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<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT color=#3f803f>From Greenwire </FONT></U></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT color=#3f803f>ENDANGERED SPECIES:</FONT></U><FONT
face=Arial size=3> Lawsuit seeks protection for 2 Calif. butterfly species
</FONT></STRONG><FONT face=Arial color=#5f5f5f size=3><I>(Wednesday, March
18, 2009)</I></FONT> <BR><STRONG>Colin Sullivan, E&E reporter</STRONG>
<BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>SAN FRANCISCO -- An environmental group filed suit
yesterday to list two species of butterfly as endangered.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=1>In briefs filed in federal district court in San Diego, the
Center for Biological Diversity demanded that the Fish and Wildlife Service
reconsider a 2007 decision to not protect the Hermes copper and Thorne's
hairstreak under the Endangered Species Act.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial
size=1>The group charged that the Bush administration refused to list the
butterflies even after FWS biologists recommended more research into the matter.
Documents obtained by the group under a Freedom of Information Act request, the
suit alleges, show that biologists' call for a "status review" was ignored for
political reasons.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>Jonathan Evans, an
attorney at the center, said wildfires and climate change have decimated both
species. He thinks Bush administration officials intentionally overlooked this
reality.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>"It will take years to clean up the
Bush administration's abysmal record on wildlife conservation," Evans said.
"Extending endangered species protections to these butterflies will help return
science to government decisions."</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>The group
has been trying to protect both species for nearly 20 years. In 1991 and 2006,
the center filed petitions with FWS under the Endangered Species Act, both of
which were rejected. The suit challenges the latest decision.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=1>Asked why the group didn't repetition FWS with the Obama
administration is in charge, Evans said they alerted FWS 60 days ago that they
would file the lawsuit and never heard back. The lawsuit, he said, is the
group's best option.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>Both species of
butterfly live almost exclusively in the coastal and mountain regions of San
Diego County. Recent wildfires in the region destroyed much of their habitat,
according to the suit.</FONT> <BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive
Director<BR><B>Pollinator Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th
floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/><b>A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. <a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1219619459x1201345309/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26hmpgID%3D62%26bcd%3DMarchfooterNO62"> See yours in just 2 easy steps!</a></b></font></DIV></BODY></HTML>