Bush FWS hurting endangered bighorn recovery

More bad politics from the US Interior Dept. put bighorn in jeopardy

SAN DIEGO -- To please mining and development lobbyists, the Bush/Cheney-run US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to ax critical habitat protections for the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep by more than half, from 815,000 acres down to 385,000 acres. This would be a very unwise move that would lessen the chances for survival and recovery of one of the southwest's most beloved endangered species.

Worse, the proposal would remove some of the most important and threatened bighorn habitat left in the western Sonoran Desert, and divide the rest into three separate units, violating the basic principles of wildlife biology that bigger connected habitat is most important for endangered species.

Endangered species need protected critical habitat to survive and recover. Hacking critical habitat protections will severely undermine bighorn recovery, which will benefit no one.

Please speak out on behalf of the Peninsular Bighorn, for good science, and against more bad anti-wildlife politics. Please act by Monday, December 10.