Fish And Wildlife

A mechanical breakdown on an oil truck yesterday sent hundreds of gallons of heating oil gushing down a sewage drain and spilling into Deep Creek Cove, a thriving breeding ground for many species of Chesapeake Bay fish and wildlife.A Husky Heating Oil Co. driver was delivering 300 gallons to a home in the 900 block of Barracuda Cove Court in Cape St. Claire about 12: 30 p.m. when he saw oil spilling out of a pump at the front of his truck, county fire officials said.About 800 gallons of oil poured into the street, down a storm drain and into the water, leaving an oily slick on everything in sight for hundreds of yards.

Dr. Richard Ruggiero, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will make a presentation at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Blue Heron Room at Quiet Waters Park on "The fight to save African elephants, rhinos, hippos, chimpanzees and gorillas: The amazing story of a U.S. biologist's quest to preserve Africa's wildlife. " Before that, he caught up to answer five questions about the topic. Let's start with the question you will pose: is it possible to save that part of the world?

The names of Sarah Filkins, an architectural consultant for Historic Annapolis Foundation, and Robert C. Zepp, assistant supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Annapolis, were misspelled in yesterday's editions of the Sun for Anne Arundel County.The Sun regrets the errors.

We are starting a new feature, "Ask Outdoors Girl," where my alter ego will find answers to your questions: historical, cultural, legal, epistemological. You may call it lazy. I call it a way to responsibly clean out my e-mail account. We'll kick it off here this week and then move online next week. If you have questions, e-mail them to me and Outdoors Girl will begin the search. George Sennett of Baltimore writes: "Where is Diamond Jim? The fish worth $20,000 must be in the [Chesapeake]

The Maryland Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs met recently with federal officials to protest the Department of Natural Resources' decision to transfer management of a number of state Wildlife Management Areas to its State Forest and Parks Service.The primary concern of the sportsmen's federation is that the transfer of public lands could jeopardize the scope of federal funding in Maryland for fish and wildlife programs.Federal funds are generated by the sales of hunting and fishing licenses and excise taxes on fishing and hunting gear.

Michael E. Slattery Occupation Assistant secretary for forests, parks, fish and wildlife at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In the News Slattery was behind the decision to withdraw a proposal that would have allowed commercial fishermen to take yellow perch from two Eastern Shore rivers. After hearing public outcry over the proposal, Slattery said he would rather open up a dialogue on managing the once-scarce species. Career highlights Slattery, 41, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1986 with a degree in biology and environmental sciences.

A representative of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees will be at the Service Center from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay.Information and assistance will be available to retired federal employees and their families about annuities, health and life insurance, beneficiary changes, taxes, and survivor and death benefits., Information: (410) 969-5980.Scouts earn honors for activitiesBoy Scout Troop 550, sponsored by the Linthicum Elementary School PTA, recently returned from a seven-day camping trip to Hart Scout Reservation near Green Lane, Pa.The Scouts and troop leaders participated in several activities, including aquatic, shooting and field sports; ecology and conservation projects; handcrafts; and first-year camper programs.

WASHINGTON -- Bowing to pressure from the Maryland congressional delegation, the U.S. Department of the Interior backed away yesterday, at least temporarily, from closing the Patuxent Wildlife Center on weekdays and raising fees at the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore.The Patuxent center, an 8,100-acre site in Anne Arundel County off Route 197, reopened yesterday, a week after it was closed on weekdays.The fee increase at Blackwater was scheduled to take effect May 1.The closing of Patuxent on weekdays and the fee increase at Blackwater have been delayed until Oct. 1 pending Interior Department review.

Where tanks once rumbled in mock battle, bird watchers will soon stroll.Six months after transferring 8,100 acres at Fort Meade to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army formally dedicated the land yesterday as "a place where nature can resume its peaceful course."Secretary of the Army Michael Stone passed the final documents marking the transfer to Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr. as members of Maryland's congressional delegation, state officials and park volunteers huddled against the chill.

Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly shooting at an endangered California condor in the Los Padres National Forest in July 1992.Cesario Quinteros Campos, 32, of the Los Angeles-area city of Long Beach, was arrested at his home yesterday by U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents. Ricardo Contreras Tirado, 23, also of Long Beach, remained at large.Both men were charged with shooting at an endangered species, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and $50,000 fine.

The federal agency that regulates energy approved a proposal yesterday to build a natural gas terminal on the site of the former Sparrows Point shipyard in eastern Baltimore County, rejecting nearly three years' worth of opposition from area elected officials and the project's would-be neighbors. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission acted on the proposal - which also includes construction of an 88-mile pipeline to Pennsylvania - despite calls from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maryland's congressional delegation to postpone the vote.

In its final weeks, the Bush administration is pushing changes that could decimate threatened Chesapeake Bay wildlife, along with 1,353 at-risk species across the nation. The Interior Department posted a proposal over the summer for sweeping changes to the 35-year-old Endangered Species Act. They would eliminate mandatory scientific review by experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service of all federally approved development projects that might affect endangered plants or animals.

Maybe sports figures were always this stupid and we just didn't notice, or maybe so many of them are getting airtime now that their foolishness is on display. The most recent prizewinner for idiocy is pro golfer Tripp Isenhour, who was filming a TV show with the ominously prescient name Shot Like a Pro in December at a golf course in Orlando, Fla. It seems a red-shouldered hawk, a protected migratory species, was squawking loud enough to interrupt Isenhour's filming, so the 39-year-old pro zinged golf shots at the hawk - and eventually succeeded in hitting and killing the bird.

SALT LAKE CITY-- --Well, how smart am I? Leave Baltimore on Wednesday with the temperature pinning the nastymeter at the century mark and the humidity high enough to make licking the flap of an envelope unnecessary. Land here, where the temperature is a refreshing 96. Luckily, the gig that brings me to the land of Romney is the Outdoor Retailer trade show, where those who require the latest and greatest - not to mention the most-expensive - toys meet the manufacturers of said devices in an unholy marketing marriage.

Public land next to the Severna Park home of a top Department of Natural Resources official is being landscaped under a state grant written by his wife and approved by one of his employees. Michael Slattery, the assistant secretary who oversees the Forest Service, and his wife, Britt, a one-time U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, are actively involved in the two-year project. A $5,800 grant and $12,000 worth of volunteer labor and nonmonetary contributions are paying for the work, according to the application filed with DNR. The project involves shoring up a slope, removing non-native vegetation and replacing it with more than 500 native plants on a 30-foot-wide strip of land between the Slatterys' backyard and the popular B&A Trail, a former rail bed that runs from Glen Burnie to Annapolis.

Richard Maurice of Street spied a flock of geese late last month, very high and headed south, but oddly late for their fall migration. He asked: "Do you think it's possible they waited until it finally turned cold before they continued on their journey?" Good call. Holiday Obrecht, a refuge biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said mild weather, open water and ready food sources allowed some flocks to pause well north of their usual wintering grounds. When it turned cold, they resumed their flight south.

WASHINGTON -- After months of studying the economic cost of protecting the threatened northern spotted owl, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said yesterday that it has designated 6.88 million acres of old-growth forest in Washington, Oregon and Northern California as habitat critical to the creature's survival.Federal officials have estimated that saving the owl could cost 33,000 jobs in the Northwest, but the timber industry maintains that the toll could reach 80,000 to 100,000.The designation, which in effect would restrict timber-cutting on the land, is still subject to review by the Department of the Interior and is likely to face other challenges.

Exhibit opening -- DeMatteis Gallery, 209 West St. in Annapolis, will mark the opening of its new exhibit Status X with a reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow. The one-woman show by Gail Hillow Watkins runs through Jan. 15 and is named for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designation for extinct species. Proceeds from the sale of Watkin's artwork will benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 410-757-5385.

Federal wildlife officials are investigating whether three Crisfield crab processors, watermen and others in the Maryland and Virginia seafood industry have been involved in the widespread sale of undersized soft-shell crabs - possibly marketing the young blue crabs on Internet sites. Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, backed by Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, raided the three crab houses Sept. 7, authorities confirmed yesterday.