Membership News Feeds
TWRA Computerized Drawing Application Period Sept. 8-Oct. 13 for Selected Waterfowl Blind Sites
Sampling Indicates Mercury in Beech Creek Not Widespread
Mercury Elevated in One Area Near Leatherwood, Contact Advisory Modified
This finding is based on sampling of mercury levels in sediment, fish, water from the creek and residential water supplies.The sampling results provide the basis for modifying the advisory issued on August 13, 2010.
Final Major Holiday Weekend of 2010 Boating Season Is Approaching
Changes Made to Deer Carcass Importation Proclamation
TWRA Region II’s Polly Rooker Presenter at September Nature @ Noontime
Fall Creek Falls State Park Announces Mountaineer Folk Festival
Groundbreaking Held Today for Johnsonville State Historic Park Visitor Center
2010 Dove Season Opens Sept. 1 in Tennessee
Southern Cumberland Outings: September 2010
Ruling Opens Season on N. C. Trout Streams for Golf Course Developers
In a loss for N.C. trout, water quality and sportsmen, the N.C. Supreme Court today ruled six to one that a country club golf course’s razing of forested buffer areas along sensitive trout streams and permanent enclosure of a N.C. mountain stream within a pipe was allowed despite a state law requiring “undisturbed” buffers to protect trout streams and water quality, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. The Supreme Court decision reversed an earlier N.C. Appeals Court decision that a golf course constructed at Mountain Air Country Club in Yancey County violated state buffer requirements for trout streams.
“This decision slashes long-standing protections for North Carolina’s valuable trout streams and threatens to turn every undisturbed trout buffer in North Carolina into a golf course or parking lot and every mountain stream into a piped ditch,” said Blan Holman, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Clean trout streams are essential to North Carolina’s mountain heritage and vital for an economy powered by outdoor recreational activities. Allowing forested buffers to be leveled for golf courses will make trout streams the only state waters that can be muddied by big development.”
The Court’s decision leaves vulnerable thousands of miles of designated trout streams across the state. According to a dissenting opinion written by Justice Robin E. Hudson, the majority decision unilaterally removes trout stream protections that the General Assembly enacted decades ago. Justice Hudson points out that the majority “reads trout water protection provisions out of the [Sedimentation Pollution Control] Act.”
Piping trout streams and denaturalizing the areas next to those streams is a recurring part of proposals for developments in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains, especially for mountaintop luxury golf courses. The Mountain Air golf course impacts thousands of feet of stream because the mountainside trout stream running through it was reshaped and severely modified to accommodate fairways and greens.
Numerous studies show that vegetated buffers prevent sedimentation and warming of mountain streams, which in their natural state run cold and clear. The trout buffer requirement was enacted by the N.C. General Assembly in 1989. That legislative effort was led Western North Carolina legislators seeking to give trout streams particularly strong buffer protections because trout require clean, cold water to thrive, and are impacted severely by the increased silt and temperature from streamside development.
The Southern Environmental Law Center represented the non-profit Clean Water for North Carolina and two downstream landowners in this case whose trout stream turned muddy and brown during construction of the golf course.
###
Note to editors:
• A map showing state designated trout streams is available for press reports based on this release if appropriate citation is given. Contact: ksullivan@selcnc.org
About Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/selc_org
Johnsonville State Historic Park To Break Ground on New Visitor Center August 31
Phil Dirt and Dozers -- Monday August 30
Saturday 8/28/2010 Hike -- Rock Creek Loop
Go Kathleen!
Kathleen Williams — the President & Executive Director of the TN Parks & Greenways Foundation — was recently honored by TWRA for her efforts in having the TN Real Estate Transfer Funds reinstated by the 2010 Tennessee General Assembly!
