[vernalpool] NOTICE: Threat to MA rare species protection

Dear Vernal Pool ListServe Readers,

The rare wildlife of Massachusetts is facing a very serious threat.
Currently the bill SB-1854, designed to essentially kill the Mass.
Endangered Species Act (MESA) and the Natural Heritage/Endangered
Species Program, is now in committee. You can help protect our natural
heritage by doing the following:

1.Go to this video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj0VDNnch8I> on You
Tube so you can understand where this is coming from.There are actually
three videos and a website:
http://www.youtube.com/user/victimsofnatheritage?feature=watch

2.Educate yourself on the issue from other perspectives.As you review
the following links, bear in mind a jurisdictional "take" under MESA is
when the NHESP determines that a project will likely result in adverse
impact to the habitat of a state-listed rare species.No adverse impact
is when the NHESP determines that the project as designed (or revised
design) is unlikely to have an adverse impact on the population of rare
species.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/regulatory_review/mesa/mesa_project_review.htm

http://www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/roundup_archive.php?id=260

For FY10 (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010), NHESP reviewed a total of 2,028
projects, 1,205 under the MESA, 823 under the MA Wetlands Protection
Act. As the following breakdown shows, the vast majority of projects
reviewed by the NHESP result in a finding of no impact to rare species
(the No Take/No Adverse categories). The review process leads to a
dismissal of the project because the proposed work is too minor to
affect the habitat or a project modification that results in avoidance
of rare species impact. A very small percentage of projects cannot be
modified to avoid impacts, and go through a Conservation Permitting
process that typically results in a project being completed with
measures that result in a net conservation benefit to populations of the
species being impacted.

In summary, for FY10 we broke up the numbers by MESA filings and
Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) filings.

MESA: (n=1205)

No Take - 75.7%
Conditioned to avoid a Take - 19.4%
Take (Change to project and permit) - 4.9%

WPA: (n=823)
No Adverse - 91.4%
Conditioned to avoid an adverse affect - 7.8%
Adverse affect - 0.9%

3. Now that you know something about the issues, comment or dislike
(Vote thumbs down) each video as you see fit.

4. If you are a Massachusetts resident, contact your state senator and
reps <http://www.malegislature.gov/people/findmylegislator> to tell them
what you think about SB 1854
<http://www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/roundup_archive.php?id=260>

5. Also be sure to contact Sen Pacheco
<http://www.malegislature.gov/People/FindMyLegislatorNameDetail?NameSearchInput.FirstName=&NameSearchInput.LastName=pacheco&NameSearchInput.Branch=> and
Rep Gobi <http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/AMG1> of the
Committee on Agriculture and the Environment and SB 1854
<http://www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/roundup_archive.php?id=260> is
currently in this committee.

6. Send the same message to Governor Patrick
<http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/>. (Scroll
down on the linked page for the email section.)

7. Spread the word to others.

Thank you for your consideration.

-Scott Smyers

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