Survey Attachment. At the end of this newsletter you will find a short Survey related to the proposed cement plant and quarry (the Holnam project) on a 4,000-acre wooded site in Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve Counties along the Mississippi River. Your answers are very important! As you know, the Washington Univ. Environmental Law Clinic is representing WGNSS and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and they are asking us to complete the survey. There is no deadline but the faster we turn in the surveys, the faster they can use that information. Thanks to Adam VanGrack and Jill Witkowski of the Clinic Team for preparing the survey.

22 Million Monarchs Killed in Mexico. See separate article.

Bird Conservation Initiative. On Saturday, April 21, the Missouri Department of Conservation is holding an organizational workshop to plan strategy to implement at the state level the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), a project of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners in Flight, and other groups. Conservation efforts for both game and nongame species will be discussed. WGNSS was one of the organizations invited. Our participation is important, because we bring to the table a wealth of knowledge about nongame bird species and habitat issues. If you are interested in attending or if you want more information, please contact Yvonne Homeyer (314-963-7750). The workshop is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City. There is a $12 registration fee.

Proposed Cement Plant in Ste. Genevieve County (the Holnam project). In a recent Ste. Genevieve Herald article, pro-Holnam politicians in the Ste. Genevieve area announced an all-out lobbying effort on Governor Bob Holden to get him to come out in support of the project. By the time this reaches your mailbox, our own meeting with the Governor’s office should have taken place. But that is not enough. Please write Governor Holden yourself (with a copy to Mr. Patrick Lynn) and tell him how you feel about this proposed project. Address: Governor’s Office, Missouri Capitol Building, P. O. Box 720, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102. Fax: (573) 751-1495. We are also trying to set up a meeting with Congressman Dick Gephardt, because the proposed project is in his district.

On February 9, at the initiative of the Environmental Law Clinic, all the regulatory agencies met with WGNSS and other environmental organizations in Jefferson City to discuss the Holnam permitting process. The Missouri Department of Conservation hosted the meeting and we are grateful for their hospitality. WGNSS members Jim Ziebol, Yvonne Homeyer, and Jack Harris attended. Others in attendance were: Dave Bedan, Audubon Missouri; Ken Midkiff, Sierra Club; Ted Heisel, Coalition for the Environment, Kathy Andria and Kathleen O’Keefe, American Bottom Conservancy; and Maxine Lipeles, Kayje Booker, Adam VanGrack, and Jill Witkowski from the Environmental Law Clinic. Thank you, Clinic Team, for bringing everybody together.

Meanwhile, the Corps must decide whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which we believe is clearly mandated by federal law due to the enormous scope and impacts of the proposed project. Instead, the Corps is leaning toward an Environmental Assessment (EA), which is little more than a beefed-up version of the reports already submitted by Holnam’s consultants. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are in favor of the full-blown EIS and they have the power to elevate this project to Washington, D.C. We know that the Corps met with these regulatory agencies and Holnam in February. Although the Environmental Law Clinic felt that the law allowed us to attend since Holnam was going to be present, the Corps said no. The Clinic has protested that decision on our behalf.

At the state level, Holnam is trying to piecemeal the project by separating out the quarry activities. It has applied to the DNR/Land Reclamation Commission for two mining permits: one for 35 acres, and one for the entire 1700+ acre quarry. The Environmental Law Clinic will represent us at the March 22nd meeting of the Land Reclamation Commission and WGNSS will continue to oppose these piecemealing attempts. Also, we will be asking you to write letters to the Land Reclamation Commission when Holnam publishes a notice about the 1700+ quarry, thus triggering a 15-day public comment period. The Survey attached to this newsletter will help us in our efforts to fight the quarry permits, so please fill it out and return it at your earliest convenience.

The Coalition for the Environment has mounted a public outreach campaign on the Holnam issue, spearheaded by Dana Barnard, Campaign Coordinator. If you would like to help, call Dana at 314-727-0600. Dianne Benjamin is on the committee. This project has brought many diverse groups together and more are joining in all the time as word spreads.

Busch Conservation Area. Thanks to those members who contacted Mike Schroer about the early successional habitat project (see last month’s newsletter). Because he refused our simple request to give us a map of the areas included in the project, WGNSS submitted a written request for documents to the Department of Conservation and asked for a fee waiver as provided in the Public Records Law. The Legal Department denied our request for the fee waiver. We have asked the Conservation Commission to review that decision and provide the documents without our having to pay $28. Under the law, an agency may waive photocopying fees when the organization seeking the documents has no commercial interest in the information and is requesting the information in order to better understand the reasons for the department’s activities. We sincerely hope that the Department of Conservation will share the requested information with WGNSS so that we can be fully informed of the purpose, scope and location of the project. Only when both sides have the same information can there be a true dialogue.

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