REFUGES AT RISK America’s

10 Most Endangered

National Wildlife

Refuges

2004 ABOUT DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE

efenders of Wildlife is a leading conservation organization recognized as one of the nation’s D most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. Defenders uses education, litigation, research and promotion of conservation policies to protect wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Founded in 1947, Defenders of Wildlife is a 501(c)(3) membership organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 480,000 members nationwide.

© 2004 Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 682-9400

Printed on Recycled Paper

Cover Photos: Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. ©JIM YUSKAVITCH Dead salmon on the banks of the Klamath River. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS REFUGES

©JIM YUSKAVITCH AT RISK America’s 10 Most Endangered National Wildlife Refuges 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword ...... 2

Introduction ...... 3

Map...... 8

THE 10 MOST ENDANGERED REFUGES

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge...... 5

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge...... 6

Delta National Wildlife Refuge ...... 7

Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex ...... 10

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge ...... 11

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex...... 12

Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge...... 13

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge...... 14

Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge ...... 15

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge ...... 16 FOREWORD

very day we read about some new threat to wild animals and plants. Vital habitat is paved over or plowed up; drought or disease kills birds and fish; invasive foreign species crowd out Evulnerable native flora and fauna. A tide of extinctions is threatening to wipe out much of the natural heritage that is our children’s birthright. A key to protecting the web of life, experts agree, is setting aside an array of lands where wildlife conservation takes priority. While much work needs to be done to protect vital habitat, the good news is that we already have the core of such a system here in the United States. These are our national wildlife refuges — more than 540 of them, covering nearly 100 million acres across the country. The bad news is that many of these refuges are under siege — often from the same problems that bedevil wild animals and plants outside refuges. At Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, for example, ducks, pelicans, herons and other birds must fight for space with nearly 180 oil and gas wells — wells that spew waste into the rich marshes and bayous. At the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Minnesota, bass and other species of fish are so contaminated by mercury from coal-burning power plants that they are unsafe not only for birds to eat, but humans, too. Most of these challenges aren’t new. Defenders assembled a panel of eminent experts more than a decade ago to study the refuge system. In their 1992 report, titled “Putting Wildlife First,” the experts concluded “the system suffers from deep-seated problems.” “Refuges are threatened from within by resource uses harmful to wildlife and habitats,” the group wrote. “External threats such as pollution and watershed degradation make some refuges little more than oases in a desert of urbanized, cropped, overgrazed, overlogged landscapes.” A dozen years later, these threats remain. And new challenges have cropped up in recent years. Witness the repeated attempts by Congress and the Bush administration to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — the “crown jewel” of the refuge system — to oil drilling. With threats to wild animals and plants around the world mounting every day, we cannot sit by and watch the only public lands devoted to wildlife protection whither away. There’s simply too much at stake — not only for us, but for future generations. To bring attention to the plight of our refuge system, Defenders is publishing this report on the 10 most endangered refuges in the United States. For this report (the first in a planned annual series), we have examined refuges across the coun- try and chosen 10 based on the following criteria: the magnitude and timeliness of the threat(s); the significance of the refuge to our natural wildlife heritage; the opportunity for action to address the problem; and the refuge’s representation of overall threats to the system. Our final list includes not only the Arctic, Delta and Upper Mississippi refuges, but places such as Don Edwards San Francisco Bay in California — where invasive plants are crowding out natural habitat for endangered species — and Pocosin Lakes in North Carolina — where a proposed military jet landing field nearby threatens to destroy the integrity of land that shelters thousands of birds and a significant population of red wolves. The report also includes recommended steps for protecting these refuges. Our hope is that our annual “Top 10” list and other initiatives will spur long-overdue interest in and support for our wildlife refuge system. If we can’t protect wild plants and animals in our national wildlife refuges, where are we going to do it? Clearly, we must start here.

