Center for Biological Diversity seeks to destroy Fort Huachuca to save the San Pedro River
by Hugh Holub on Jun. 01, 2011, under Center for Biological Diversity, endangered species act, environment water and energy, litigious environmental groups, politicsThe Center for Biological Diversity’s war against Fort Huachuca has taken a dangerous turn as far as the future of that important military base is concerned.
A federal judge threw out the US Fish and Wildlife’s plan for the San Pedro River at the urging of the CBD and now the base may have to be reduced in scope of its activities to save the river.
From the Arizona Daily Star May 31, 2011:
Judge rejects government opinion about fort’s impact on endangered species
….Calling the Army’s reliance on this 2007 opinion “arbitrary and capricious,” the judge said the Army has violated its duty under the Endangered Species Act to ensure that its operations don’t jeopardize the two species’ existence. The ruling grants a motion from two environmental groups requesting that the service be forced to rewrite the biological opinion again.
In 2002, another judge tossed out an earlier biological opinion from the wildlife service, forcing a rewrite. Four years later, the service and Army agreed to withdraw and rewrite a second opinion —which led to the 2007 opinion that was tossed out in last week’s ruling.
The continuing litigation is part of an ongoing effort by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Maricopa Audubon Society to force reductions in groundwater pumping to keep the river from going dry.
The ruling’s significance should be “that it is finally clear that they can’t come up with enough mitigation measures to preserve the river with the fort’s current troop strength,” said Robin Silver, the center’s conservation chairman.
“In order to save the river, they need to reduce the number of missions at Fort Huachuca,” said Silver, who has been battling the fort, the wildlife service and other local, state and federal agencies for the past two decades to try to save the river.
COMMENT: The battle between the Center for Biological Diversity and Fort Huachuca is a classic example of the conflict between US environmental law…especially the Endangered Species Act…and other missions of the US government namely national security.
Center for Biological Diversity at war with US Military
Obviously from the quote from Robin Silver, saving the San Pedro River takes precedence over saving Fort Huachuca. In Silver’s world…and CBDs… the environment is more important than anything else.
The same conflict exists on the border with groups opposing the border fence and access by the Border Patrol near the border on federal lands. They don’t mind it if Mexican drug cartel goons armed with AK 47s are running around the country so long as animals and plants are not disturbed.
GAO confirms federal environmental laws and federal land managers hinder securing our border
The goal to “reduce the number of missions at Fort Huachuca” is essentially to kill both the Army base and the city of Sierra Vista.
There are alternatives to what CBD is seeking that would allow both the Fort and the river to prosper.
Take the Santa Cruz River south of Tucson. It has been restored to pretty close to what Father Kino saw in 1691…by treating the sewage from Ambos Nogales and discharging it to the river.
The riparian area of the Santa Cruz River is every bit as environmentally important as the San Pedro.
But the CBD and other environmental groups make a distinction between “free flowing natural rivers” and an effluent dominated river like the Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz is bad, the San Pedro is good.
I doubt of the riparian vegetation and the birds and the fish care where the water comes from as long as it is there and of good quality.
The US government funded a $60 million upgrade to the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant to guarantee that the effluent discharged into the Santa Cruz was of high quality to protect the environment.
And that is a road map for Sierra Vista. All of the wastewater generated by Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca should be treated and discharged back to the San Pedro River. That would offset most of the groundwater pumping in that area.
In addition, all the stormwater that lands on the base and the city should also be captured and released to the San Pedro. Ultimately 100% of the groundwater pumping could be offset by treated effluent and managed stormwater.
But you do not hear the Center for Biological Diversity working for a “win-win” solution to save the base and the river. The river must be natural and the base and Sierra Vista must go away to save the river.
The people funding the Center for Biological Diversity and Robin Silver’s jihad against Fort Huachuca need to take a hard look at what is going on and ask yourselves…do you really agree with their agenda?
Are you really trying to save a river or destroy a military base?
[Note: Hugh Holub is a water attorney and Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Development which seeks to provide the truth about the litigious environmental movement to the public and to work on"win-win" solutions that protect BOTH the economy and the environment.]
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The Endangered Species Act series of articles:
Endangered Species Act…it ain’t what you think it is — Part 1
Endangered Species Act — Part 2– this land is not your land
Endangered Species Act – Part 3 – Never swat a fly
Background info on Endangered Species Act:
Endangered Species Act — an Introduction
Endangered Species Act — Which Animals and Plants are “Threatened” or “Endangered”?
Endangered Species Act — Section 7 Consultation Endangered Species Act — USF&W Introduction and Key Sections
Endangered Species Act — Definition of ”Harm” and “Take”
Endangered Species Act–Listing and Critical Habitat
Endangered Species Act–Habitat Conservation Plans
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June 1st, 2011 on 7:25 am
I was surprised to hear that not all environmentalists are as hostile to the military as the CBD appears to be. A few years ago, I heard environmentalists praising the base for its efforts.
These environmentalists have figured out that military people can be commanded to do certain things that civilians cannot be commanded to do.
Fort Huachuca has waterless toilets everywhere. Its housing has natural desert landscapes. When the federal government owns the lands—and the housing and work areas—-you can do things like that.
When Del Webb owns the lands as the base of the picturesque Huachuca Mountains, you can’t. Retirees want swimming pools and fountains and shrubs that require water. And retirees vote. BOY, do they vote!
Does CBD really think that some philosopher king…excuse me, federal judge….is going to evict the Army and give the base to a crew of hackysack-playing Johnny Appleseed wannabees in tie-dyed shirts?
If CBD wants this fight, then let’s have it.
June 1st, 2011 on 8:14 am
“arbitrary and capricious,”
Just like Lt. Calley’s decisions. What we really need is for the CBD to expand their area of interest to Afghanistan, Iraq and the entire Middle East. Maybe figure out some way to tie the environment to the operations of home-grown terrorist organizations like the FBI.
Even if you can’t always change things, it is productive to keep them busy defending themselves in court. It distracts them from vaporizing children in the name of “National Security”. “National Security”; it’s one of those things like “Family Values” – it sounds good on the face of it, and who could be against something that sounds so reasonable? In the end though, one turns out to be about enriching Halliburton at the expense of people all over the world and the other is about racism and forcing weird religions into civil life.
June 1st, 2011 on 9:09 am
“”"The ruling’s significance should be “that it is finally clear that they can’t come up with enough mitigation measures to preserve the river with the fort’s current troop strength,” said Robin Silver, the center’s conservation chairman.”"” Can there be a more ignorant comment than this? A ruling by a judge proves nothing. A judge can be as wrong as anyone else, and certainly no judge is expert at evaluating such studies. It also is ridiculous to suggest the fort has even scratched the surface on mitigation measures. Perhaps if the Center for Biological Diversity would volunteer some of their expertise to study Fort Huachuca’s water useage instead of spending their time in meetings and court, they would find some of the many waste issues I see regularly on Ft Huachuca and Sierra Vista. I see lawns being watered in Sierra Vista, when the sun is still bright in the sky baking away most of the water, and massive excess flowing down the streets. (Even if having a lawn is justified, a slight damping at sundown each night is more than sufficient). I see large private swimming pools using more water than 10 families.
June 1st, 2011 on 1:54 pm
Stop the madness!