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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20251214T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20260105T235900
DTSTAMP:20260417T065745
CREATED:20251129T200715Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T015209Z
UID:20546-1765670400-1767657540@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:Christmas Bird Count Season  Dec 14th\, 2025-Jan 5th\, 2026
DESCRIPTION:Every year the National Audubon Society sponsors the Christmas Bird Count Season Dec 14th\, 2025-Jan 5th\, 2026 \nRight now [12/15/25] we  are still editing the 126 season list of regional Christmas Bird Counts up on our web site. We have updated SD CBC information for this CBC season (12/14/25-1/5/25)  and are working on updating th info in the 7 adjacent states for our nearby but out-of-state Counts..  – https://phas-wsd.org/christmas-bird-counts-regional/   \nChristmas Bird Counts – for more info on Xmas Bird Counts nationwide to to the National Audubon Society \nhttps://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count \nTo find a count near you on an interactive map: \n  https://gis.audubon.org/christmasbirdcount/ \nOther links:  \nSOUTH DAKOTA \nhttps://phas-wsd.org/christmas-bird-counts-regional/ \nhttp://sdoubirds.org/SDOU/Calendar.aspx \nNEBRASKA: \nhttp://www.noubirds.org/Activities/CBC.aspx \nMINNESOTA: \nhttp://moumn.org/CBC/cal/calendar.php \nIOWA \nhttps://iowabirds.org/Connections/CBC.aspx \nAll official counts will be held between the dates\, Saturday\, December 14th\, 2025 through\, Sunday\, January 5th\, 2026. \nThe Audubon CBC is one of the longest-running wildlife censuses in the world. Each individual count takes place in a 15-mile-wide circle and is led by a compiler responsible for safely organizing volunteers and submitting observations directly to Audubon. Within each circle\, participants tally all birds seen or heard that day—not just the species but total numbers to provide a clear idea of the health of that particular population.  We tend to have 11-13 Xmas Bird Counts in western SD\, a few are not official counts. Eastern SD tends to have 10-12 counts. There are nearby counts in states  adjacent to SD also.
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/christmas-bird-count-season-dec-14th-2025-jan-5th-2026/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20251222T095000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20251222T215900
DTSTAMP:20260417T065745
CREATED:20251129T191653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T210401Z
UID:20529-1766397000-1766440740@phas-wsd.org
SUMMARY:ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) ROLLBACK PACKAGE – COMMENTS DUE DECEMBER 22\, 2025
DESCRIPTION:ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) ROLLBACK PACKAGE – COMMENTS DUE ON DECEMBER 22\, 2025 \nIssue: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued four proposed rules to roll back Endangered Species Act protections. These proposals would:• allow economic impacts to influence listing decisions;• narrow the meaning of “foreseeable future\,” limiting climate-related listings;• reduce critical habitat designations and make exclusions easier;• eliminate the blanket 4(d) rule so newly listed threatened species receive few or no automatic protections;• and weaken Section 7 consultation requirements.These rules could affect species such as the black-footed ferret\, northern long-eared bat\, piping plover\, whooping crane\, pallid sturgeon\, western bumble bee\,  and various grassland birds. \nFederal Register Notices (all published Nov 21\, 2025):Listing rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/21/2025-20549/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-endangered-and-threatened-species-and \nCritical habitat rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/21/2025-20552/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-pertaining-to-endangered-and-threatenedSection 7 consultation rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/21/2025-20554/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-interagency-consultation4(d) rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/21/2025-20553/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-for-prohibitions-to-threatened-wildlife \nSubmit Comments:https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0155https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0156https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0157https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0158 \nBy postal mail \nU.S. Environmental Protection Agency\nEPA Docket Center\, Water Docket (Mail Code 28221T)\n1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\nWashington\, DC 20460 \nHow to format your letters: \n\n\nInclude the Docket ID: (there are 4) FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0029\, FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0039\, FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0044\, FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0048 \n\n\nComments must be received by the end of the day on Dec 22 in Washington DC. \,  Those sent on-line at the web portal need to be sent before midnight – i.e: 11:59 pm EST -on the 22nd\, . \nNGO Articles and Analyses: \nCenter for Biological Diversity – https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-moves-to-dismantle-endangered-species-act-2025-11-19/ \nWestern Watersheds Project- \nhttps://www.westernwatersheds.org/2025/05/over-150000-americans-oppose-trump-administrations-unprecedented-effort-to-eliminate-habitat-protections-for-vulnerable-wildlife/ \nPre-Fab Online Letters:Earthjustice: https://earthjustice.org/action/the-law-that-saves-species-needs-saving?ms=web \nDefenders of Wildlife – https://act.defenders.org/page/91578/action/1 \nCenter for Biological Diversity – https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/nXrxsHJM-USwgTWVogrJjg2?sourceid=1010306&utm_source=eeo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eeo1327&utm_term=EndangeredSpecies&contactdata=+toDrYTq46LGmfEUjdGpi5iuDbAYKwIspYwezm8urFV8v9gnTvx8fVbQCg3xkYsobZM1QYa50B2qIDxCnRFgau2lqAE1cmc6RqKsOkB77M+5HX9zFtE0NsrfBYvAK+cAJptwJjmbNVPkB7x3A6RKN1j1xAO0RRip4WEJLOkTBxRFjSzzcGzXXRmEgrNiFPEkzDEjaWloa5i3Fo45exDwBSxJUuJ+JAFi5HfOWXQ5xKE%3d&emci=1e0a1cb9-11d5-f011-8195-000d3a1d58aa&emdi=4253627e-d5d6-f011-8195-000d3a1d58aa&ceid=586032 \nEndangered Species Coalition (breaks it into 4 comment letters) \n\nListing & Critical