Heading to Texas, Hudson’s Toxic Mud Stirs Town

EUNICE, N.M. — There are not many towns in America that would welcome the 2.5 million cubic yards of toxic sludge being dredged from the bottom of the Hudson River in New York, but to hear Mayor Matt White tell it, Eunice is one of them.

Storing waste nobody else wants means more jobs, Mr. White said, and the oil workers here are used to living with hazards. After all, there are several oil wells in the town itself. One of them is a block from City Hall.

Severe Texas Drought Threatens Coastal Wildlife

A severe drought gripping Texas is causing unusually salty conditions along the Gulf Coast, upsetting the region’s ecological balance and threatening coastal wildlife including oysters, crabs and whooping cranes, the most endangered crane species.

Whooping Cranes Drastically Decreasing

Video Coverage of Decreasing Cranes

State officials are asking the public to report any sightings of whooping cranes, after the population of endangered seabird has dropped for the first time in eight years.
The whooping cranes call Rockport home during the winter months. Over the last year, about 20% of the flock of almost 300, has died. [...]

Crane deaths raise alarm about water rights

A record number of whooping cranes have died while wintering along the Texas coast this year, leaving biologists stunned and once again placing the Guadalupe River at the center of the state’s ongoing battle over water rights.

A dry spell has reduced the Guadalupe’s flow so severely that the supply of fresh water and food for the endangered whooping cranes dwindled in San Antonio Bay. As a result, 23 whoopers have perished, the deadliest year on record for the majestic bird, federal and state wildlife officials said.

Worry about whoopers. Efforts to save North America’s biggest bird from extinction

When the world’s last remaining flock of wild whooping cranes set off on its migration south from the nesting grounds on the Alberta/Northwest Territories border last fall, wildlife biologists on both sides of the border were upbeat about how the 4,000-kilometre flight to Texas would turn out.

SAVE THE WHOOPERS

The valiant effort to save North America’s biggest bird from extinction has suffered a setback — nearly one-fifth of the cranes have died in the last 12 months. Drought and a wasting disease are the latest threats.

Public asked to report whooping crane sightings during northward migration

The trumpeting sound of cranes overhead is a cherished sound of spring in Texas, but as endangered whooping cranes depart Texas this spring en route for breeding grounds in Canada, fewer birds will be making the trip.

Whooper mortality rate called highest in 20 years

The ninth aerial census of the 2008-09 crane season at Aransas was conducted March 15 with observer Tom Stehn of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Conditions were less than ideal with overcast skies and occasional light rain. Parts of the crane range were not flown as rain and lightning ended the flight after 3.7 hours.

Large water allocation: Whoopers’ trouble

In the past 10 days, you’ve written twice on whooping crane deaths. Once today, and once again in your March 9th editorial. “Water is key to whooping crane survival.”

Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance share your concern and question how you failed to mention the impact that the heavy-water use of the proposed Exelon Nuclear Plant near Victoria would have on the whooping crane.

Whooping crane deaths up

AUSTWELL - Biologists found three more dead whooping cranes on Sunday, making this winter the deadliest on record in the past 20 years for the endangered species.