HOLNAM UPDATE: Our appeal to the Clean Water Commission of the DNR's issuance of a 401 certification to Holnam (now called Holcim) may be decided at the CWC's Feb. 13 meeting in Jefferson City. If you are interested in attending, please contact Yvonne Homeyer at 314-963-7750. The Corps of Engineers has not yet made a decision on Holnam's application for permits to destroy the wetlands and construct a harbor by widening the Mississippi River. Gov. Holden (Mo.), Gov. Ryan (Ill.), Sen. Durbin, Congressman Clay and many other elected and public officials have asked the Corps to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. EPA, and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation have asked the Corps to deny the requested permits.

MARK TWAIN NAT'L. FOREST MEETING IN ST. LOUIS: A public meeting sponsored by the Forest Service called "What's Happening in the Mark Twain National Forest?" will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7:00 p.m. at Powder Valley. Issues such as lead mining (Doe Run) and logging threaten the forest's integrity and biodiversity. The MTNF provides critically important habitat for Neotropical migrant songbirds, other wildlife, and plant diversity. We would like to have lots of WGNSS members there. Please come to share your knowledge and opinions.

BLACKBIRD POISONING PLAN: The Wildlife Services division of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is continuing its campaign to put poisoned bait in sunflower crop fields in North Dakota and South Dakota to kill blackbirds that are estimated to cause only 1 to 2 % crop loss. This program has been in effect for several years and many species of birds, not just blackbirds, have been killed. Now USDA wants to formalize the program, rather than ask for yearly permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (which USFWS denied one year after pressure from the National Audubon Society). WGNSS has submitted public comment on the scoping phase that precedes the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. The intentional killing of blackbirds (and other bird species) has been prohibited for almost a century by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The USDA is trying to carve out an exception for blackbirds. One of the main flaws in the program is that there is no way to limit the killing to just blackbirds, the "target" species. Many other seed-eating species ("non-target" species) including Dickcissel, Goldfinch, Horned Lark, Meadowlark, Indigo Bunting, Mourning Dove, and sparrows will also eat the poisoned bait. In addition, secondary poisoning occurs when predators such as owls, hawks, mammals and reptiles eat the dead or dying birds. Last year, more than 150 WGNSS members signed letters protesting the poisoning.

ST. JOHNS BAYOU/NEW MADRID FLOODWAY: The Corps' proposal to drastically alter the flood plain in southeastern Missouri along the Mississippi River refuses to die, even though it is opposed by US Fish and Wildlife Service and US EPA. Thousands of acres of wetlands would dry up and Big Oak Tree State Park would be impacted. WGNSS recently submitted public comment on a revised draft EIS. We will keep you posted.

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