Visit the TWRA website for more information and a photo!
http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/5792
TWRA to Present Fishing Changes for 2011
Recycling Equipment Grants Available; Grant Applications Due Oct. 8
August 28 Is Tennessee’s 2010 Free Hunting Day
Nesting birds and sea turtles break records at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
With the breeding season still underway, 2010 is already a record-breaking year for rare sea turtles and waterbirds that nest on beaches at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to preliminary numbers from the National Park Service.
According to the National Seashore’s August 23, 2010 press release, 147 sea turtle nests have been recorded to date, the most nests ever documented at the seashore and part of 835 nests reported statewide this year (as of today) by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The previous record at the seashore was 111 nests in 2008. The numbers may increase as the 2010 turtle nesting season continues for several more weeks.
Additionally, a record 15 piping plover chicks survived to fledge or learn to fly, the highest number ever documented since record-keeping began in 1992. Before current off-road vehicle management practices were implemented in April 2008, piping plover numbers within Cape Hatteras National Seashore declined to an all-time low of no chicks surviving to fledging in 2002 and 2004. The population of piping plovers that nest at Cape Hatteras is listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Likewise, 25 American oystercatcher chicks fledged from the Seashore’s beaches in 2010, with one unfledged chick remaining. An additional four chicks fledged on the Seashore’s uninhabited Green Island. This is the highest number of fledged chicks for that sensitive species reported at the Seashore since records have been kept.
Under an April 2008 consent decree, off-road vehicle (ORV) use is restricted in designated bird and turtle nesting areas on the seashore during their nesting seasons. The consent decree employs science-based protection measures that provide the minimum buffer distances needed to protect nesting birds and chicks from vehicles and human disturbance, as well as restrictions on night driving that are vital for nesting sea turtles.
Although a variety of factors including weather and predators can affect nesting success, scientific research, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for the loggerhead sea turtle, confirms the importance of limiting ORV driving in turtle nesting areas.
The number of sea turtle nests at Cape Hatteras constitutes 17.6 percent of all the nests laid in North Carolina in 2010 to date, as compared to only 11.5 percent in 2000-2007, the eight years immediately prior to current beach driving protections going into effect. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has set a recovery goal of 200 loggerhead sea turtles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“We are heartened by these impressive nesting numbers,” said Walker Golder, deputy director of Audubon North Carolina. “The unique waterbirds and sea turtles that depend on Cape Hatteras are a vital part of what makes the Seashore a national treasure. These nesting numbers illustrate that vehicles and wildlife can share the beach as long as sound, science-based protection measures are in place.”
“The success of this nesting season underscores the need for a long-term ORV management plan at the Seashore,” said Jason Rylander, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “Our parks should be safe places for wildlife in addition to providing recreational opportunities for visitors.”
“Human disturbance is a primary factor in beach nesting success that is largely within the control of the Park Service,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We believe the effective management of beach driving contributed to this year’s tremendous success.”
The National Park Service is developing a final ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore that must be implemented by April 2011. In May 2010, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, and Audubon North Carolina submitted comments to the National Park service that outlined several measures necessary for the Park Service to meet its legal mandates to conserve and protect the natural resources of the seashore, leave them unimpaired for future generations, and provide an appropriate balance between continued ORV use and other public uses of the Seashore, including pedestrian and family use and wildlife conservation. Collectively, these organizations represent 1.5 million members and supporters.
