News & Events

Plant Conservation Program
The School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Institute for Plant Conservation Biology, and Loyola University
Chicago announced a new joint academic program in plant conservation biology, the only higher education
program of its kind in Chicago.
Experts warn that the United States is experiencing a plant conservation crisis. The human race requires
a variety of plants for food, medicine, clothing, shelter and the very air it breathes, yet an estimated
20 percent of plant species in the U.S. are species of concern.
Students wishing to register for certificate courses or inquire about conservation programs, call (848)
835-8261 or information can be obtained through the internet: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/certificate/pcb.html.

Gillnet Fishery Closure
The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has issued an order implementing an emergency closure
to fishing with gill and trammel nets along the central California coast beginning on April 26, 2002. The order
bans gillnet fishing in waters less than 60 fathoms from Pt. Reyes in Marin County to Point Arguello in
Santa Barbara County. The closure effectively bans gillnet fishing in most of the Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary.
The emergency order, which remains in effect for 120 days, was in response to litigation by Turtle Island
Restoration Network and the Center for Biological Diversity. The groups allege that DFG is in violation of the
Endangered Species Act by allowing the killing of California sea otters in the state-managed halibut fishery in
the Monterey Bay area. Commercial fishing is not regulated within National Marine Sanctuaries.
For more information: Todd Steiner, Director of Sea Turtle Restoration Project, TIRN, (415) 488-0370 x103, tsteiner@igc.org; http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/gillnet/emergency.html.

E-mail your announcements for the Bulletin Board to esupdate@umich.edu.
Some items are provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Biological