Petitions out the wazoo

I get half a dozen of them in my mailbox on a good day. They are petitions from countless conservation organizations, and I try to share as many as I can with you. Just in case you don't get them on your own!
Here are the ones I've signed so far today:

Reinstate Moritorium on Drilling the Outer Continental Shelf

Help Save the Grand Canyon

Support Historic Bill to End Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt

Wolves without Boundaries

Now that is a good motto, if I've ever heard one. It belongs to the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, whom I just discovered serendipitously through the Fugly Horse of the Day blog.
Much as we've seen in Yellowstone and other prime wolf habitat, it came to the attention of people (as always, a little late) that wolves in the Grand Canyon region of Arizona were a keystone to the health of the natural environment. Wolves were killed both to protect the natural prey animals, thought to be helpless and 'harmless', and to protect the interests of stockmen who later moved through the region. The government actually hired hunters solely to shoot wolves, mountain lions, and other predators. As the GCWRP states on their website "The exterminators did not understand and, therefore, gave no regard to the important role predators play in nature." Now days we have a much better understanding of the role apex predators like wolves and mountain lions play in balancing nature. With the extermination of these key species, the deer numbers skyrocketted. Without predators to keep them in check, the prey animal populations become weakened, animals die of disease and starvation, and often overfeed on their habitat, causing long term habitat destruction.
In 1999 Mexican Wolves were reintroduces into the Blue Range region of eastern Arizona, a critical first step in wolf recovery. However, unnatural territory boundaries continue to keep wolves from prospering as well as they should. Just as in Montana and Wyoming wolves can be shot for leaving designated recovery areas, wolves in Arizona are trapped and taken back to the Blue Range, essentially killing any hope of creating sustainable, genetically diverse wolf populations.
But the GCWRP seeks to tell us all hope is not lost. They cite that "The Grand Canyon Ecoregion has been identified by wildlife ecologists as offering extraordinary habitat for wolf recovery. The region contains vast expanses of undeveloped land in national parks, monuments, and forests, and contains ample food for wolves. Scientific research indicates that this region, extending from the Mogollon Rim all the way up to the high plateaus of southern Utah, can sustain at least 200 wolves."
So why don't we all give our wolves a chance to flourish and live without borders?

A long awaited....

VACATION!

Yes, thank Gaia, finally.
I will be out of town and away from the computer until Sept. 2, so hopefully the world keeps spinning without me blogging, haha.
It has been years since I've had more than four days off, and six days in the desert seems like a blessing. Hopefully I will come back with some great pictures to share, and maybe a few good enough to add to my new ImageKind Gallery. If I ever manage to get the Living Gaia website up and running all of my Living Gaia related products from both Cafepress and ImageKind will then be available in one place, along with Amazon search engines for 'green' products and books and other products of interest to like-minded people. Which will also hopefully mean less of the ads on this blog, more space for pictures and the like!
Anyway.
Consequent to taking a vacation I did some math and figured out that aside from the obvious loss of pay (I don't get paid vacations) I almost SAVE money by going on vacation, because I'm saving gas not going to work and saving money on eating and such. Scary that.
So, heres hoping everyone else has a great Labor Day weekend! I'll be thinkin' of ya'll down in my canyon.

The border wall: the truth about what we're keeping out

Someone please enlighten me if I'm missing something, but I'm really not getting how the proposed Border Wall is supposed to keep illegal immigrants out. Read some of the completely off-topic comments about the wall on the Sierra Club's blog.
How many times have we seen news clips showing illegals simply climbing over such obstacles before? Now show me a news clip of an endangered ocelot climbing over the wall, and I'll think about giving you my blessing to build it. The plain truth is, the wall isn't going to keep them out. In fact, its quite likely that the added obstacle will only create MORE environmental damage as they try to find other ways around/under/over. Historically, walls have been a grand gesture with often enough little actual effect. But that's just talking about humans.
I hate to break it to all of you, but humans aren't really my issue. In fact, I don't even really LIKE us.
Unlike a lot of people who are reading the Sierra Club blog, I'm not focusing my concern on my job (and I happen to work in an industry fairly well inundated with illegals) , or our country's economy (that's a whole other issue!) but on what the Sierra Club is SUPPOSED to be about: The land and the animals. Conservation. As they say "Explore, enjoy, and PROTECT the planet."
It is true that illegal aliens crossing the desert often leave trash behind. Big problem, right? So lets build a big stupid ugly wall around our entire country to keep them out, that'll solve it! Not. If you Arizonans are so concerned about this trash HERE is an idea for you: Why don't you and your local Sierra Club Chapter organize a clean up day? Now I'm not saying that solves the problem, but it certainly does help, instead of sitting there at your computer bitching about garbage and the economy. When is the last time you picked up an empty soda can you found on the side of the road, honestly?