—Rodger Schlickeisen President, Defenders of Wildlife ©NANCY ROTENBERG/EARTH SCENES

2 Tundra swans. © JIM BRANDENBURG/MINDEN PICTURES INTRODUCTION

n 1903, astonished by the flourishing bird life at Florida’s Pelican glect. Yet these 10 refuges also represent some of the most spec- Island, President Theodore Roosevelt established it as a national tacular landscapes on Earth — living laboratories for biodiversity. Iwildlife refuge, the country’s first such designation. Protecting Nine of the 10 refuges, for example, have been designated places for wildlife, he believed, was akin to saving a cherished “Globally Important Bird Areas” by the American Bird Conservancy. cathedral or priceless work of art. “To lose the chance to see Some refuges on the list are familiar, such as the spectacular frigate-birds soaring in circles above the storm,” he later wrote, “or Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is jeopardized by proposed oil a file of pelicans winging their way homeward across the crimson and gas drilling. The lesser-known Lower Rio Grande Valley National afterglow of the sunset...why, the loss is like the loss of a gallery of Wildlife Refuge, by contrast, is threatened by the government’s fail- the masterpieces.” ure to acquire desperately needed land to protect this biologically Roosevelt’s legacy is today a priceless collection of master- diverse region. Elsewhere, mercury contamination imperils refuges pieces — a system of havens that is without parallel in the world. vital to bird and fish species in the Upper Midwest. The fate of other National wildlife refuges are the only federally protected areas endangered refuges hinges on the resolution of decades-long where the law requires that wildlife comes first. For more than a debates regarding water use and development rights. century, these refuges have offered habitat, shelter and food These refuges serve as examples of the power and the possi- sources to an incredible diversity of plants and animals. Today, with bilities inherent in the National Wildlife Refuge System. In 2003, more and more species facing extinction, the refuge system has the refuge system celebrated its centennial — marking 100 years of become their last, best hope for survival. Yet many refuges are visionary conservation efforts. Managed by the U.S. Fish and themselves endangered. Wildlife Service, the refuge system comprises nearly 100 million As the country marks National Wildlife Refuge Week in early acres of diverse natural landscapes, ranging from shorelines and October, Defenders of Wildlife is releasing its first-ever list of the marshlands to deserts and prairies. The more than 540 refuges 10 most endangered national wildlife refuges. The threats to these provide havens for thousands of animal and plant species, many of refuges are examples of the expanding dangers to wildlife nation- which would likely be endangered or threatened without such pro- wide: habitat loss, invasive species, air and water pollution, inap- tection. National wildlife refuges offer immense benefits to humans propriate development, funding shortfalls and governmental ne- as well, providing unmatched opportunities for bird watching,

3 canoeing, hiking, hunting, fishing, nature photography and many sands of habitat, research, infrastructure and maintenance projects other activities. By encouraging recreation and tourism, healthy incomplete. refuges contribute to sustainable local economies and improve the Defenders of Wildlife is committed to working with federal, quality of life in America. tribal, state and local agencies; private organizations; and landown- More than a century after Roosevelt preserved Pelican Island, ers to protect America’s national wildlife refuges and to publicize the refuge system is more important than ever. Yet Roosevelt’s the threats they face. The 10 endangered refuges highlighted here vision and commitment to wildlife are all at a crossroads; the decisions protection are sorely lacking among we make now will affect the wildlife today’s leaders. Fewer than 60 and the health of these unique areas refuges — just 11 percent of the for decades to come. If these entire system — have been estab- refuges continue to decline, the vital lished expressly for the protection of THE MISSION OF THE services they provide to both wildlife endangered animals. And most and people will be lost. refuges remain incomplete, are too NATIONAL WILDLIFE As the National Wildlife Refuge small, or are too fragmented to main- System begins its second century, tain viable populations of crucial ani- Americans have an unprecedented mals, such as big creatures that REFUGE SYSTEM opportunity to strengthen it and need large habitats in which to roam. build a promising future for wildlife A chronic funding shortage cripples in this country. This list defines the the refuge system, leaving 200 “...to administer a national network challenges we face in fulfilling that refuges with no staff at all, and thou- promise. of lands and waters for the Aurora borealis above the Brooks Mountain Range. conservation, management, and ©PATRICK J. ENDRES/ALASKAPHOTOGRAPHICS.COM where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.”

