Report: Animals are vanishing quickly

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 9:12 a.m.

Nevada and the rest of the United States are in the midst of a species extinction crisis, with wildlife disappearing at 100 to 1,000 times greater rates than natural levels, a national report released on Wednesday said.

The Sierra Club, Red Rock Audubon Society and Tortoise Group released the report, "Conservation in Action: Safeguarding Citizen Rights Under the Endangered Species Act," at a media conference in Las Vegas.

Despite progress under the Endangered Species Act, the report notes that the Mojave Desert tortoise has declined by 90 percent since the 1930s and the Southwestern willow flycatcher has declined along the Colorado River by 90 percent since 1900.

Environmental groups are particularly upset by the Bush administration's attempt to cut wildlife protection funds to $8.5 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Bush administration is also attempting to reduce citizen participation to protect endangered or threatened species. For example, it took three petitions and two lawsuits to list the desert tortoise as endangered by 1989 in Southern Nevada.

"The president's extinction rider will only open the door to political intervention, bureaucratic delays and new extinctions," Jane Feldman of the Sierra Club said.

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