public Lands Management Bill Introduced

    Bipartisan Public Lands Management Bill Introduced

    Legislation Would Reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act

    Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) this week introduced a bill to reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). Before it expired in 2011, FLTFA allowed the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service in the Western United States to use the proceeds from sales of certain federally designated areas to protect lands of exceptional conservation value.

    In Colorado, conservation is not only part of our heritage, but also vital to our outdoor recreation economy.We’ll work to advance this legislation that boosts economic development, improves land management, and conserves high priority land for future generations. — Bennet said

    For more than a decade until it expired in 2011, FLTFA allowed the preservation of important sites across the Western United States without the use of taxpayer money. The program also assisted in better land management practices by disposing of isolated or difficult-to-manage parcels identified by the public land management agencies themselves.

    This fiscally responsible, bipartisan bill will prioritize conservation across Colorado and the West at no cost to the taxpayers. I’m proud to work with Senator Bennet and others from both sides off the aisle on this legislation to ensure future generations of Coloradans can enjoy our great state’s natural treasures. — Gardner said

    In Colorado, FLTFA resources have been used to complement projects funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). The “land for land” concept has helped federal agencies acquire approximately 4,500 acres of land within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to preserve cultural artifacts. It has also helped conserve important wildlife habitat and preserve public access for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation.

    Additional cosponsors of FLTFA include U.S. Senators Dean Heller (R-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Udall (D-NM), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Steve Daines (R-MT).

    The legislation is supported by more than 165 groups, including many sportsmen, recreation, conservation, and historic preservation groups, such as The Conservation Fund, The Trust for Public Land, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and Nevada Land Trust. A list of groups is available HERE.

    A copy of the bill is available HERE. 
     

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  • Tancredo’s 3rd try for Colorado Governor 2018 — Tour

    Tancredo’s 3rd try for Colorado Governor 2018 — Tour

    Meet & Greet the Republican Candidate

    When: Monday, December 11th, 2017, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

    Where: American Legion Post 180, 595 E. Railroad Ave., Keenesburg, CO 80643

    Free to attend — coffee and cookies available

     

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  • Gardner Statement on Budget Committee Passage of Tax Relief Package

    Gardner Statement on Budget Committee Passage of Tax Relief Package

    Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (Republican-CO), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following the Budget Committee voting to send the Tax Cut and Jobs Act to the Senate floor:

    Today marked an important step forward to bring Coloradans and the American people tax relief. This legislation will increase wages, grow the economy, create jobs, and benefit hardworking Coloradans. I look forward to the bill being debated on the Senate floor through an open amendment process, and I’m hopeful my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will work together to bring much needed tax relief to the American people. — Gardner

    Gardner released a statement when the original legislation was introduced at the beginning of the month.

    Background on Senate Tax Relief Legislation

    The Council for Economic Advisors (CEA) estimates that simply lowering the corporate income tax rate to 20% will result in the median wage for the average Colorado Household increasing by $4,385. The academic literature cited by the CEA suggests the wage gains could even be up to $9,000 or more.

    • Lowers the individuate tax rates for low-and middle-income Americans by expanding the zero tax bracket and maintaining the 10 percent bracket
    • Doubles the standard deduction to protect even more income from being considered taxable income
    • A family of four earning the median family income ($73,000) would see a tax cut of nearly $2,200
    • A single parent with one child and an income of $41,000 will see a tax cut of more than $1,400
    • Expands the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000, lowers the threshold income required for the refundable portion of the credit, and indexes the refundable portion for inflation

    JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Check out the new tax brackets here>>> The New Tax Plan — OR — BUST 

      

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  • Gardner Introduces Legislation to Fix Veterans Affairs

    Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced that he has introduced the Veterans Improved Access and Care Act of 2017, legislation designed to increase access to care for our nation’s veterans and reform the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hiring process to make it easier to fill staffing shortages at the agency.

    This legislation follows an explosive Inspector General report Gardner demanded that revealed secret wait lists at a number of Colorado VA facilities.

    According to a Denver Post report, the average wait time to see a primary physician at a VA facility nationwide is 4.8 days, but the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System (ECHCS) has an average wait time of eleven days, Grand Junction’s average wait time is 18 days, and 13.5% of all appointments at the ECHCS had longer than a 30-day wait. Under current law, the CHOICE Act, a veteran can see a medical professional outside the VA system if they have to wait longer than 30 days for an appointment or live more than 40 miles away from a VA facility. — Credit: Denver Post

    The Veterans Improved Access and Care Act expands on the success of the CHOICE Act by eliminating the 30 day, 40 mile eligibility rule, giving veterans full access to private and local medical care regardless of their situation or location.