4 ominating northeastern attempts to open the refuge to Alaska, the Arctic National harmful development. But the DWildlife Refuge is the “crown drilling debate is sure to continue. jewel” of the refuge system. At 19.8 The ecological impacts of million acres, this is the largest drilling would be catastrophic. wildlife refuge in the United States — Experts note that any potential oil and one of the least altered, so far, reserves would be difficult to by human impacts. This vast, pristine extract from the Arctic coastal ecosystem contains a remarkable plain, requiring companies to build variety of landscapes, including hundreds of miles of pipelines, lagoons, barrier islands, tundra-cov- wells, roads and support facilities. Polar bear family in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ered foothills, mountains, glacial val- ©STEVEN KAZLOWSKI/PETER ARNOLD, INC. Such development would drasti- leys and boreal forests. Wild crea- cally alter the Arctic landscape and tures have ample room to roam bring toxic pollution and runoff. here. The refuge’s coastal plain, which Alaska’s native Gwich’in peo- Wildlife would instantly be at increased risk of oil spills — oil opera- ple call “the place where life begins,” is the biological heart of the tions in nearby Prudhoe Bay have a spill a day. What’s more, the refuge. Caribou migrate nearly 1,000 miles from their winter habitat extracted oil would likely meet only about six months’ worth of near the Brooks Range to their summer calving grounds on the national demand — hardly worth the destruction of one of the coastal plain — the second-longest overland migration in the world. world’s wildest places. Other mammals abound as well, including Dall sheep, whales and If drilling is allowed to proceed in the refuge, some of Alaska’s wolverines, as well as 40 percent of the nation’s denning polar bears. signature animals — including caribou and polar bears — would find Migratory birds are drawn by the hundreds of thousands to the refuge, nowhere to den, breed, rest or raise their young. feeding and breeding among the marshy wetlands. THE SOLUTION THE THREAT Congress must pass legislation designating the coastal plain of the Although Americans have overwhelmingly signaled their opposition refuge as wilderness. There is bipartisan support for declaring the to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, the Arctic refuge off-limits for development. Passage of this legislation Bush administration and congressional leaders continue to force would put to rest the long struggle over the refuge’s future, perma- the issue. Arctic supporters in Congress, however, have blocked nently protecting this irreplaceable wildlife habitat.

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — ALASKA

Oil operation in Prudhoe Bay. ©JOEL W. ROGERS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ©ART WOLFE

5 An abandoned van near a roadway created by unlawful border traffic. ©JACK DYKINGA Saguaro cacti in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. ©TOM BEAN

CABEZA PRIETA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — ARIZONA

ocated along the U.S.-Mexico border in southwestern Arizona, gal border crossings and prevent further deaths, border officials Cabeza Prieta is part of the largest remaining swath of unde- have established permanent camps in the refuge, incongruous with Lveloped Sonoran Desert, one of the most biologically diverse this once-pristine and remote place, but reflecting the intensity of deserts in the world. A lava-capped peak in Cabeza Prieta National the problem. Wildlife Refuge gives this 860,000-acre preserve its name — which These border activities could threaten the already slim chances is Spanish for “dark head.” The refuge is distinguished by its eight of avoiding extinction for the endangered Sonoran pronghorn. ragged mountain ranges and its vast stands of palo verde trees and Recent estimates have put the number of Sonoran pronghorn in saguaro cacti. More than 90 percent of the refuge is designated southwestern Arizona — the only population left in the United wilderness — the largest refuge wilderness in the lower 48 states. States — at about 30 animals. This shadow of a population cannot The refuge also shelters the fastest and one of the most endan- withstand the stress and habitat damage caused by dramatic gered land mammals in the Americas — the Sonoran pronghorn. increases in border patrols, smugglers and migrants.

