TAKE ACTION - BP's fines should be used to restore the Gulf Coast

Without congressional action, between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion in expected Clean Water Act fines would be on track to go to a fund to pay for the cleanup of future oil spills, as well as to the federal treasury, instead of the Gulf Coast. Take action now and urge your senate delegation to pass the Restore Act.

From Vanishing Paradise -

The Mississippi River Delta supports some of the best hunting and fishing anywhere in the world.

The delta hosts as many as 10 million ducks and geese during the winter—that’s roughly 70 percent of the waterfowl that use the Central and Mississippi flyways. And the Mississippi River Delta is one of the only places where you can catch bass, redfish, and tuna all within a few miles.

Unfortunately the BP oil spill had a devastating impact on the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River Delta. Hundreds of miles of shoreline were oiled; tens of thousands of square miles of Gulf waters were closed to fishing. The spill could not have come at worse time for spawning fish and nesting birds—and the oil is compounding Louisiana’s longstanding erosion problems that cause an average of a football field of marsh to vanish into the Gulf every hour.

Despite the continued threats to fish and wildlife in the Gulf, the Senate is stalling on a bipartisan piece of legislation called the RESTORE Act that will help the Gulf recover from the 2010 oil spill.

Without your voice, this common-sense piece of legislation may not make it across the finish line.

Please call your senator today by dialing the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

• Tell your Senator why restoring the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River Delta is important to you, your business or your organization.


• Ask the Senators to make passage of the RESTORE Act a priority—before the two-year anniversary of the spill this April.


• The RESTORE Act will dedicate 80% of the Clean Water Act fines from the BP oil spill to restoring the Gulf of Mexico.

Calling is much more effective but if you prefer to send your comments via e-mail you can do so HERE.

Don't Censor the Web

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel.

May we suggest a Pinot with that Redwood Forest?

From the Friends of the Gualala River.

In northern California, near the town of Annapolis in Sonoma County, there is a redwood forest that has been trying to replenish itself after taking a huge hit from logging in the past century. If, starting now, we prevent further environmental damage and allow the forest the time it needs to repair itself, it will recover.  Through these redwoods runs the Gualala River; it contains endangered salmon, a vital part of the area’s ecosystem. 

Two wineries, Artesa Napa Winery and Premier Pacific Vineyards, are proposing to clear-cut over 1,900 acres of these redwoods to be replaced by their vineyards.

In addition to its environmental significance, this area also holds great spiritual and cultural significance to a tribe of Native Americans, the Kashia Pomo, who still live there and regard it as a blessed place where their ancestors lived.  

This area under threat is home to more than 50 rare and sensitive plant and animal species, and salmon are struggling to survive.  If the proposals of these vineyards succeed, pressure for further development will increase, the salmon face extinction and the entire ecosystem will suffer a blow too catastrophic to recover from.

Add your name to the petition opposing the destruction of Redwood Forests.

Clear Cutting for vineyards is nothing new.

Save the Delaware!

Act now to Save the Delaware River.

On November 21st, the Delaware River Basin commission will vote on a plan to allow 20,000 gas wells in the Delaware River basin.

The Delaware River Basin commission is comprised of five voting members, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, Governor Christie of New Jersey, Governor Corbett of Pennsylvania, Governor Markell from Delaware and the Obama Administration represented by the Army Corps of Engineers. For the Delaware River to be opened up to drilling three out of five have to vote yes on the draft regulations plan. We need them all to reject the proposal and reject gas drilling and fracking.

There has never been a more urgent moment in the Northeast in the battle against fracking. The Delaware is the primary drinking water source for 15.6 million people and it is a national treasure.

Five actions you can take:

1) Call the the Governors from the member states TODAY and tell them, "Hello, I am calling you to express my serious concerns about hydrofracking. Please Don’t Drill the Delaware!"

Governor Christie’s office - 609-292-6000
Governor Cuomo’s office - 518-474-8390
Gov Corbett’s office – 717-787-2500
Gov Markell’s Wilmington Office - 302-577-3210

2) Come to the DRBC meeting!

When: November 21, 8 am

Where: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J.

There are over 20 buses traveling in from all over the region.

3) Delaware Riverkeeper will be hosting a peaceful non-violent direct action training on November 20th. For more information, sign up HERE.

4) Post it on Facebook.

5) Sign a petition to keep drilling and fracking out of the Delaware River Basin.

Anglers Blast California DFG Striped Bass Proposal

Dan Bacher has all the gory details on the California Department of Fish and Game draft of proposed recreational fishing regulation changes for striped bass on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay. The Department believes reducing the striped bass population will help listed Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, delta smelt, longfin smelt and tidewater goby by reducing smolt predation by bass. Unfortunately the science is not at all clear that striped bass have had any impact on listed species and reducing the population may in fact be detrimental to fish recovery. It appears the Department is caving in to agricultural interests who want the Delta's water. It will be critical for anglers to get involved to prevent these regulations from taking effect, the basic proposed changes are as follows.

Raising the daily bag limit for striped bass from two to six fish.

Raising the possession limit for striped bass from two to 12 fish.

Lowering the minimum size for striped bass from 18 to 12 inches.

Establishing a hot spot for striped bass fishing at Clifton Court Forebay and specified adjacent waterways at which the daily bag limit will be 20 fish, the possession limit will be 40 fish and there will be no size limit. Anglers fishing at the hot spot would be required to fill out a report card and deposit it in an iron ranger or similar receptacle.

Changes to the sport fishing regulations for the Carmel, Pajaro and Salinas Rivers to allow harvest of striped bass when the fishery would otherwise be closed.

DFG is also recommending an adaptive management plan that will help assess how the new regulations influence the fishery.

The proposal and management plan will be presented to the Fish and Game Commission for consideration at its December meeting.

There will certainly be more on this subject to come including what steps you can take to help. You can start by reading Bacher's overview on this absurd draft proposal.

LINK (Via: YubaNet)

Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline

Yesterday, exactly one year before the next presidential election, protesters descended on the White House, to remind the president, our government and the nation that the Keystone XL Pipeline has no place in a national vision of clean energy.

The Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline would originate in Alberta, Canada and pass through the West and Midwest of the United States ending up in Houston where most of the oil will be shipped overseas. Six companies have contracted for three-quarters of the oil. Five are foreign.

By signing a petition you too can send a message to the President demanding he reject the pipeline.

Sign the petition at 350.org.

LINK (Via: The Cleanest Line)