    Many VA hospitals continue to experience long wait times and staffing shortages as a result of a lengthy hiring process, and a primary driver of the protracted hiring process is the onboarding process for licensed medical providers. According to a McKinsey and Company Assessment from September 2015, the VA hiring timeline spans 4-8 months while a typical private sector organization hires staff between 0.5 and 2 months. Furthermore, “candidates for many roles are often unwilling to wait roughly six months to be on boarded, especially when positions with other hospitals are readily available.”

    Our veterans, who have given so much to our country, should have access to the best possible care in a timely manner. Colorado veterans have been put on secret wait lists and denied access to care they have earned. This is unacceptable and it must change. My legislation will expand the CHOICE program and allow veterans to see the doctor they choose and not be hamstrung by the VA bureaucracy. It’s time we put partisan politics aside and deliver on our promise to our veterans. In order to reduce wait times and provide timely care to our veterans, we must address the root of the problem at many VA facilities in Colorado and across the country: staffing shortages. When it comes to the VA hiring medical professionals we cannot let government bureaucracy and red tape stand in the way. The VA Secretary needs to take meaningful action to reform the hiring process and make sure facilities are able to hire the medical professionals needed to serve our veterans. — Gardner

    Gardner’s legislation aims to address this problem by authorizing the VA to establish a pilot program to expedite the hiring of licensed medical professionals in locations where there are shortages of available specialists. The bill also requires the VA Secretary to submit a report detailing a strategy on how to reduce the length of the VA’s hiring process by half for licensed medical professionals. Gardner’s legislation will also turn into law the requirement for the VA to report all major disciplinary action taken against medical providers to be reported to a national database that was originally established by Congress.

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  • Trump Administration Finalizes Flawed Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan 

    Trump Administration Finalizes Flawed Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan 

    ‘Plan Ignores Science, Sharply Limits Recovery’

    SILVER CITY, N.M.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a deeply flawed recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf today that will prevent the species from thriving in its historic homelands.

    Responding to objections from state officials, the plan limits recovery efforts to south of Interstate 40, cutting wolves off from key habitat in and around Grand Canyon National Park and the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. The plan also sets population targets of just 320 wolves in the United States and 200 in Mexico to remove protections — well below what federal scientists have determined are needed for Mexican gray wolves to be considered stable. And the isolation of the two populations would fail to address inbreeding that reduces the wolves’ viability.

    “This isn’t a recovery plan, it’s a blueprint for disaster for Mexican gray wolves,” said Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “By limiting their habitat and stripping protections too soon, this plan ignores the science and ensures Mexican wolves never reach sufficient numbers to be secure.” 

    In 2011 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service appointed scientists to a recovery team that drafted a recovery plan. That plan called for three interconnected populations with a total of 750 animals. It identified the Grand Canyon and northern New Mexico as the best places for establishing two more populations. Largely because officials from Utah and Colorado did not want wolves close to their borders, the Fish and Wildlife Service never finalized the plan and has let the recovery team languish. The Service’s plan released today was written with little to no input from scientists on the recovery team.   

    “Once again, politics trump science,” said Bryan Bird, Defenders of Wildlife’s Southwest program director. “The final recovery plan fails the Mexican gray wolf with inbreeding, dangerously low populations, insufficient range and intense trapping and shooting. Mexican gray wolves are not receiving the science-based plan they desperately needed to survive.”

    “Americans want a strong, science-based recovery plan,” said Hailey Hawkins of the Endangered Species Coalition. “Of the 100,000 comments submitted to US Fish and Wildlife Service on the Draft Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, more than 99 percent of them were in support of wolf recovery. This recovery plan should address the concerns of the public – dangerously low recovery numbers, habitat fragmentation, poaching, declining genetic diversity and a potentially disastrous border wall – not ignore them.” 

    “The plan also precludes recovery of wolves in regions that independent scientists and the Fish and Wildlife Service’s own Mexican Wolf Recovery Team’s scientific subgroup say are essential to the wolves’ long-term survival,” said Kim Crumbo, western conservation director for Wildlands Network. “Recovery zones in the Grand Canyon and southern Rocky Mountains in northern Arizona and New Mexico, along with southern Utah and Colorado, are essential for lobo survival.”

    “Beyond shortchanging the wolves, the plan’s limited geographic scope also prevents people throughout much of the region from enjoying the esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational and scientific benefits that would accompany meaningful recovery,” said Emily Renn of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “These are the values that the Endangered Species Act is intended to protect.”

    “Western public lands need the balance that wolves can bring,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “We know what wolves need to survive and thrive, but this plan falls far short of ensuring that outcome.”