THE THREAT THE SOLUTION

By clamping down on traditional points of entry in urban areas, Federal officials must construct a barrier along Cabeza’s border United States border policies have funneled migrants from Mexico with Mexico, as they have done on adjacent public lands, to into the Arizona desert, keep vehicles from dam- with results that are both aging the fragile desert tragic and destructive. An endangered Sonoran pronghorn fawn. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS wilderness. Over the Two summers ago, 14 long-term, however, the people died trying to only real solution is to cross Cabeza. High-speed reform the Border Patrol’s off-road chases between policy of funneling smugglers and the U.S. migrants into the desert, Border Patrol in Cabeza’s which has failed to reduce fragile wilderness have left border crossings and has wide paths of destruction. caused environmental In an attempt to curb ille- degradation.

6 t the mouth of the Mississippi River, Delta refuge is a particularly egre- Delta National Wildlife Refuge gious example of these problems, with Aencompasses bayous, marshes and nearly 180 active wells that have caused coastal wetlands that teem with wildlife — several oil spills, gas leaks and spills of one reason 19th-century naturalist John toxic, briny water pulled up from under James Audubon declared Louisiana his the ground. As part of its review, GAO favorite part of the country. The number of “found that levels of oil contamination wintering waterfowl at the refuge, coming near oil and gas facilities are lethal to from as far north as the Arctic Refuge, can most species of wildlife” at Delta refuge. surpass a quarter-million. Delta is also an Even though industry claims the essential stopover point for an immense “footprint” of oil and gas facilities is Endangered brown pelicans are residents of the Delta refuge. array of migratory songbirds traveling from ©MARIE READ/ANIMALS ANIMALS small, these facilities are stomping out the south. In the spring, these colorful the ability of places such as Delta to pro- birds (including warblers, swallows and vide healthy habitat. For example, energy tanagers) land here by the tens of thousands, desperate for rest after development brings roads and canals to previously undeveloped their long flight across the Gulf of Mexico. areas, resulting in widespread marsh loss and fragmentation. The loss of marshlands — essential habitat for numerous wildlife species and crucial to buffer the coast from hurricanes — is an increasing THE THREAT problem along the Gulf Coast. Recent figures indicate that Louisiana loses an average of 25 to 30 square miles of coastal Unlike its threatened cousin, the Arctic refuge, Delta National marshlands each year — more than 80 percent of the nation’s total Wildlife Refuge is already riddled with more than 300 producing and coastal marsh loss. abandoned oil and gas wells. While most Americans want to keep wells out of the Arctic refuge, few know that 105 national wildlife refuges contain more than 4,400 oil and gas wells, including more THE SOLUTION than 1,800 active wells in 36 refuges, according to a recent U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report. In most cases, the drilling The GAO recommended that the Fish and Wildlife Service take is allowed under pre-existing mineral rights that the Fish and Wildlife several steps to address energy development issues at Delta and Service could not acquire. The legacy of this development is that elsewhere, including collecting better data on the extent of the refuges are left with habitat damage, toxic spills and the bill for problem and training staff to oversee oil and gas drilling. Although a cleaning up abandoned wells. The GAO report noted that the Fish year has elapsed since the report was issued, none of these steps and Wildlife Service has generally not assessed the cumulative has been taken. In addition to following the GAO recommenda- impacts of oil and gas activities on refuges and that the agency tions, the Fish and Wildlife Service should issue new regulations to lacks the staff and technical training to oversee such activities. provide authority to better manage oil and gas development.

DELTA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — LOUISIANA

Oil rig on a marsh in the Delta refuge. ©CC LOCKWOOD Aerial view of Delta National Wildlife Refuge. ©CC LOCKWOOD