Don't let them build a railyard in our state park, Arizona!

From SaveThePeak.org:

"Picacho Peak State Park and the surrounding areas are in danger. On November 29, 2006, the Pinal County supervisors unanimously voted to revise the general plan, allowing industrial use at the base of Picacho Peak. They gave Union Pacific a green light, encouraging them to purchase just less than 1500 acres of land at the base of the peak to build a mega railroad hump/switching yard. This yard will cover an area that is over six miles long and three miles deep, along the I-10 corridor.

A group of concerned citizens and experts voiced dozens of reasons to stop the rezoning, ranging from the adverse affect to the natural environment to a moderate chemical spill that would shut down I-10 for a minimum of 12 hours. The Pinal County supervisors did not waiver, dismissing the environment and public safety in favor of the slanted report, submitted by Union Pacific, showing economic growth.

This report was not site specific; the rail yard does not have to be built at the base of Picacho Peak for Pinal County to benefit from any potential economic growth. The Picacho Peak site was chosen because of the decrease cost to Union Pacific. In 2006, Union Pacific set an all-time quarterly record, growing 15 percent to $4.0 billion in operating revenue. They can afford to build at another location.

This yard will adversely affect the natural environment and future economic development of Picacho Peak State park area. We need your help to fight this “David and Goliath” battle -- with your support we can convince Union Pacific and the State of Arizona to choose an alternative site that does not destroy our coveted natural resource for generations to come. Click here to send a letter and to post your thoughts.

The decision now lies with State Land and the Governor. Please help preserve the peak for our future generations. Get involved now."

Picacho Peak is truly a land mark in Arizona. I call it 'Draco's Mountain' because for some reason to me I can just imagine a big ol' dragon perching up on that craggy peak. Passing it is a highlight of my trip every time I drive up from Tucson to Phoenix. Don't let the Union Pacific and the government desecrate our State Park! Go to SaveThePeak.org and voice your thoughts now!

They want to put a 6x3 MILE railyard here?! (damn blogger pictures aren't working AGAIN. Visit the Gallery!)

Slightly off topic: Border Fence

Yes, I'm going slightly off topic today, but this subject kind of irks me.
Its the proposed (and in some places already being implemented) Border Fence between the US and Mexico.
I will be perfectly honest about my opinion. While I do think that steps must be taken to secure our borders for various reasons, I think the idea of the wall is just plain STUPID. How many times have we seen pictures on the news of people simply climbing over similar structures? What exactly are we expecting to accomplish other than altering our natural environment, probably damaging protected habitat (remind me to tell you more about the ocelots), ticking people on BOTH sides of the border off, and making something really really ugly?
Not only will the proposed fence cut farmers and ranchers off from the much needed resource of the Rio Grande, but it will ruin the natural beauty of what to me are some of the most beautiful states (Sorry folks, I may be a Marylander by birth, but I've spent a whoooole lotta time in Arizona and sorry if I think its purtier.)
The fence will also cut native wildlife off from both water, and natural migration routes. Sonoran wolves and Desert Pronghorn populations are on the verge of collapse, and this sort of meddling can have only dire consequences. (See, I told you I was only SLIGHTLY off topic.)
A big ugly fence is NOT the answer. Until the US and Mexico and fix their economy nothing is going to change, except we'll have spent a whole lot of money one a useless en devour.
As always, just my opinion.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Blogger was having a mental problem about the length of my post/title/tags...it wouldn't tell me which. So I truncated it and will post the end part here!
If you live in the Tucson/Marana, Phoenix/Mesa areas or are planning a vacation in the Southwest any time soon I HIGHLY suggest a trip to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. They have WONDERFUL exhibits, animal, mineral and historical, from a walk-through hummingbird aviary to an underground adventure in fossil excavation and gemstones. Hike, bike, or drive around their 8-mile wildlife loop road and see everything from roadrunners to tarantulas, javalina, coyote and mule deer. Climb on the Really Big Rocks (official name, just kidding) because its a blast! And if you stop by the gift shop get me some cactus candy. Please? I'm begging you.

