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On August 8, 2003, the United States filed a petition asking the Tenth Circuit
Court of Appeals to re-hear or re-hear en banc the case of Silvery Minnow v. Keys.
It is a great success of Grange members grassroots efforts to urge New Mexico
Government to appeal the decision. Last
June, the 10th Circuit Court held that the federal government has a responsibility
to preserve the Middle Rio Grande ecosystem by releasing enough water to keep
the endangered silvery minnow alive, even though the federal government does not
own the water in question, but holds the water "in trust" and delivers the water
to farmers, ranchers and the city of Albequerque. For
more detail click here to review our 6/26/03 action alert. After
this court decision has been made, the National Grange, which has supported comprehensive
reform of ESA as a member of the National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition,
tried to influence New Mexico Government to appeal the decision. And, it turned
out to be a big success. If
the petition for rehearing en banc is granted, the entire court will re-hear the
case, and the parties will have an opportunity to brief the issues again. If
you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst
Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091
or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation
in the National Grange Legislative program. Want
to Subscribe To  ? For
all subscription and circulation inquiries, Contact: Jonathan
Hill. | 