7 8 9 Las Vegas, Nevada. ©BOB KRIST Point of Rocks Springs, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. ©JASON STONE/LEESON PHOTOGRAPHY DESERT NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE COMPLEX — NEVADA

he enormous but fragile Desert National Wildlife Refuge In a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize the wells, Fish and Complex, only 25 miles from Las Vegas, encompasses four Wildlife Service leadership has cooperated with the authority, char- Tdistinct refuges — the Desert Wildlife Range, Ash Meadows, acterizing these as “monitoring” wells, rather than commercial Moapa Valley and Pahranagat. The 1.5-million-acre Desert Range is pumping wells. Defenders of Wildlife, the Wilderness Society and the largest refuge in the lower 48 states, encompassing mountain other conservation groups are concerned that the “monitoring” ridges and valleys sheltering a wide array of animal species. The wells will soon pave the way for large-scale pumping that would springs and wetlands on these refuges provide oases teeming with siphon water away from the refuge. The groups are also concerned wildlife, including many endangered species found nowhere else on that the authority has not provided adequate opportunities for pub- the planet. Ash Meadows, for example, shelters at least 24 species lic comment on its plans. The closed-door process raises serious found only here, including four species that are endangered. This questions about the extent to which the refuge will be protected. concentration of endemic species is considered to be the greatest Again, as with the Arctic refuge, our current political leaders seem of any local area in the United States. willing to ignore the interests of wildlife.

THE THREAT THE SOLUTION An endangered desert pupfish. ©GEORGE H.H. HUEY The most precious natural resource in the In this arid climate, conservation measures West is water, and this is especially true in and careful planning should be the primary the Nevada desert. At the Desert refuge focus of water managers and urban plan- complex, water is essential to the survival of ners. The local water authority has made all plant and animal species, from the bighorn the Desert Range a primary target in the sheep to the endangered desert pupfish. development of new water resources, Currently, plans by the Southern Nevada instead of considering it as an absolute Water Authority to develop groundwater last resort. The water authority should sources in and around this complex may liter- focus on water resources that will not ally suck the life from the refuges. The author- destroy wildlife refuges or further imperil ity is seeking to place wells in the Desert already endangered species. Range and to tap water beneath the refuge.

10 arried urban dwellers and wildlife scale of the project and its proximity to alike depend on Don Edwards urban areas make the restoration a formi- HSan Francisco Bay National dable challenge. While there was a big Wildlife Refuge for solitude and solace in state, federal and private funding push to this densely populated area. At about purchase the salt ponds initially, without 30,000 acres, this is our largest urban significant continued funding, restoration national wildlife refuge, and it is sur- will languish. rounded by 10 million people. Almost The millions of shorebirds that fly three-quarters of all the shorebirds on through the bay use these salt ponds and the Pacific Flyway winter or stop over at tidal flats to gorge themselves before they this refuge, which also boasts more than continue on their long journeys. But at 700,000 waterfowl and 30,000 wading An American avocet. ©JEFFREY RICH NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY high tide, these birds need to eat and rest birds. Yet this acreage is all that remains on higher ground. Although the approved of what was once known as the “bay- refuge boundary includes essential upland lands” — a vast system of salt marshes, tidal flats and ponds that habitat, few dollars have been spent acquiring land to fill in those teemed with plants and wildlife hundreds of years ago. The refuge boundary lines. As the Bay Area’s human population burgeons, soon is home to 60 percent of the entire California clapper rail popula- most of this habitat will become subdivisions and office parks. tion, as well as a significant percentage of the known salt marsh If the money to complete habitat restoration and protection harvest mouse population, found only in the bay’s remaining tidal dries up, so will the ponds that sustain the West Coast’s shore- marshes. birds — and the birds may disappear.

THE THREAT THE SOLUTION

Like many urban oases, this refuge faces complex problems such In the next year, a science advisory panel will recommend a restora- as invasive species, habitat loss and polluting runoff. The refuge is tion plan for the South Bay, including the refuge. Implementing that the site of a massive restoration effort to convert former industrial plan and completing the refuge acquisition will take continued com- salt-ponds into more natural salt marshes and saline ponds. The mitment and funding.