Wolves and Polar Bears and prairie dogs? oh my!

I'm finally getting a chance to go through some piled up mail in my box, so pardon me if these 'announcements' are a bit late...I'm sure there are still plenty of ways you can help and a lot you can learn!
All in trouble this month: Southwest or "Lobo" wolves, Polar bears as always, and a funny little rodent you probably never think about: Prairie Dogs.
First the wolves. I've had the privilege and pleasure to meet these creatures up close at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum outside of Tucson, Arizona, where a staff member invited us to stay a bit past normal closing time, in order to give a howling demonstration. The Coyotes started it off, but the wolves joined in quickly, and the Ravens over in the aviary added their voices as well. To a Raven, Coyote and Wolf talk probably means dinner! I've also seen them in the wild, in New Mexico while visiting family near White Sands. New Mexico Representative (R, of course) Pearce recently attempted to undermine the Southwest Wolf Recovery Program by spreading misleading and often outright untrue information about wolves to his fellow New Mexicans, calling for the termination of the recovery program. Thankfully, he was thwarted! The man actually went so far as to tell people that 'nothing is more appealing to a wolf than the sound of a baby crying.' How outlandish! Everyone knows politicians lie, but really. Despite the recent win for Lobo Wolves, we must remain vigilant that the government continue to support the Endangered Species Act and not allow sensationalism and fantasy sway them.
Meanwhile Polar Bears continue to face threats from every direction...poaching, global warming, habitat loss. For the sake of todays argument I'm not even going to open the Global Warming can of worms. I'm focusing on destruction and disturbance of habitat and LOCAL pollution. Big Oil has been pressing for years to open up arctic wildlands to drilling, lands that include several key wildlife areas, national parks and refuges in Alaska. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the United States, and a key denning and breeding habitat for animals from Polar Bears, to Caribou, to migratory birds you can find in your own back yard! Polar Bears den here, Caribou cross thousands of miles to drop their calves, and Arctic Wolves hunt. Oil company development along the coastal plain would have a drastic affect on all local wildlife, including fish and marine mammals such as the endangered Bowhead Whale living in the Beaufort Sea. To understand the impact of drilling and exploration in the arctic refuge, one only need to look as far as nearby Prudhoe Bay.
And last but not least on todays ranting agenda the Prairie Dog. Prairie Dogs get a bad rap. They (as well as numerous other rodents in the mid and southwest) can be carriers of Bubonic Plague, dig holes that old time ranchers will always blame for the breaking of a prize bull or cutting horse's leg, and (heaven forbid!) make use of ranchland that should rightfully belong to cows, ain't that right folks?! There has been noise from many plains states about using poison to destroy up to 2/3 of the prairie dog population in some places. On its own a Prairie Dog might not seem like much. But consider: Prairie Dog's provide food for some of our most endangered small predators, the Black-footed Ferret and the Swift Fox, both of which are currently being managed by recovery programs. If the Prairie Dogs were destroyed, these other key species would also suffer. Also, vacant Prairie Dog burrows are used by Ferrets, Foxes, Owls and snakes, as well as the rodents providing food for other animals such as Coyotes, Bald and Golden Eagles, owls and many species of hawks. The effort to exterminate the Prairie Dog not only highlights the government's serious lack of understanding the impact of its 'management' actions, but costs tax payers billions of dollars a year. Do YOU want to pay for these misguided schemes? I don't!
Visit Defenders of Wildlife and WorldWildlifeFund to find out what you can do to help them in their efforts in these areas. And if you happen to see a Polar Bear, Wolf, or Prairie Dog today tell him I said "Hi! and Good Luck!"