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PNS - Wednesday, July 3, 2024 - SCOTUS turns down river dredge mining in ID without a permit; the White House weighs options after ruling on immunity-Democrats angry at partisan split; Tips to stay safe as July 4th heatwave envelops the Golden State; Prison reform proposal seeks federal funding to reduce the state prison population.
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Big Sky Connection - A federal judge in Montana has shut down a 10,000-acre logging project in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, protecting habitat of the old growth forest-dependent goshawk (GOSS-hawk). An alliance of environmental protection groups that filed the so-called Horsefly lawsuit says the judge's move not only protects the iconic bird, but sets a precedent for protecting more threatened wildlife. Comments from Mike Garrity, executive director, Alliance for the Wild Rockies.
Click on the image above for the audio. The Northern Goshawk is dependent on old-growth forests and is especially good at getting into tight spaces. A federal judge in Montana has blocked a logging project that threatened the birds' habitat. (Adobe Stock)
Mark Moran
July 3, 2024 - A federal court judge in Montana blocked a large project which would have logged or clear-cut more than 10,000 acres of old-growth forest and threatened an iconic bird nesting in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
In addition to logging 16 square miles, the project would have bulldozed 40 miles of new logging roads into the Little Belt Mountains.
Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, said the decision also protects the Northern Goshawk, an old-growth-dependent species which has declined 47% in the last few years. He pointed out the bird has been under constant threat of clear-cut, which Garrity noted allows competitor species to drive it out.
"Even though they're a fairly big bird, they can fly through very tiny openings by pulling their wings in, and they can make very sharp turns," Garrity explained. "If you accidentally come close to a goshawk nest, they are very protective of their nest and they will attack people with their talons and poke out their eyes."
Garrity emphasized the U.S. Forest Service is required by its own rules to tell the public if the goshawk population declines by 10%, and did not. The Forest Service contended the Horsefly project, as it is known, would not affect the goshawk population but its own numbers showed the drastic decline in nesting sites and population.
It is one in a series of lawsuits filed by a coalition of environmental advocates, including the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, to protect species habitat. Garrity stressed the Horsefly ruling is important for the goshawk but the threats do not stop there.
"It's also important for other mature and old-growth forest-dependent species, such as pine martin, lynx, and forest birds," Garrity outlined. "Which are all in decline."
The court dismissed other parts of the case, including claims roads would interfere with grizzly bear habitat and threaten the elk population.
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PNS - Wednesday, July 3, 2024 - Sentencing is delayed in former President Trump's New York felony conviction, Democrats vow a legislative overhaul of the Supreme Court, and the last female GOP Senators are voted out of the South Carolina Legislature.
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PNS - Wednesday, July 3, 2024 - CO nursing homes left in dark as utilities cut power to prevent wildfire; First Democrat in Congress calls on Biden to withdraw after debate; Report says abortion restrictions cost SD's economy $670 million annually; CT '988' hotline services rank high in national report; NE Winnebago Educare promotes children's well-being.