DON EDWARDS SAN FRANCISCO BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — CALIFORNIA An endangered California clapper rail perched near garbage in San Francisco Bay. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer with visitor at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay refuge. ©MICHAEL SEWELL/VISUALPURSUIT.COM ©U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

11 Thousands of salmon died in the severely low Klamath River in 2002. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS Ross’ geese at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. ©U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE KLAMATH BASIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE COMPLEX — OREGON, CALIFORNIA

traddling the Oregon-California border, the Klamath Basin The federal Bureau of Reclamation’s policies for the Klamath refuge complex comprises six national wildlife refuges tied River led to as many as 35,000 salmon dying while attempting to Stogether by the Klamath River: Klamath Marsh, Upper reach their spawning grounds in 2002 as the river fell to extremely low Klamath, Lower Klamath, Tule Lake, Bear Valley and Clear Lake. The levels. The Klamath refuges didn’t fare much better. Severed from nat- basin once contained more than 350,000 acres of marshlands, ural water flows, they are last in line behind irrigation projects — mean- lakes, rivers and wetlands, but these have been largely drained and ing that marshes, wetlands and other resources are dying of thirst. filled for agriculture and development. Today, the six refuges are only To make matters worse, thousands of acres within the refuge remnants of this once-vast wetland network, but they remain critical complex are leased for commercial agricultural operations. Forty-four for wildlife. Eighty percent of the birds in the Pacific Flyway funnel percent of Tule Lake refuge and 28 percent of Lower Klamath refuge through the basin, whose wetlands draw staggering numbers of is farmed. Lands that should be set aside for wildlife are being used ducks and geese — well into the millions. As many as 1,000 bald to grow crops such as potatoes and onions, which have few wildlife eagles can be seen flying to and from their winter roosts — the benefits. Even though refuge wetlands are supposed to get priority greatest concentration of these majestic birds found outside Alaska. for water flows in times of drought, the refuge’s leased farms have The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge was the first refuge set won out in recent years. In addition to using precious water aside expressly to protect waterfowl, and now is also considered an resources, farming has also introduced carcinogenic pesticides that essential area for snow, Ross’, white-fronted, Canada and emperor have poisoned birds and other wildlife in the Klamath refuges. geese, and more than 20 duck species. Without these refuges we could literally lose the birds of the West Coast. THE SOLUTION THE THREAT The Fish and Wildlife Service will decide this A pair of bald eagles. ©JOHN ALVES coming year whether to reauthorize the leas- Although water is scarce throughout the ing of refuge lands for agriculture. Crops West, the water shortage in the Klamath such as onions, sugar beets and potatoes, River Basin is particularly severe — and the which are of little or no value to wildlife and pressures on the refuge complex are mount- require toxic pesticides, should be eliminated ing. A massive, century-old federal irrigation from refuges immediately. Commercial agri- project has fostered unsustainable farming culture within the national wildlife refuges in the area, depleting water from the should be phased out and refuge lands region’s lakes, rivers and wetlands and should be returned to their natural conditions. upsetting the natural balance of the ecosys- Finally, a more natural water cycle should be tem. As a result, the basin has lost 80 per- restored on lands within the present bound- cent of its original wetlands. aries of the Klamath Basin refuges.

12 rare prairie wilderness in air quality that it violated Clean northwestern North Dakota, Air Act standards, according Athe Lostwood refuge pro- to the U.S. Environmental tects the largest collection of Protection Agency. The pri- prairie potholes in North America. mary culprits are coal-burning In the heart of the country’s “duck power plants in North Dakota factory,” the 4,000 glaciated lakes and Canada, which spew sul- dotting the refuge provide prime fur dioxide and mercury. nesting habitats for ducks and Recent studies by the U.S. geese. The refuge also contains Geological Survey have found one of the nation’s largest tracts mercury readings off the charts of native grasslands, considered in the refuge’s wetlands and America’s most endangered habi- wildlife, most disturbingly in tat. These prairies provide A blue-winged teal flock takes flight. ©BILLMARCHEL.COM migratory birds that will carry unspoiled breeding grounds for the contamination hundreds or the Great Plains population of the thousands of miles away. threatened piping plover, as well as other declining grassland bird Earlier this year, a political appointee at the Environmental species such as Baird’s sparrow. In all, more than 225 bird species Protection Agency allowed North Dakota to change the way it esti- have been recorded at Lostwood, including Canada geese, mal- mates air pollution — effectively relaxing pollution standards and lards, blue-winged teal and lesser scaup. facilitating the construction or expansion of more coal-burning plants in the area. THE THREAT THE SOLUTION The 27,000-acre Lostwood refuge contains more than 5,500 acres of designated wilderness, which should provide protection The Environmental Protection Agency should require the state to from outside threats. Yet wilderness designation has not been develop an air-quality plan that reduces emissions. Over the long- able to prevent an influx of toxic air pollution that knows no term, however, North Dakota should shift its power generation from boundaries. In recent years, Lostwood refuge has had such poor poor-quality coal to abundant, clean and renewable wind resources.

LOSTWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — NORTH DAKOTA A coal-fired power plant. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. ©TOM BEAN

13 An aerial of the Lower Rio Grande and surrounding development. ©AIRPHOTO/JIM WARK Yucca plants in Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR. ©LARRY DITTO LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — TEXAS

rom the breeding grounds of the Arctic and Lostwood strung by a shrinking supply of money from the Land and Water refuges, to the migratory stepping stones and wintering areas Conservation Fund (LWCF). Fof Delta, Don Edwards and Klamath, many refuges are for the LWCF is a $900-million federal fund financed by offshore oil birds. Nowhere is this more true than in the southernmost reaches drilling lease receipts. While the administration says it fully funded of Texas, where two major migratory pathways collide at the Lower LWCF in its budget proposal, in reality the amount proposed for true Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The result: More than LWCF programs was nearly $600 million below the authorized level, 480 species of birds have been documented on the refuge — more robbing federal agencies of the ability to complete important land avian diversity than anywhere else in the refuge system. Add to that acquisition projects like the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Already, the about half of all North American butterfly species and the northern area surrounding the refuge has begun to succumb to rapid develop- ranges of two endangered wildcats — the ocelot and jaguarundi — ment. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the surrounding and 11 distinct biological communities ranging from thorn forests county’s population rose nearly 50 percent — and the trend is contin- to tidal wetlands. The Lower Rio uing. Without acquisition funding, Grande is truly vital to protecting this refuge will fail to fulfill its A buff-bellied hummingbird. ©CLIFF BEITTEL our nation’s natural heritage. intended purpose of protecting the irreplaceable biological diver- sity of south Texas. THE THREAT This crucially important bird THE SOLUTION hotspot is scattered in fragments along the Rio Grande. The Lower The President should call on Rio Grande Valley refuge was Congress to fully fund the established in 1979 with the ulti- LWCF, and Congress should mate goal of encompassing dedicate LWCF funds to their 132,500 acres. Twenty-five years intended use — state and fed- later, land for the refuge is still eral conservation. The Fish and considered a top acquisition pri- Wildlife Service should aggres- ority for the Fish and Wildlife sively pursue land acquisition Service, but the purchase of funding and seek willing sellers adjacent properties and conser- of important habitat within the vation easements to connect Lower Rio Grande Valley these fragments has been ham- refuge.

