The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fish and wildlife" ...
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The Hunting of the Poacher King
Outside Magazine reports that "...The seeds of Ray Hillsman's downfall were sown by his mouth, which was big and which, for the life of him, he couldn't keep shut... Once he illustrated his tale by flashing a wad of $50 and $100 bills - profits, he claimed, from selling the gallbladders of his prey to an Asian businessman down in Eugene (Oregon.) Nobody knows for sure how many bears Hillsman and his poaching ring killed, but Oregon officials estimate that they wasted upward of 50 to 100 black bears a year for five to ten years...And for a while, nothing could stop him--not (veteran game warden Richard) Lane, not the cops, and certainly not his own conscience. Hillsman had become the poacher king."
Tags: Poacher; fish and wildlife; DNR; illegal trade; black market; Asian medicine
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Rescuing the San Joaquin
The Fresno Bee reports that "Environmentalists say (the San Joaquin) is dying; a farming empire depends on it. Can we restore a river without devastating an economy? ... The federal government (60 years ago) dammed the state's second-longest river to save Valley farmers from economic ruin at the end of the Great Depression, an exchange of natural wonders for water that now supports a multibillion-dollar farming empire...Today the river appears poised to turn on the Valley it was engineered to sustain. The San Joaquin River has made the list of the nation's 10 most endangered rivers....The river needs a good flush to clean out pollutants and revive wildlife and habitat, but there isn't enough water to do that in most years. In past decades, water for farmland has been given priority over water for fish. That thinking started to change in 1988...."
Tags: agriculture; EPA; Supreme Court; litigation; farmers; environmentalists
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The Looting and Smuggling and Fencing and Hoarding of Impossibly Precious, Feathered and Scaly Wild Things.
The New York Times Magazine reports 'inside the $10 billion black market in endangered animals... Wildlife for sale. The trade in exotic animals - especially protected, threatened and endangered species - is not usually thought to occupy a huge share in the global market of illegal goods smuggled across borders. But in recent years, only illegal drugs have outstripped the cash value of the living and dead wildlife that sluices through a black market toward trophy hunters, pet enthusiasts and devotees of traditional medicines."
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Polly's journey
At least one-third of the animals native to Mexico are in danger of extinction. The abundance of animals has become a source of income for Mexicans because they border the biggest wildlife market in the world -- the United States. CNN finds that the economic incentives far outweigh the penalties and the flood gates have opened to a flurry of illegal smuggling.
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No title (id: 13866)
NBC6 (Miami) uncovers South American endangered animals being smuggled into Miami. (Nov. 12-13)
Tags: Daniels Zamost Craven Taken from the wild Contest entry U.S. Fish and Wildlife World Wild Life Fund GAO Animal rights Miami International Airport 12 pgs. TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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No title (id: 13714)
This series determined that more than $3 billion has been spent since 1980 to rescue Columbia Basin Salmon runs. Yet many fish runs are closer to extinction than ever. The series documented a salmon recovery industry of bureaucrats, fisheries biologists, engineers and politicians earning their living off the continued decline of the salmon. Politics and inside connections determine which scientific studies are funded, and influence the outcome of those studies. Many multi-million dollar schemes such as hatcheries are proven failures, but lawmakers keep pouring money into them because they are politically popular. (July 28 - 30, 1996)
Tags: Mapes River of no return Contest entry wildlife 51 pgs.
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Where Eagles Die
Antigovernment zealots and a mystery toxin in Wisconsin have undercut the astounding revival of the bald eagles. A large number of eagle deaths were atrributed to environmental terrorism. Scientists were unable to discover the cause of deaths for eagles dying in southern Wisconsin despite testing for every known pesticide and avian disease. In Arkansas, two-thirds of the winter eagle population were found dead or dying. (January 1996)
Tags: Reynolds; Where eagles die; U.S. fish and wildlife service; National wildlife health center; Arkansas game and fish commission; DDT; National audubon society; Environmental protection agency; 10pgs
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No title (id: 9490)
Buzzworm Magazine finds that the trade in illegal wildlife products; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ineffective in stopping the smuggling of the contraband; gives the blackmarket prices for various products made from the skins and body parts of endangered animals, July/August 1993. # CO Speart
Tags: None
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Struggle to survive
Sacramento Bee reporter analyzes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data to find the flaws in implementation of the Endangered Species Act; finds an agency so overwhelmed by an enormous workload, anemic budget and politically charged agenda that it cannot protect the species it is charged with protecting; finds that spending on mammals and birds far outweighs that on all other species combined.
Tags: CA Clemings
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Wetlands: Acquisition at any cost?
Appeal Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) finds conflicts of interests by Reagan appointees on the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Trust for Public Lands; board members decide what land tracts will be purchased by the federal government, and then buy the land themselves and sell it to the government, thus making personal profit.
Tags: Environment; ecology; wildlife; TPL National Fish and Wildlife Foundation