> Terry and Andrea wrote:
>
> From: CORALations (by way of Bruce Potter at Island Resources
> <bpotter@irf.org <mailto:bpotter@irf.org) <corals@caribe.net
> <mailto:corals@caribe.net
> To: Caribbean Biodiversity <caribbean-biodiversity@egroups.com
> <mailto:caribbean-biodiversity@egroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 1:28 AM
> Subject: [caribbean-biodiversity] Re: PLEASE ACT NOW
>
> As a marine conservation organization based in Puerto Rico, we ask
> that you
> sign on to the following letter to President Clinton asking that he
> STOP
> live fire target practice on the island of Vieques.
>
> At the recent coral reef executive task force meeting we were
> surprised that
> many people did not know the following:
>
> -Vieques has a population of over 9,000 people. This is not a deserted
> island.
>
> -The U.S. Navy targets coral reefs in violation of the 1983 Memorandum
> of
> Understanding with the local government.
>
> -The people of Vieques have been outspokenly opposed to Navy use of
> the
> island for live fire target practice for the last 60 years. Last
> spring a
> civilian guard named David Sanes was killed, and four others injured
> when
> a pilot accidentally dropped bombs which missed the target area. This
> tragedy has united the people of Puerto Rico who are now asking that
> the Navy not
> resume live fire practice on the island.
>
> -U.S. Navy makes large amounts of money leasing the island of Vieques
> to
> foreign powers for live fire target practice. Last year, the Navy's
> web site
> advertised the island of Vieques as follows:
>
> "One stop shopping - capability of excellence in all warfare areas
> with the
> right vision of the future...yields high return on investment."
>
> -With the exception of the target area, this biologically diverse
> island
> supports some of the healthiest coral reef with greatest percentage
> coral
> coverage remaining in U.S. Caribbean waters. Not unexpectedly, coral
> coverage and health improves as one moves away from the target area.
> There
> are a number of endangered species in the area of impact including
> seasonal
> whale populations and Giant Leatherbacks who instinctively return to
> nest on
> Navy beaches. We have seen one photo of a Leatherback washed ashore,
> spilling eggs, bleeding from mouth consistent head trauma from
> underwater
> shock. Vieques is also home and provides nesting habitat for many
> species of
> endangered sea birds
>
> -The decision to resume live fire target practice is now in the hands
> of
> President Clinton. Navy contends that live fire target practice on
> Vieques
> is an absolute necessity. They say this is an issue of National
> Security.
> They said the same thing when the people of Puerto Rico asked them to
> cease
> the live fire target practice on the municipal island of Culebra 20
> years
> ago. Today, unexploded ordnance litters coral reefs in Culebra, which
> has a population approaching 5,000, and other popular dive
> destinations in Puerto Rico including the uninhabited islands of
> Desecheo and Mona.
>
> -We hope that as experts in coral reef education, management and
> conservation, you will sign on this letter to the President to aid in
> his
> decision. The ecosystem being destroyed is of global importance and we
> no
> longer have the "luxury," if we ever had, of targeting biologically
> diverse
> tropical ecosystem. Please sign on the letter below if you haven't
> already,
> and make a quick call to the White House TODAY. The President will
> most
> likely make his final decision within the next two days.
>
> PLEASE SIGN ON LETTER BELOW TODAY FOLLOWING COMMENTS FROM PHIL DUSTAN
> OF
> COUSTEAU SOCIETY.
>
> White House Comment Line Phone: 202-456-1111
> White House Fax Line 202-456-2461
> Clinton's e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
> <mailto:president@whitehouse.gov
> Gore's e-mail: vice-president@whitehouse.gov
> <mailto:vice-president@whitehouse.gov
> White House Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
>
> ----------
> From: Phillip Dustan <pdustan@zeus.cofc.edu
> <mailto:pdustan@zeus.cofc.edu
> To: coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> <mailto:coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Cc: jhsterne@verner.com <mailto:jhsterne@verner.com
> Subject: Vieques letter to President Clinton - Please sign on
> Date: Tuesday, November 09, 1999 6:15 PM
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I'd like to thank all of you who contributed to my knowledge of
> Vieques
> Island two weeks ago. I wanted to learn more about the island as I was
> going to the US Coral Reef Task Force Meetings in St. Croix and knew
> it
> would be an issue at the meeting. The more I found out, the more I
> came to
> the realization that the ecology of Vieques is being harmed and
> perhaps it
> is time to do something about it. Regardless of your feelings about
> the
> politics of Vieques, It seems to me that it is important to stop the
> bombing ASAP.
>
> Jay Sterne, colleague of mine, works for the law firm of Verner,
> Liipfert,
> Bernhard, McPherson & Hand in Washington D.C. The firm works on behalf
> of
> the Government of Puerto Rico which is opposed to the continued
> bombing of
> Vieques Island. Jay is collecting signatures for the following letter
> to
> President Clinton. If you would like to be a signatory on this letter,
> please email your name and affiliation to him at jhsterne@verner.com
> <mailto:jhsterne@verner.com.