14 astern North Carolina is home to the case, the natural quiet and wildlife of some of the wildest areas left in Pocosin Lakes remain in jeopardy. Ethe eastern United States, and the At the same time, Indiana-based 113,000-acre Pocosin Lakes National Rose Acre Farms is proposing to build Wildlife Refuge is at its heart. This vast an egg factory adjacent to Pocosin wildness provides habitat for several wild Lakes refuge. The four-million chicken populations of the endangered red wolf, factory would be one of the largest egg- which was close to extinction in the laying operations ever built in the United 1960s and was subsequently reintro- States, and would have grave impacts on duced here. Eastern North Carolina also the air and water quality and the environ- hosts the largest concentration of migrat- mental integrity of the nearby refuges. ing waterfowl on the eastern seaboard, A red wolf. ©MICHAEL R. STOKLOS/ANIMALS ANIMALS Experts estimate that the proposed Rose and the refuge’s expansive wetlands sup- Acre Farms facility will emit 490 tons of port 30,000 tundra swans, 20,000 snow particulate matter per year and an alarm- geese, 5,000 Canada geese and tens of thousands of ducks. ing 2,400 pounds of ammonia per day. The facility could transmit diseases to rare and endangered birds and other wildlife in the area. The facility will increase trucking and could potentially require THE THREAT substantial road construction and improvements, further threatening water quality and fragmenting this important habitat. Failing to learn Pocosin Lakes refuge faces the dual looming threats of fighter jets its lesson from the huge pollution problems caused by factory hog and chickens — developments beyond the refuge’s boundary that farms in the area, the state recently issued a draft permit for the threaten the wildlife within. An Outer Landing Field (OLF) — located chicken facility, claiming there would be no discharge of pollution just a mile from the refuge’s border — has been proposed to sup- into the neighboring streams and wetlands. port Navy operations. On top of this OLF, the Navy has proposed designating special-use airspace over Pocosin Lakes and three other refuges. This action would lead to low-level, high-speed THE SOLUTION flights by military jets. Combined, these two proposals would result in more than 30,000 sorties a year in eastern North Carolina, bring- The Navy must select an environmentally preferable alternative site ing noise, air pollution and bird strikes to a national wildlife refuge for its proposed landing field and special use airspace. with large concentrations of migratory birds. Defenders and a coali- Responsible agencies should carefully scrutinize the Rose Acre tion of other conservation groups recently won a temporary injunc- project with the goals of preventing air and water pollution and tion against construction of the OLF. But with the Navy appealing averting the spread of diseases to birds in the wild.

POCOSIN LAKES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — NORTH CAROLINA A military fighter jet taking flight. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS Snow geese in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. ©AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

15 Barge traffic on the Mississippi increases erosion and pollution. ©AIRPHOTO/JIM WARK Sunrise in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. ©CLINT FARLINGER UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE AND FISH REFUGE — MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS AND IOWA

s spring approaches and the birds at Delta refuge at the and barge traffic on the river have all exacerbated streambank ero- mouth of the Mississippi River head north, many will rest in sion and chemical runoff. Increased sedimentation fills in the riverbed Athe backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River National and destroys aquatic habitats. At the same time, invasive species are Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The refuge serves as a key stopover for competing with natives for food sources and habitat. For example, North American waterfowl — as many as 75 percent of the world’s the aquatic plant purple loosestrife is asphyxiating native wetland canvasback ducks use the refuge, as well as 60 percent of all tun- plants on which waterfowl depend. dra swans in North America. Despite these threats, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is Although most national wildlife refuges support aquatic seeking to continue its outdated and unsustainable practice of build- wildlife, fish are rarely the focus. The Upper Mississippi River ing locks, dams and levees on the Mississippi. Even though such National Wildlife and Fish Refuge was the first refuge set aside practices disrupt the natural flow of the river, the agency is currently specifically to shelter fish, and it remains one of the nation’s few looking to replace or extend several locks north of St. Louis. designated areas for fish protection. Stretching along more than On top of these persistent threats, the refuge faces new chal- 260 miles of the Mississippi River and crossing portions of four lenges from the public. The Fish and Wildlife Service is currently states, the refuge harbors more than 130 fish species and is the preparing a management plan for the refuge, and it is being pres- longest wildlife refuge outside Alaska. sured to balance dog walking, camping, boating and other seem- ingly innocuous uses with its wildlife conservation mission. THE THREAT A great blue heron in the Upper Mississippi refuge. ©A.B. SHELDON THE SOLUTION Combine the agricultural runoff of the Klamath refuges, the mercury contamina- Of vital importance to the refuge is the tion of Lostwood refuge, the invasive Upper Mississippi Environmental Manage- species of Don Edwards San Francisco ment Program (EMP), a federal effort that Bay refuge, the habitat loss of the Lower funds habitat restoration projects to Rio Grande Valley refuge — and you counter the impacts of dams and flood begin to understand the severity and control. Congress is currently proposing diversity of the threats facing the Upper to cut the program’s funding by $12 mil- Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish lion. The EMP must be fully funded if it is Refuge. These threats are not new, but to restore islands, wetlands and other they are cumulative and growing. habitats essential for so many of the Farming, commercial development nation’s birds and fish.

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