OperationMigration.Org

Thirteen whooping cranes follow an ultra-light through West Jefferson County three years ago as they passed over Alabama Power’s Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River

The ultralight-led migration of nine whooping cranes, on hold in Franklin County, Alabama, pending clearance by the Federal Aviation Administration, has been given the green light, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Operation Migration, a member of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, is now mobilizing resources to continue guiding the young cranes to their wintering sites at St. Marks National and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuges in Florida.

“As soon as the weather clears, we will be back flying,” said David Sakrison, Operation Migration Board Member. “We appreciate the work FAA has done to help us get back in the air.”

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Glynn Wilson

Alabama Power’s Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork River emits more mercury into the air than any other power plant in the country.

by Glynn Wilson

Much anticipated national standards limiting the output of mercury and other toxic air pollutants from the nation’s power plants were unveiled on Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards designed to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide, will slash emissions of these dangerous pollutants by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants, according to an EPA press release announcing the decision.

The long-delayed final standards have been the subject of a ferocious lobbying battle pitting environmental groups against industry lobbyists, and the unveiling of the standards is being hailed as a victory for environmental groups, some of which are still recovering from the bitter disappointment of the White House’s decision to delay new air pollution regulations.

EPA estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

“By cutting emissions that are linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses like asthma, these standards represent a major victory for clean air and public health –- and especially for the health of our children. With these standards that were two decades in the making, EPA is rounding out a year of incredible progress on clean air in America with another action that will benefit the American people for years to come,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement. “The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will protect millions of families and children from harmful and costly air pollution and provide the American people with health benefits that far outweigh the costs of compliance.”

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Glynn Wilson | Thanks to Southwings.org

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force released its final strategy for long term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast Monday following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region. The Task Force delivered its final strategy recommendations on Friday to President Barack Obama, who established the Task Force by executive order.

The strategy is the first restoration blueprint ever developed for the Gulf to include input from states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of involved citizens and organizations across the region, according to the release. The plan represents a commitment by all parties to continue to work together in an unprecedented collaboration to prepare the Gulf region to transition from response to recovery and address the decades-long decline that the Gulf’s ecosystem has endured.

EPA Administrator and Task Force Chair Lisa P. Jackson, partnering with Task Force Co-Chair Garret Graves, made the announcement during keynote remarks at the 2011 State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit in Houston. Ms. Jackson was joined by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman, according to a press release announcing the plan.

“After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this Task Force brought together people from across the Gulf Coast in unparalleled ways to talk about how we tackle both the immediate environmental devastation, as well as the long-term deterioration that has for decades threatened the health, the environment and the economy of the people who call this place home,” Jackson said. “It has all come to this moment – when we move from planning and researching to supporting real, homegrown actions aimed at restoring this vital ecosystem.”

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Glynn Wilson

An autumn view of the Lake Chinnabee campground with no one around (click on the image for a larger view)

Secret Vistas
by Glynn Wilson

LAKE CHINNABEE, Ala. — It drizzled rain in the dark all the way from the Oxford, Alabama exit off Interstate 20 through Munford on Highway 21, making it hard to find all the turns that lead to Lake Chinnabee in the Talladega National Forest. But somehow between a detailed atlas and the Google iPhone map, we found the turnoff at McElderry Road that led to Cheaha Road, which took us past Camp Mac and wound up into the mountains toward the highest point in Alabama at Cheaha State Park.

All the way there, photographer Kenny Walters and I had gone back and forth over whether we would find the place empty, or whether other knowledgeable campers would have found the place and staked out a position in the middle of the second week of November. I figured it was 60-40 the place would be deserted.

It was still drizzling when we pulled into the Lake Chinnabee campground on Wednesday evening at about 6:30 p.m. — and there was not another vehicle or camper in site. The place was deserted, just the way we like it.

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Two Suspects Apprehended in Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has identified two juveniles for their alleged role in the illegal shooting of two whooping cranes found dead in Jefferson Davis Parish on Oct. 10.

According to an eyewitness account, two boys stopped on Lyons Road in between Mouton and Guidry roads south of Jennings at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 9. The eyewitness said they shot from their truck and killed two whooping cranes.

Agents and biologists were notified Oct. 10, and retrieved the dead birds, part of the agency’s whooping crane reintroduction program. Agents were able to locate the suspected juveniles Monday night based on information from the eyewitness account, according to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Losing two cranes, especially in such a thoughtless manner, is a huge setback in the department’s efforts to re-establish a whooping crane population in Louisiana,” said Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham. “We take this careless crime very seriously.”

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Lake Chinnabee in the Talladega National Forest is one of the prime locations on the Alabama Birding Trail.

Secret Vistas: A Photo Essay from the Lake Chinnabee Campground

Glynn Wilson

Click here or on the image for a larger view

This red-bellied woodpecker [melanerpes carolinus], close cousin to the northern flicker, also known as the yellow-hammer, the state bird of Alabama, stopped by for a meal atop a pine tree by our campsite Saturday afternoon in Cheaha State Park in the lower Campground No. 2 near Cheaha Lake.

Glynn Wilson

A little yellow warbler has been hanging around the bird bath on Wednesday. Finally managed to grab a couple of shots. Not sure exactly what kind it is. Maybe an orange-crowned Warbler vermivora celata? Feedback from bird experts welcome.

Agenda Outlines Blueprint for Reversing Decline of Gulf Coast Ecosystem

Glynn Wilson | Thanks to Southwings.org

See a photo essay from the air as BP’s oil slick made landfall last May

WASHINGTON – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, chaired by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, released its comprehensive preliminary strategy on Wednesday for long term ecosystem restoration.

The agency is seeking public review and feedback on the strategy, which will be presented to President Obama at the end of the public review period and represents an historic opportunity for addressing long-standing issues contributing to the decline of the Gulf’s critical ecosystem, according to a press release announcing the plan.

“Even before last year’s oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico endured decades of decline that threatened the environmental and economic health of this region. This strategy is designed to prepare the region for transitioning from a response to the spill into a long-term recovery that supports the vital ecosystem and the people who depend on it,” Jackson said. “The health of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem starts and ends with its people and its communities. The individuals and families who visit the Gulf, who work in the region, who depend on its resources, and especially those who call it home, know its needs and challenges best. They will be integral to creating and executing this long-term strategy.”

The preliminary strategy is the first effort of its kind to be developed with the involvement of parties throughout the region, including the states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of interested citizens and organizations. The plan builds upon on-going efforts underway in the Gulf Coast states includes specific steps for on-the-ground action and represents the Task Force’s commitment to putting Gulf coastal restoration on an equal footing with other national priorities.

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