> Since this issue involves much more than coral reefs (ie. manatees,
> sea
> turtles, endemic plant species, birds, and many other groups), please
> feel
> free to post this message on any list you feel may be appropriate for
> the
> conservation of the island and its surrounding waters.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Phil Dustan
>
> ****************************************************************************
>
> **
>
> DRAFT
>
> November __, 1999
>
> President William J. Clinton
>
> The White House
>
> 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>
> Washington, D.C. 20500
>
> Dear Mr. President:
>
> The undersigned members of the scientific community and organizations
> are
> writing to urge you to exercise your authority to permanently halt all
> live
> fire military exercises and bombing activities in the vicinity of the
> Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Vieques is home to some of the most
> extraordinary ecosystems on the planet, including three of the world's
> seven surviving bioluminescent bays and some of the healthiest and
> most
> diverse coral reefs found in U.S. Carribean territorial waters. The
> island
> also provides important habitat for numerous species protected under
> the
> Endangered Species Act including manatees, brown pelicans, and green,
> hawksbill, leatherback, and loggerhead sea turtles, as well as several
> endangered plants. The Navy's nearly year-round use of Vieques for an
> unparalleled level of bombing has already resulted in significant harm
> to
> the Island's fragile marine and terrestrial ecology. Further, we
> believe
> further damage must be avoided.
>
> A preliminary study of the Navy's impact on the reefs has confirmed
> damage
> from direct hits, damage from shock waves caused by ordnance landing
> in
> nearby waters, and damage from unexploded ordnance shifted by wave
> action.
> Despite having entered into a binding 1983 Memorandum of Understanding
> with
> the Government of Puerto Rico in which it agreed to stop targeting and
> shelling offshore coral reefs, the Navy has continued these practices
> and
> caused further destruction. Today, large amounts of unexploded
> ordnance
> lie on the coral reefs of Vieques. The Navy simply has failed to
> undertake
> any meaningful clean-up efforts, or any other steps to stop further
> degradation of these coral reefs, let alone measures to enhance their
> protection.
>
> The harm to Vieques's coral reefs caused by the Navy's activities is
> clearly inconsistent with your Executive Order 13089 which seeks to
> enhance
> federal protection of coral reefs and specifically requires all
> federal
> agencies:
>
> "to the extent permitted by law, ensure that any actions they
> authorize,
> fund, or carry out will not degrade the conditions of such
> ecosystems."
>
> The Navy's actions clearly violate the letter and spirit of your
> directive.
>
> The Navy continues to violate the Endangered Species Act, which
> requires
> federal agencies to:
>
> "ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such
> agency
> ... . . is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any
> endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction
> or
> adverse modification of [critical] habitat."
>
> The Navy has failed to perform consultations with the U.S. Fish &
> Wildlife
> Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, as required
> pursuant to
> § 7 of the Endangered Species Act, to determine the impact of its
> actions
> on endangered or threatened species, including manatees, sea turtles,
> and
> brown pelicans.
>
> In addition to its disregard for the Endangered Species Act, the Navy
> continues to violate the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation
> and
> Recovery Act, which establish protective standards for water quality
> and
> soil contamination, respectively. It has been almost twenty years
> since
> the Navy completed its only Environmental Impact Statement on its
> Vieques
> operations. The report concluded that "potentially productive"
> portions of
> the island had been converted into "wasteland" by its aerial attacks.
> Finally, there are numerous toxic waste dumps and contamination sites
> scattered around Vieques, contributing to the release of depleted
> uranium,
> cyanide compounds, napalm, RDX, toulene and other hazardous substances
> into
> the island's ecosystems.
>
> It is unfortunate that the U.S. Navy has consistently disregarded
> federal
> environmental protection mandates on Vieques, but it is all the more
> reason
> to make the current cessation of its destructive activities permanent.
> It
> is also imperative that the Navy begins the crucial task of
> remediating the
> considerable contamination it has caused throughout the island. The
> undersigned members of the scientific community and organizations call
> on
> you to stop the Navy from resuming live fire exercises on Vieques, and
> to
> authorize and direct the Navy to develop strategy for rehabilitation
> and
> clean-up activities on the Island.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> <bigger </bigger Phillip Dustan <smaller </smaller
>
> Department of Biology and Science Adivsor to
>
> College of Charleston The Cousteau Society
>
> Charleston SC 29424
>
> pdustan@zeus.cofc.edu <mailto:pdustan@zeus.cofc.edu
>
> ~www.cofc.edu/~coral <http://www.cofc.edu/coral
>
> (843) 953-8086
>
> (843)953-5453 Fax
> ----------
-- ******************************************************************** Yacine Khelladi <yacine@aacr.net> Research Coordinator Kiskeya Alternative Destination Project http://kiskeya-alternative.org tel: 1-809-537 89 77 (voicemail) Fax to email gateway: 1-209-882-6121 (USA) P.O.Box 109-Z Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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