Tag: Conservation

Florida M-CORES and No Roads to Ruin Update

We wanted to share an update from the No Roads to Ruin Coalition of which we are a part. Along with the Coalition, we have actively been working to halt the development of the toll roads that would further fragment crucial habitat that Florida panthers and other wildlife rely on for survival.
READ:  Controversial plan to expand toll roads hits dead end over environmental, cost concerns

“Campaign Update! No Roads to Ruin Steering Committee Statement on SB 100:

We are eternally grateful for all the time and effort No Roads to Ruin Coalition partners and individual activists have devoted to this cause. We honor them and their work to ensure a better future for Florida.

The No Roads to Ruin Steering Committee did not support SB 100 because the bill did not stop all of the roads at the heart of M-CORES. SB 100 moves our state in the wrong direction and leaves North Florida’s rural communities and natural resources at risk. Florida needs a 21st Century transportation policy that takes us away from new roads through environmentally sensitive areas and towards sustainable transportation alternatives. As such, with two of three toll road threats remaining, we cannot proclaim that its passage and expected signing by the Governor as a triumph.

Only two years ago many of the same Florida Legislators who supported SB 100 voted nearly unanimously to approve the three Roads to Ruin. The 2021 Florida legislature had the opportunity to fully repeal M-CORES with the introductions of SB 1030/HB 763. However, neither bill was ever heard in committee.

Removing the toll road that would have imperiled the Western Everglades and existentially threatened the Florida panther is a tremendous relief. With fewer than 230 Florida panthers remaining, protecting them and their habitat is critically important for their survival and recovery. Removal of an imminent Southwest Central Corridor helps with this fight.

What SB 100 does and does not do:

  1. Eliminates the M-CORES program but not all the Roads to Ruin included in the program.
  2. Eliminates the Southwest-Central Florida Connector in its entirety.
    Keeps the Northern Turnpike extension on the books with a different timetable.
  3. Does not eliminate the threat previously presented by the M-CORES Suncoast Connector.
  4. Provides US-19 north from the terminus of the Suncoast Parkway to I-10 as a way to replace the M-CORES Suncoast Connector.
  5. Includes the M-CORES task force recommendation of avoiding conservation lands with respect to upgrades of arterial highways, but only “to the greatest extent practicable,” and not specifically to the US 19 project.
  6. Frees up money once earmarked for M-CORES to be available for needed road projects throughout the state.This fight isn’t over.
We must press on together to protect our natural resources and local communities from the Roads to Ruin.”

The Washington Legislature Passed  SB 5092 – Operating Budget Will help to Protect Washington’s Cougars

For immediate release

Date April 26, 2021

Contact: 
Debra Chase, CEO, Mountain Lion Foundation
DChase@mountainlion.org
916-442-2666 ext. 103

The Washington Legislature Passed  SB 5092 – Operating Budget
Will help to Protect Washington’s Cougars

Olympia, WA – SB 5092, making the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations, passed the Legislature Sunday, April 25 and will soon be signed into law by Governor Inslee. The budget includes a directive on cougar management in the State.

Photo: Dan Potter

SB 5092 will require the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), in coordination with statewide law enforcement agencies, to provide a report to the legislature by January 2022, on the number of cougars reported to WDFW as killed by local government law enforcement agencies, cougar pursuit training opportunities provided to local law enforcement agencies, and how cougar removals by local enforcement agencies impact WDFW’s cougar management strategies.

In addition, appropriations will be provided solely for WDFW to assist local jurisdictions in responding to cougar related public safety concerns. The funding is available to a local jurisdiction only if they have a signed agreement with WDFW recognizing cougar management authority is vested with WDFW. The agreement provides criteria to determine if a cougar creates an actionable public safety risk deemed eligible for financial assistance. The approved language within the budget notes that the mere presence of a cougar on private property alone does not create an actionable public safety risk.

The National Non Profit Mountain Lion Foundation is pleased with the outcome of this operating budget.  “We want to thank the Budget Leaders Christine Rolfes and Kevin Van De Wege.  This is great news for cougars in Washington state,” stated Mountain Lion Foundation CEO, Debra Chase. “Cougars are overhunted in Washington and this budget will help to ensure they are not killed just for existing and living their lives.”

Chris Bachman, the Foundation’s Regional Conservation Advocate commented, “This directive to the Department will bring accountability, transparency and makes clear that the mere presence of a cougar on private property does not create an actionable public safety risk.”

Cougars are a keystone species in the U.S. and are found only in western states and Florida. Hunted to extinction in the east they have an ecological impact that is greater than their numbers suggest.

Founded in 1986, the Mountain Lion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure that America’s lion survives and flourishes in the wild.

Wildlife on public lands in New Mexico are now safe from trappers!

Wildlife on public lands in New Mexico are now safe from trappers! New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law Senate Bill 32!! This bill bans traps, snares, and poisons on public lands across New Mexico.

For over a decade there has been a battle to get trapping devices off of public lands in New Mexico. We are thrilled to see this tireless work finally pay off. Now our public lands in New Mexico are safer for wildlife, people and pets. It couldn’t have been done without you!

Thank you all for the support!

Our thanks also go out the many organizations in the Trap Free New Mexico coalition:  Wild Earth Guardians, Rio Grande Chapter of Sierra Club, Animal Protection Voters, Southwest Environmental Center, New Mexico Wild, Project Coyote, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Voters of New Mexico, Endangered Species Coalition, Amigos Bravos, Defenders of Wildlife, and Sandia Mountain Bearwatch.

We are so grateful for everyone’s hard work.