NWF on Animal Planet tomorrow!
Tuesday, April 2 at 10 a.m. eastern/pacific
Don't miss an appearance by NWF naturalist David Mizejewski in a special Animal Planet program called "Nim's Island Our World: A Reel Thinking Event."  The special, hosted by Jeff Corwin, focuses on the wildlife that appears in the new major motion picture Nim's Island and explores how kids can make a difference protecting wildlife and our environment in real life just like the title character does in the movie (which premieres nationwide on April 4th
David talks with Jeff about how NWF helps kids experience nature and make a difference for wildlife.  With reference to NWF's award-winning magazines for kids and programs such as Wildlife Watch and Certified Wildlife Habitat, the special will provide millions of impressions for NWF and our work.

Some other highlights of the special include:

--Interviews with the cast of the movie (Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin, Gerard Butler)
--Contest to find a "reel life Nim" - find out more here

--The commercial-free special will also be broadcast directly to schools across the country in partnership with Cable in the Classroom from the National Cable Television Association.

Bats in the Northeast have died in massive numbers over the last few months and no one knows why.  There are over 1,000 bat species globally and these flying mammals are important players in their respective ecosystems.  Northeastern bat species feed on insects and play a role in controlling insect populations.  Some of the species affected include the little brown bat, the small-footed bat and the endangered Indiana bat.  Let's hope we find a cause and cure for this mysterious epidemic soon.

Another packed meeting room for a session on climate change here at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference.

This time the meeting was for natural resource managers working at military bases. Among "conservation-reliant species" (those that require conservation management plans to stay healthy), 80% are on military land, according to one speaker. The audience was told that global warming is "pulling the rug out from under species" and "no species is safe"  from global warming.

Another speaker talked about why military and natural resource managers should care about alternative energy, saying, "climate change is happening." He also noted that the energy consumption of the federal government is more than that of 61 countries.

At the Energy and Climate Policy Committee, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies released findings from a survey of state agencies, including specific questions on the impacts of climate change in their state.  Lack of funding, information/research and political support were all cited by various states as factors inhibiting agency ability to prepare for climate change over the next decade. 

The lack of funding and information/research responses underscore the importance of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act now before Congress.  With dedicated funding for the protection and restoration of natural resources, new investments can be made to incorporate climate change in wildlife management plans.   

Natural resource managers aren't debating any more about if global warming is real -- they are now focused on what can be done to ensure all the work to protect our wildlife heritage isn't compromised in a warming world.  Lieberman-Warner gives these agencies a fighting chance at conserving wildlife for our children's future.   

Here at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Phoenix, National Wildlife Federation's Senior Wildlife Biologist Doug Inkley was an invited speaker for an all day workshop on climate change impacts on wildlife, fisheries and outdoor recreation.

Expecting about 20-30 people, the room was packed with more than 250 professionals in natural resource conservation. As one participant mentioned to me, "everyone was really listening. It wasn't about does global warming exist, instead people wanted to know what are we going to do about it."

The attendees are looking for management solutions and what can be done to minimize and avoid impacts on fish and wildlife, and the habitats they need to survive. They were grateful for the National Wildlife Federation's and The Wildlife Society's persistence to raise awareness about global warming impacts and the need to find solutions that help wildlife. Many natural resource managers now realize they have to put climate change at the front and center on their agenda if they expect to be successful in conserving fish and wildlife.

Getting this kind of traction in the natural resource community is significant! As I get myself ready for today's sessions on energy and wildlife policy, I'm listening to Senator McCain's foreign policy address at the World Affairs conference. He calls for the need for U.S. leadership on global warming, including a cap and trade mechanism:

We and the other nations of the world must get serious about substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years or we will hand off a much-diminished world to our grandchildren. We need a successor to the Kyoto Treaty, a cap-and-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically responsible manner. We Americans must lead by example and encourage the participation of the rest of the world, including most importantly, the developing economic powerhouses of China and India.

Time is runing out, but at least we are now talking about solutions and not wasting precious time debating the science.

Disturbing news from the California coast:

Federal fisheries managers on Friday took the initial step toward imposing what could be the strictest limits ever on West Coast salmon fishing amid a precipitous drop in fish returning to California's Sacramento Valley.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously adopted three options for sport and commercial fishing off the Pacific Coast, including an unprecedented complete shutdown of fishing off California and Oregon.

"This is a major disaster. We've never had one ever like this," council chairman Donald Hansen said after the vote. "It will have a major impact on California commercial fisheries for salmon, recreational fisheries, California charters."

This year's troubles are blamed on several factors, including poor water quality and unusual weather patterns. But long-term, salmon face an even larger threat - global warming. Because they need cold water, even small temperature increases can lead to widespread loss of salmon habitat. Rising sea levels are also bringing changes to water salinity where streams and rivers meet the ocean.

To learn more, read our recent report on sea level rise and the Pacific Northwest.

Even Peter Cottontail would approve of the facts below, I think. Here's some information on our little furry friends....

The Easter Bunny is getting ready for his big day this Sunday, but did you know that the original "bunny" was actually a hare? Hares are a close relative of rabbits but have a few key differences:

• There are many species of rabbits and hares, but generally, hares tend to have longer legs and larger ears and are generally bigger than rabbits. The snowshoe hare is an exception with its small ears that help prevent heat loss. Large ears have more surface area and lose more heat.

• Hares are incredibly swift and run from predators, while rabbits typically hide first, relying on camouflage, and only run as a last resort.

• Hares give birth to precocial young which means their babies are born covered in fur, have open eyes, and are ready to run shortly after birth. Rabbit babies are furless, blind and helpless at birth.

Jackrabbits are actually a type of hare. Find out more amazing Easter Bunny trivia and rabbit facts at enature.com.

