Take Action: Recently, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the West Coast fisher as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. EPIC was one of 16 other environmental groups who in 2000 petitioned for the fisher to be listed across the West Coast. Finally, 14 years and numerous lawsuits later, it appears that the fishers may finally get the protection they deserve. But the fisher still needs your help.
The fisher, the largest member of the weasel family, is no doubt scrappy—it feeds on porcupines of all things—but is still in danger of extinction along the entire West Coast.
Historically, trapping and logging decimated the fisher population, leaving small, fragmented populations. Though it once roamed the Pacific Coast, the fisher is currently confined to two native populations—one in the southern Sierra Nevada and one in our backyard, Northern California-Southwestern Oregon—and a handful of reintroduced populations. Today, new and old stressors continue to threaten the fisher, including logging, wildfires and wildfire management, barriers to movement between populations, rodenticide, and the inadequacy of existing regulations (to name just a few).
You can help ensure the preservation and restoration of the fisher.
2. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments on the proposed “threatened” finding. Add your voice to the chorus of scientists, wildlife advocates, and concerned citizens to say that the West Coast fisher is threatened and worth protecting. Here is the portal for delivering your own unique comments: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R8-ES-2014-0041-0001 the reference ID that must be included in subject heading is: FWS-R8-ES-2014-0041. The comment deadline is January 5, 2015.
3. Individuals can also submit comments in writing, or in person at the public hearing on November 17, 2014 from 6 to 8pm at the Red Lion – 1830 Hilltop Drive, Redding, California 96002.
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