Habitat comment form. (Link)\nBlanket Rule public comment form. (Link)\nCritical Habitat Analysis comment form. (Link)\nInteragency Cooperation Regulations comment form. (Link\n\nPre-Fab Post Cards  (you have to print at home and mail so arrive by 12/22/25) \nEndangered Species Coalition has post cards you can down load and print with a simple comment for each rule proposal. \nhttps://www.endangered.org/send-postcards-to-defend-the-endangered-species-act-and-the-nature-it-protects/ \n======================= \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n+++++++++ \nTALKING POINTS FROM WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECT\, with links to comment\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n1. Threatened Species Protections (the “Blanket 4(d) Rule”) \n\nThis proposal would eliminate the long-standing policy that automatically grants newly listed threatened species the same protections as endangered species unless a species-specific rule is written. While existing protections technically remain during the transition\, the goal is clear: phasing out the blanket safeguard\, and reducing protections that have kept countless species from sliding toward extinction. \n  \nRead the talking points and submit your comments on this rule. \n  \n2. ESA Section 7 Interagency Consultation Regulations \n\nSection 7 is the backbone of the ESA — the process that requires federal agencies to ensure their actions don’t jeopardize listed species or destroy critical habitat. This proposal would revoke the stronger 2024 rules and revive the weaker 2019 Trump-era framework. It also narrows how agencies can analyze impacts\, making it easier for damaging projects to move forward. \n  \nRead the talking points and submit your comments on this rule. \n  \n3. Critical Habitat Exclusion Rule (Section 4(b)(2)) \n\nThis rule reinstates the 2020 Trump-era exclusion policy\, which makes it far easier to carve out areas from critical habitat designations and leave these habitats unprotected. It pushes the agency toward exclusion — especially for industry\, energy development\, ranching\, and private landowners — and elevates economic considerations over science. In some cases\, it can even force exclusions when habitat protections are urgently needed. \n  \nRead the talking points and submit your comments on this rule. \n  \n4. Listing & Critical Habitat Rules (50 CFR Part 424) \n\nThis proposal rolls back the 2024 updates and restores the 2019 framework. It narrows the meaning of “foreseeable future” for threatened listings\, makes it harder to designate unoccupied critical habitat\, and revives provisions that complicate listing\, delisting\, and the consideration of climate impacts — all at a time when species face unprecedented threats. \n  \nRead the talking points and submit your comments on this rule. \n  \nWe know this is a lot to ask. But the future of some of our most imperiled species truly depends on public pressure and right now\, that means flooding the comment portals with informed opposition. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n============================================== \nHere are the ENDANGERED SPECIES COALITION’s  TALKING POINTS: \nRule Docket Number FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0029 \n\nIf the blanket rule is removed\, it will deprive newly listed threatened animal and plant species from automatically receiving protections from killing\, trapping\, and other forms of prohibited “take.” Species now proposed for listing\, like the Florida manatee\, California spotted owl\, Greater sage grouse\, and Monarch butterfly\, could be left unprotected for years even after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalizes the listings.\nI urge you to withdraw this proposal. Delaying protections for “threatened” species leaves them vulnerable to becoming endangered.\n\n\n\n\nRule Docket Number: FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0039 \n\nI urge you to withdraw this proposal. Endangered Species Act listings must be guided by science and prohibit economic considerations. Federal agencies should not be allowed to take actions that push listed species closer to extinction.\n\n\nI  urge you to withdraw this proposal. Industry should not get a “rubber stamp” for projects that put federally endangered species more at risk.\n\n\nThe narrowing of the definition of “critical habitat” to exclude currently unoccupied but historic habitat would be disastrous. Historic habitat is vital for the recovery of imperiled species\, especially as the areas where they currently live shrink due to the rapidly changing climate and the chain effects of ongoing biodiversity loss.\n\n\nI urge you to withdraw this proposal. Critical habitat protections should be strengthened\, but this proposal does the very opposite by making it harder to designate critical habitat and allowing destruction to designated critical habitat.\n\n\n\n\nRule Docket Number: FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0044 \n\nI urge you to maintain strong compliance measures for federal agencies. The proposed rule makes it easier to greenlight destructive activities\, such as logging or drilling. These actions will put protected species in harm’s way.\nESA Section 7 calls for interagency cooperation. When federal agencies coordinate\, share information\, and carefully evaluate the impacts of their actions\, they help prevent avoidable harm and promote long-term conservation.\nStrong interagency collaboration upholds the law and\, importantly\, strengthens transparency\, improves decision-making\, and reflects our shared responsibility to safeguard biodiversity for future generations.\n\n\n\n\nRule Docket Number: FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0048\n \n\nI urge you to keep the analysis method for determining critical habitat\, habitat that are essential to species recovery\nI am concerned this proposal will lead to extinctions. It will exclude too much area from critical habitat designations. Habitat loss is the top driver of species extinction.\nIn the United States\, species proposed for listing\, such as the Monarch butterfly and the Bethany Beach firefly\, will need critical habitat protections. Science-based critical habitat designations are essential to truly recover endangered species.
URL:https://phas-wsd.org/event/endangered-species-act-esa-rollback-package-comments-due-december-22-2025/
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