The Associated Press has a great roundup the local impacts of a delayed spring thanks to climate change:

The capital's famous cherry trees are primed to burst out in a perfect pink peak about the end of this month. Thirty years ago, the trees usually waited to bloom till around April 5.

In central California, the first of the field skipper sachem, a drab little butterfly, was fluttering about on March 12. Just 25 years ago, that creature predictably emerged there anywhere from mid-April to mid-May.

And sneezes are coming earlier in Philadelphia. On March 9, when allergist Dr. Donald Dvorin set up his monitor, maple pollen was already heavy in the air. Less than two decades ago, that pollen couldn't be measured until late April.

Pollen is bursting. Critters are stirring. Buds are swelling. Biologists are worrying.

"The alarm clock that all the plants and animals are listening to is running too fast," Stanford University biologist Terry Root said.

Blame global warming.

And here's where it gets even more interesting:

What's happening is so noticeable that scientists can track it from space. Satellites measuring when land turns green found that spring "green-up" is arriving eight hours earlier every year on average since 1982 north of the Mason-Dixon line.

The key message in all this is that when you're talking to your friends about climate change, avoid talking about icebergs, glaciers and polar bears. Yes, those are all critical impacts of climate change, but they're all very far from home (apologies to our Alaskan and Canadian readers ... this is me looking north, waving hello).

Instead, try to focus on the impacts in your community:

• If you're in Seattle, talk about how global warming is making the water too warm for salmon (a major food source for orcas)
• If you're in Minnesota, talk about how global warming has devastated moose populations
• If you're in Florida, talk about coral bleaching and the ripple effects on all the species sustained by reefs

NWF.org makes it easy for you to learn more about how your community's climate is changing. Check out our state fact sheets!

Species extinction is a natural phenomenon with one to five species going extinct each year. But, presently this rate has accelerated, with dozens of species lost each day.

It is believed that primary reasons to blame for this rapid extinction stem from human activities like overhunting, urbanization, over-exploitation, and pollution and disease. These have led to the loss of natural habitats of several organisms.

Climate change is also considered as a threat to many species. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, of all the organisms found on earth 40% are estimated to be threatened. Some of the key organisms which face serious risk of extinction include African lions, Siberian tigers, marine turtles, great apes and panda bears. A great number of conservation efforts by several organizations are underway to protect endangered species.

Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) is one of the world's rarest mammals, and is listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species: Only 252 Vancouver Island marmots were found across Canada at last count. It is found only in the high mountainous regions of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is herbivorous, lives in small colonies in underground burrows, hibernates for 8 months in a year, mates in early spring (usually May), and is the largest animal in the squirrel family.

Several efforts, which include captive-breeding programmes, are underway to protect this mammal from the risk of extinction. But, recently, Calgary researcher Diane Casimir adopted a unique and ingenious approach to further the endeavor of saving these organisms. She has created a computer program to select for the most potential mates, and that would bear young ones. She has based her software on several factors like the period for which the mates were kept together, the age, previous production of young ones, etc. These factors are combined with the genetics of marmots. The software on the basis of these attributes could predict marmots that are most likely to mate. Truly wonderful!

This greatly helps in planning the future breeding programmes of marmots, which would help increase the population of this endangered animal. This study could further be extended to other animals which are threatened, or endangered. Of course, factors taken into consideration would differ from animal to animal.

Diane Casimir is working with the Centre for Conservation Research and the University of Calgary on the reproductive behavior of the marmot.

Important Links:

Abstract of the research article

News piece published in The Vancouver Sun

At a recent Senate hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) had this back-and-forth with EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson:

Feinstein, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that controls the EPA's budget, asked why Johnson had not yet complied with a Supreme Court ruling a year ago in Massachusetts v. EPA that required him to come up with ways to regulate greenhouse gases.

"I find this unbelievable on behalf of what is called an environmental protection agency," Feinstein said, "and there's a finding of the United States Supreme Court telling you to do something."

"Well, Madam Chairman," Johnson eloquently intoned, doing a spectacular imitation of Mr. Magoo wandering about in the smog, "I respectfully disagree that this is an easy decision. . . . I think Justice Scalia actually set it up as, in essence, a three-part test for me and this would be my brief summary, and that is: If the agency finds -- if I find that there's endangerment, then under the Clean Air Act I must regulate. If I find that there is not, that's test one. If I find that there is not endangerment, then I should not regulate. Or third, if there are other circumstances...."

If he finds there's endangerment? Did he read the reports his own EPA helped put out last week detailing the huge economic risks posed by even a modest sea level rise?

The multiagency reports cited the Port of Wilmington in Delaware as an example. The report says that if the sea level rises by two feet or even a bit less, 70 percent of port property will be affected.

Meanwhile, it says, such a rise in sea level would leave almost 2,200 miles of major roads and almost 900 miles of rail lines in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and the District of Columbia “at risk for regular inundation.”

If that's not endangerment, what is?

Unfortunately, this administration has proven it won't recognize the risks of climate change until the Chesapeake Bay is lapping at the front steps of the White House.

More unsettling news on the climate front this week, as scientists say glaciers are now melting nearly twice as fast as they did just a decade ago:

Scientists measuring the health of almost 30 glaciers around the world found that ice loss reached record levels in 2006, the U.N. agency said.

[The U.N. Environment Program] warned that further ice loss could have dramatic consequences particularly in India, whose rivers are fed by Himalayan glaciers.

The west coast of North America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountain ranges such as the Rockies and Sierra Nevada, also would be affected, it said.

"There are many canaries emerging in the climate change coal mine," UNEP's executive director Achim Steiner said in a statement. "The glaciers are perhaps among those making the most noise and it is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and takes notice."

We need Congress to act right now. Tell your Senator to support the Climate Security Act today!