Feds sued over coral protection

keysnews.com ^ | Sat., May 12, 2007 | Timothy O'Hara

[jsh3180]

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

Citizen Staff

A nonprofit wildlife advocacy group will sue the federal government for not providing adequate protection for two species of coral found off the Florida Keys that recently were placed on the endangered species list.

The Center for Biological Diversity successfully lobbied the National Marine Fisheries Service to put staghorn and elkhorn coral on the list. That occurred in May 2006, engaging an Endangered Species Act requirement that the agency designate critical habitat for protected species within a year of the status going into effect.

Fisheries biologists have not done that yet, said Jennifer Moore, a research scientist for the marine agency. The Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday filed a notice of its intent to sue the government, the first step in filing a lawsuit.

"We are not happy about the delay," Moore said, but defended the time and effort her agency is giving the matter. "We are diligently working on a plan that provides the most protection for those species."

Congress emphasized the importance of critical habitat, recognizing that "the ultimate effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act will depend on the designation of critical habitat." Recent studies have shown that species with critical habitat are twice as likely to have improving population trends than species without it, said Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Critical habitat protection for corals means that if a government action would adversely affect coral habitat, including those activities that contribute to global warming, the government must take steps to avoid such impacts, Sakashita said.

"These species of coral cannot stand much more delay," Sakashita said.

The fisheries service also has not implemented rules to protect elkhorn and staghorn coral, such as regulations for researchers collecting coral for scientific and conservation purposes, or for dredge-and-fill projects like the two-year endeavor in the Key West Harbor.

The number of colonies — the building blocks of reef ecosystems throughout the Florida Keys and Caribbean for nearly 500,000 years — has declined 97 percent since the 1970s, researchers said. The Center for Biological Diversity requested the listing as a way to get the Bush administration to recognize the effects of global warming.

Global warming causes a rise in water temperature, which can make corals more susceptible to bleaching. That, in turn, can lower corals' immune and defense systems, making it more difficult to fight potentially fatal diseases such as white band and white pox.

"I hope that they are doing due diligence and asking the hard questions to address issues like pollution, runoff and global warming," said DeeVon Quirolo, director of the Key West-based Reef Relief. "I hope they are taking their time to address the larger challenging issues that are affecting coral."

[jsh3180]

Oh boy, just want I want to see in my local paper when I get up this morning. I'm a general contractor with 30 years of business here in the Florida Keys. The environmental groups in collusion with US Fish & Wildlife have already got some 90% of the Keys under their "protection" through various endangered species. We've got of course the most famous one, the Key Derr, then there's the Keys Marsh Rabbit, the Keys Silver Rice Rat, the Schauss Swantail Butterfly.....the list goes on and on, ever decreasing the area where people can build, live or even play. Now they're going after live rock under the water, the article states that elkhorn and staghorn coral are the building blocks of the reef. FALSE!!! It's the large "boulder" types such as Brain Coral that are the building blocks of the reef.

Yikes, I'd better stop now or I'll go on and on. Lord help us all.

[Louis Foxwell]

We must begin to ask questions about the purpose of species protection. If these laws are not written to ensure human consumption of resources then they are without merit. It is not the province of the government to protect nature from humans. The government was never established to govern non human activity. This is over reaching to a fault.

[antivenom]

Not that I am a coral hugger (which would hurt me and kill the coral) but do have some under water experience to share. Brain coral is far and few, and are very slow growing so to call them important building blocks is incorrect. Whereas the elkhorn and stag horn coral grow faster and have other elements about their physical attributes that actually allow for reef building to happen quicker. It is natural for pieces of the elk or stag coral to break off and regenerate, even more important they act like berms that allow sand to build around them which then collect bigger objects, shells, and smaller pieces of tumbling underwater debris that is caught in the surge which builds up a mound that will start to have algae grow and then more debris gets caught and more growth will happen to the original piece of coral that came to rest there...etc...so this is the most rapid coral and reef growth that takes place under the sea.

I am a regular diver off the coast or Roatan, I have seen reefs in some cases over the years over a hundred times...yup the same reef and same dive spots. It fascinates me to see how fast some aspects of the reef can grow...the growth I see is lettuce, elk & stag horn corals, whereas I see lot of brain coral dying slowly and not repopulating at the same rate. Brain coral is far more susceptible to damage...even a shark rolling down the reef while killing something or during mating damages coral...brain coral just can’t take the abuse that lettuce, elk & stag horn can tolerate.

The reef will best benefit from the fast growing corals not the majestic brain coral.

[sergeantdave]

The Center for Biological Diversity is a criminal enterprise that was successfully sued by a southwest rancher these eco-fascists tried to shut down. The Center for Biological Diversity has lots of bucks and everyone everywhere should sue these shysters constantly.

[ClaireSolt]

Never fear, Florida is a goner. The sky is full of smoke from the fires and the beaches all washed away this week.

[Tai_Chung]

It seems like using the Endangered Species Act to combat “Global Warming” is an abuse of the Act. It could force Kyoto-like restrictions on the entire United States.

[sergeantdave]

I hope the Weekly World News is not affected. It’s my favorite Florida newspaper. I’d miss those pictures of batboy, flying saucers and grey aliens supporting the president.

[LiteKeeper]

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