    “The plan reads like something that wolves’ most virulent opponents would have written in their wildest dreams,” said Christopher Smith, Southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Clearly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is catering to a very narrow set of interests that want to see this amazing species banished from their native Southwestern home.”

    “The Service is granting the very state agencies that have gone to extraordinary lengths to obstruct recovery, too much authority over the time, location, and circumstances of wolf releases by requiring that releases comply with state permits,” said Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center.  “Too many opportunities, and quite frankly genetically irreplaceable wolves, have already been wasted under the states’ mismanagement — critically endangered lobos deserve better.”

    “It is disappointing that the agency charged with recovery of these critically endangered animals — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — has abandoned science and its mission to appease the narrow interests of the state game agencies,” said Sandy Bahr, chapter director of Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “We must expect, we must demand better for wolves and all of our wildlife.”

    “The northern boundary to the Mexican wolf recovery area, arbitrarily held at I-40 in this plan, literally cements in place yet another politically driven obstacle to our lobos’ survival in the Southwest, which depends on their ability to move freely for genetic health and climate resilience,” said Kelly Burke, executive director of Grand Canyon Wildlands.

    “The Fish and Wildlife Service published over 250 pages of supporting ‘scientific’ justification, used a sophisticated model to predict extinction probabilities, then tossed the science aside and asked the states how many wolves they would tolerate with no scientific justification whatsoever,” said David Parsons, former Mexican wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “Using the states’ arbitrary upper limit as a population cap in the population viability model and forcing additional recovery needs to Mexico, the plan will guarantee that from now to eternity no more than a running average of 325 Mexican wolves will ever be allowed to exist in the entire U.S. Southwest. This plan is a disgraceful sham.” 

    Background

    At last count 113 Mexican gray wolves live in Arizona and New Mexico and approximately 30 to 35 wolves live in Mexico. A new census of the wolves in the southwestern United States will begin next month. 

    The wolves’ U.S. population is genetically impoverished, with wolves as related to each other, on average, as are siblings in a normal population. That’s due to the small founding population of just seven wolves that were captured and bred in captivity after passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and mismanagement after reintroduction on behalf of the livestock industry. That included government trapping and shooting of genetically rare wolves and infrequent releases of less closely-related wolves from captivity into the wild.

    The new recovery plan uses faulty information and otherwise misconstrues data to suggest that just 320 wolves in an isolated population could represent a genetic rebound and official recovery from this dangerous and deteriorating situation.

  • Lawmakers Protecting Endangered Fish of Colorado River

    Lawmakers Protecting Endangered Fish of Colorado River

    Gardner, Hatch, Bennet, Heinrich, and Udall

    Protecting Threatened Fish in Colorado

    Washington D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), along with Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Tom Udall (D-NM), introduced the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2017. The legislation will continue to fund the Upper Colorado and San Juan fish recovery programs through FY2023, and aims to protect four primary endangered species in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

    Protecting endangered species living in Colorado’s natural habitat can be done in a responsible manner, and I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation. Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is a great example of a partnership between federal, state, and local agencies to promote conservation. It’s important we provide adequate resources to this project to ensure our partners on the ground have the necessary tools to protect these endangered species. — Gardner

    I’m happy to join my Western colleagues—including Utah’s newly elected Representative John Curtis—in introducing this commonsense legislation. Our bipartisan bill builds on the successful conservation efforts on the Upper Colorado River, encouraging the federal government to work in cooperation with Western states. This proposal will help guide the sustainable usage of our water resources in a way that fosters both species recovery and responsible development. — Hatch

    The Endangered Fish Recovery Programs are exemplary of the successful, collaborative conservation championed in the West by states, tribes, federal agencies, and other stakeholders. This bipartisan bill provides the resources to continue recovery efforts in the Upper Colorado River and to ensure that these endangered fish species are protected for years to come. — Bennet

    The San Juan and Upper Colorado River Fish Recovery Programs are vital to rebuilding our native fish populations that are an important part of our state’s heritage. We cannot allow these important conservation programs to lapse and threaten the progress we’ve made up to this point. This bipartisan legislation will ensure federal, state and local agencies have the resources they need to continue protecting endangered species in the Upper Colorado River Basin. — Heinrich

    The San Juan River Basin is an important region in New Mexico’s ecology, and I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation to continue the collaborative efforts to help protect the area’s endangered species. The most successful way we can balance the needs of water security with species conservation is to work collaboratively with local, state, Tribal, federal and non-governmental partners to find solutions. This initiative has been an excellent example of how we can conserve natural habitats by working together. — Udall

    Representative John Curtis (UT-3) introduced the House companion legislation.

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