###
Note to editors:
2009 annual reports on protected species management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=358&projectID=13331&documentID=31872
North Carolina WRC Sea Turtle Project nesting statistics
http://www.seaturtle.org/nestdb/index.shtml?view=1
National Park Service Release, Aug. 23, 2010: “Bodie Island Spit and Ramp 23 on Hatteras Island Reopen to ORV Access”
http://www.nps.gov/caha/parknews/bodie-island-spit-ramp-23-reopen.htm
National Park Service Release: “Cape Hatteras National Seashore Resource Management Field Summary for August 12– August 18, 2010”
http://www.preservehatteras.org/index.php?page=more-information
Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic Population of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Second Revision
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/recovery/plans.htm
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) 2009 Status Review under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/statusreviews/loggerheadturtle2009.pdf
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/endangered/PDF/Piping_Plover_five_year_review_and_summary.pdf
Piping Plover, Atlantic Coast Population: 1996 Revised Recovery Plan
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/recovery.html
American Oystercatcher Conservation Plan for the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States
http://www.nbii.gov/images/uploaded/8496_1157743009969_OystercatcherConserv.pdf
Conservation Plan for the American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) through the Western Hemisphere, Version 1.1 February 2010 http://www.whsrn.org/sites/default/files/file/American_Oystercatcher_Hemispheric_Conservation_Plan_10_02-28_v1.1.pdf
Audubon North Carolina is the state office of the National Audubon Society representing 10,000 grassroots members and nine local chapters across the state. With a century of conservation history in North Carolina, Audubon strives to conserve and restore the habitats we share with all wildlife, focusing on the needs of birds. Audubon North Carolina achieves its mission through a blend of science-based research and conservation, education and outreach, and advocacy.
www.ncaudubon.org
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members, supporters and subscribers, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. www.defenders.org
The Southern Environmental Law Center is the only regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
www.SouthernEnvironment.org
Nesting birds and sea turtles break records at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
With the breeding season still underway, 2010 is already a record-breaking year for rare sea turtles and waterbirds that nest on beaches at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to preliminary numbers from the National Park Service.
According to the National Seashore’s August 23, 2010 press release, 147 sea turtle nests have been recorded to date, the most nests ever documented at the seashore and part of 835 nests reported statewide this year (as of today) by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The previous record at the seashore was 111 nests in 2008. The numbers may increase as the 2010 turtle nesting season continues for several more weeks.
Additionally, a record 15 piping plover chicks survived to fledge or learn to fly, the highest number ever documented since record-keeping began in 1992. Before current off-road vehicle management practices were implemented in April 2008, piping plover numbers within Cape Hatteras National Seashore declined to an all-time low of no chicks surviving to fledging in 2002 and 2004. The population of piping plovers that nest at Cape Hatteras is listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Likewise, 25 American oystercatcher chicks fledged from the Seashore’s beaches in 2010, with one unfledged chick remaining. An additional four chicks fledged on the Seashore’s uninhabited Green Island. This is the highest number of fledged chicks for that sensitive species reported at the Seashore since records have been kept.
Under an April 2008 consent decree, off-road vehicle (ORV) use is restricted in designated bird and turtle nesting areas on the seashore during their nesting seasons. The consent decree employs science-based protection measures that provide the minimum buffer distances needed to protect nesting birds and chicks from vehicles and human disturbance, as well as restrictions on night driving that are vital for nesting sea turtles.
Although a variety of factors including weather and predators can affect nesting success, scientific research, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for the loggerhead sea turtle, confirms the importance of limiting ORV driving in turtle nesting areas.
The number of sea turtle nests at Cape Hatteras constitutes 17.6 percent of all the nests laid in North Carolina in 2010 to date, as compared to only 11.5 percent in 2000-2007, the eight years immediately prior to current beach driving protections going into effect. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has set a recovery goal of 200 loggerhead sea turtles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“We are heartened by these impressive nesting numbers,” said Walker Golder, deputy director of Audubon North Carolina. “The unique waterbirds and sea turtles that depend on Cape Hatteras are a vital part of what makes the Seashore a national treasure. These nesting numbers illustrate that vehicles and wildlife can share the beach as long as sound, science-based protection measures are in place.”
“The success of this nesting season underscores the need for a long-term ORV management plan at the Seashore,” said Jason Rylander, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “Our parks should be safe places for wildlife in addition to providing recreational opportunities for visitors.”
“Human disturbance is a primary factor in beach nesting success that is largely within the control of the Park Service,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We believe the effective management of beach driving contributed to this year’s tremendous success.”
