Witnesses Praise Positive role of Hunting on Conversation Management. The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight recently held a hearing to examine the science used to inform wildlife management decisions that involve hunting. "As a hunter who was first introduced to the sport by my father when I was 6 years old, I am personally aware of the positive impacts of managed hunts in America and overseas," said Subcommittee Chairman Paul Broun (R-GA).  "However, there may be some who are not aware of these positive impacts and how the science of hunting assists species conservation and management." In addition to hunting on federal, state, and local public lands, privately owned game ranches also enable hunting of specific species of animals, including some that are either endangered or extinct internationally. Witnesses today discussed how these ranches play an important part in the effort to boost the overall numbers of certain species, including their reintroduction into the wild. Existing federal regulations that authorized limited hunting of these species have been challenged in federal courts, resulting in a January 2012 final rule issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service that poses new challenges to these game ranches, ultimately impacting species conservation. House Science and Technology Committee  

 

House Spending Panel Unveils Deep Cuts to EPA. House Republican appropriators on Tuesday unveiled a 2013 spending bill with deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Overall the newly revealed 2013 Interior and Environment bill has $28 billion in funding - a cut of $1.2 billion below 2012 levels. It also contains numerous riders that prevent environmental rules. They include riders to limit the reach of Clean Water Act regulations and block President Obama's National Ocean Policy. The Hill 

 

The Melting North. Standing on the Greenland ice cap, it is obvious why restless modern man so reveres wild places. Everywhere you look, ice draws the eye, squeezed and chiselled by a unique coincidence of forces. Gormenghastian ice ridges, silver and lapis blue, ice mounds and other frozen contortions are minutely observable in the clear Arctic air. The great glaciers impose order on the icy sprawl, flowing down to a semi-frozen sea. The ice cap is still, frozen in perturbation. There is not a breath of wind, no engine's sound, no bird's cry, no hubbub at all. Instead of noise, there is its absence. You feel it as a pressure behind the temples and, if you listen hard, as a phantom roar. For generations of frosty-whiskered European explorers, and still today, the ice sheet is synonymous with the power of nature. The Economist 

 

Remote Siberian Lake Holds Clues to Arctic- and Antarctic- Climate Change. That result comes from the first analyses of the longest sediment cores ever retrieved on land. They were obtained from beneath remote, ice-covered Lake El'gygytgyn (pronounced El'gee-git-gin) ("Lake E") in the northeastern Russian Arctic. The journal Science published the findings this week. They show that the extreme warm periods in the Arctic correspond closely with times when parts of Antarctica were also ice-free and warm, suggesting a strong connection between Northern and Southern Hemisphere climate. The polar regions are much more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought, say the National Science Foundation-(NSF) funded Lake E project's co-chief scientists: Martin Melles of the University of Cologne, Germany; Julie Brigham-Grette of the University of Massachusetts Amherst; and Pavel Minyuk of Russia's North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute in Magadan. Science Blog 

 

Russian Air Force Holds War Games in Arctic. The Russian Air Force is holding large-scale exercises in the Arctic. As part of the maneuvers, various types of aircraft - from long-range bombers to fighter jets - will be tested. The exercises shall demonstrate the possibilities of using long-range aviation in local non-nuclear conflicts, including in the area beyond the Arctic Circle. The choice of the Arctic as the site for exercises is not by accident. Interest towards this region continues to grow; in 2012 all arctic countries have already held, or are holding large scale war games here. There are not many alternatives to the Arctic for Russian long-range aviation. This region is the main "classroom" for the strategic missile carriers: large sparsely populated areas are perfect for training. However, the aims of today's exercises are somewhat different. Besides traditional long-range launches of cruise missiles, strategic bombers are also testing interaction with fighting aviation - SU-27s and MIG 31s - as well as the use of tactical ammunition. Not only fighters and bombers are taking part in the maneuvers, but also A-50 radar aircraft and Il-78 air tankers performing aerial refueling. The Voice of Russia 

 

Arctic Sanctuary Pitched at Earth Summit in Rio: Canada condemned for Arctic sovereignty crusade as celebs decry oil drilling. Canada was among several Arctic-bordering nations to face criticism at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, as Greenpeace launched a new campaign aimed at preserving the Arctic as a "global sanctuary" that should be protected from resource exploitation. Environmentalists took swipes at nationalist claims on the polar region for offshore oil drilling, arguing for the creation of a special Arctic reserve to protect animal and plant species. Eco-minded celebrities such as former Beatle Paul McCartney, actress Penelope Cruz and director Robert Redford added their voices to the Greenpeace goal. They were among the first 100 signatories of a "Flag for the Future" scroll that Greenpeace hopes will be signed by a million people and placed on the Arctic seabed. CBC News