The National Park Service is developing a final ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore that must be implemented by April 2011. In May 2010, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, and Audubon North Carolina submitted comments to the National Park service that outlined several measures necessary for the Park Service to meet its legal mandates to conserve and protect the natural resources of the seashore, leave them unimpaired for future generations, and provide an appropriate balance between continued ORV use and other public uses of the Seashore, including pedestrian and family use and wildlife conservation. Collectively, these organizations represent 1.5 million members and supporters.
###
Note to editors:
2009 annual reports on protected species management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=358&projectID=13331&documentID=31872
North Carolina WRC Sea Turtle Project nesting statistics
http://www.seaturtle.org/nestdb/index.shtml?view=1
National Park Service Release, Aug. 23, 2010: “Bodie Island Spit and Ramp 23 on Hatteras Island Reopen to ORV Access”
http://www.nps.gov/caha/parknews/bodie-island-spit-ramp-23-reopen.htm
National Park Service Release: “Cape Hatteras National Seashore Resource Management Field Summary for August 12– August 18, 2010”
http://www.preservehatteras.org/index.php?page=more-information
Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic Population of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Second Revision
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/recovery/plans.htm
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) 2009 Status Review under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/statusreviews/loggerheadturtle2009.pdf
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/endangered/PDF/Piping_Plover_five_year_review_and_summary.pdf
Piping Plover, Atlantic Coast Population: 1996 Revised Recovery Plan
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/recovery.html
American Oystercatcher Conservation Plan for the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States
http://www.nbii.gov/images/uploaded/8496_1157743009969_OystercatcherConserv.pdf
Conservation Plan for the American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) through the Western Hemisphere, Version 1.1 February 2010 http://www.whsrn.org/sites/default/files/file/American_Oystercatcher_Hemispheric_Conservation_Plan_10_02-28_v1.1.pdf
Audubon North Carolina is the state office of the National Audubon Society representing 10,000 grassroots members and nine local chapters across the state. With a century of conservation history in North Carolina, Audubon strives to conserve and restore the habitats we share with all wildlife, focusing on the needs of birds. Audubon North Carolina achieves its mission through a blend of science-based research and conservation, education and outreach, and advocacy.
www.ncaudubon.org
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members, supporters and subscribers, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. www.defenders.org
The Southern Environmental Law Center is the only regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
www.SouthernEnvironment.org
Court victory greets returning plovers
Summary:
•A federal judge today ruled in favor of designating critical habitat areas for the wintering piping plover in North Carolina in compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
•Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, intervened in the case on behalf of the Interior Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
•The piping plover has been listed as a threatened species under the ESA since 1986. The beaches of North Carolina play a vital role in all stages of their life cycle.
The following are statements from Defenders of Wildlife, the National Audubon Society and the Southern Environmental Law Center:
“Cape Hatteras is unique. It’s one of the few places on the east coast that hosts piping plover activity all year round,” said Jason Rylander, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “Critical habitat designation will provide a crucial, additional layer of protection throughout the year.”
“This is a great victory for piping plovers and reaffirms the importance of Cape Hatteras National Seashore for this threatened species.” said Walker Golder, deputy director of Audubon North Carolina.
“The decision completely affirms the Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts to designate habitat necessary for recovery of the piping plover,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The additional legal protection for this threatened species comes at a critical time for its survival.”
Please see attachment for Judge Lamberth’s opinion.
###
About Defenders of Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members, supporters and subscribers, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. www.defenders.org
About Audubon North Carolina
Audubon North Carolina is the state office of the National Audubon Society representing 10,000 grassroots members and nine local chapters across the state. With a century of conservation history in North Carolina, Audubon strives to conserve and restore the habitats we share with all wildlife, focusing on the needs of birds. Audubon North Carolina achieves its mission through a blend of science-based research and conservation, education and outreach, and advocacy. www.ncaudubon.org
About the Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is the only regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/selc_org
