The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page A12

Product: GREBrd PubDate: 03-31-2013 Zone: GN Edition: 1 Page: News-G User: mredinger Time: 03-30-2013 21:42 Color: 12A greenvilleonline.com SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013 THE GREENVILLE NEWS Sunday, March 31, 2013 The Greenville News greenvilleonline.com 13A Sea lion pups fill rescue centers Pope shortens Easter Vigil service By Sue Manning Associated Press LOS ANGELES Hundreds of starving sea lion pups are washing up on beaches in Southern California, overwhelming rescue centers and leaving scientists scrambling to figure out why. At island rookeries off the coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die. It's gotten so bad that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an "un usual mortality event." That will allow more scientists to join the search for the cause, Melin said. Even the pups that are making it are markedly underweight, Melin said.

Pups weighed on San Miguel Island were about 37 pounds, when they should weigh up to 59 pounds by now. Melin said she doesn't know how the pups are making it to the mainland, but they must be using currents and swimming. "That's a long way, and they are very small," she said. "They don't have a lot of fat, and the water is pretty cold. They are often dehydrated, which is typical with By Nicole Winf ield Associated Press VATICAN CITY Pope Francis celebrated a trimmed back Easter Vigil service Saturday after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he began to put his mark on the Catholic Church.

Francis entered a darkened and silent St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the service, in which the faithful recall the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter. One of the most dramatic moments of the Easter Vigil service that usually follows when the pope would share the light of his candle with others until the entire basilica twinkled was shortened this year as were some of the Old Testament readings. The Vatican has said these provisions were in keeping with Francis' aim to not have his Masses go on too long. The Easter Vigil service under Benedict XVI frequently would typically run nearly three hours.

In his homily Saturday, Francis kept his message simple and tied to the liturgical readings, recalling how Jesus' disciples found his tomb empty a day after his death and were surprised and confused. "Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness, and that is where death is," he said. "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!" Francis on Sunday will celebrate Easter Mass and deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "To the city and the world." Rescued sea lion pups in Laguna Beach, Calif, pacific MARINE MAMMAL CENTER emaciation." Between Jan. 1 and March 24, 948 pups were rescued, said Jim Milbu-ry of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Last year, only about 100 pups needed saving.

Pope Francis holding a tall, lit, white candle, enters a darkened St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday, alessandratarantinoap Dwindling New England habitat threatens Peter Cottontail ik i i. i i ill- Happy Cow Ice Cream Forrest Fenn shows a chest purported to contain gold dust, hundreds of rare gold coins, gold nuggets and other artifacts, jeri clausingap Art dealer hides chest filled with treasure IrOver 86 fvvarieties I iniia it, Jpp Local Honey Happy Cow Coffee Jjj m0 Creamy Cheese Pecan B- Oil i i All Natural Popcorn Several varieties of Salsa SC American Classic Tea twr tSvTl aa' Olives Straight from Greece! 80 years of coming home to forts made from sofa cushions and blankets. Plan to restore shrublands By Stephen Kalin Associated Press The New England cottontail was once so common that Massachusetts author Thornton Burgess adapted one named Peter for the children's stories he penned a century ago. But the critter that inspired "The Adventures of Peter Cottontail" and the enduring song that came later faces an uncertain future.

Its natural habitat is disappearing, and without intervention, it could be unhappy trails for the once-bountiful bunny. Conservationists are hoping a new program to restore shrublands across the Northeast and captive breeding efforts will help ensure the New England cottontail sticks around for many Easters to come. "We're making headway, putting habitat on the ground in some really key places," said Anthony Tur, an endangered-species specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The New England cottontail is the only rabbit species native to the region east of the Hudson River.

They were abundant a century ago, thriving in an environment of shrubs, saplings, weeds and vines known as young forest. But in an uncommon turn of events, it is declining human activity to blame for its lost habitat not urban sprawl. As neglected agricultural lands reverted back to forest and those forests matured, the population of New England cottontails thinned. More than 80 percent of their habitat disappeared over the past 50 years, according to the nonprofit Wildlife Management Institute. And now conservationists are trying to prevent the New England cotton- rrr: ouio reie iow manure 90.19 1 JTQf YOllT CU Q6I1 Officials say the New England cottontail could face extinction because of diminishing shrublands across the Northeast, new Hampshire fish and game department BREEDING PROGRAM The Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island began breeding the New England cottontail in captivity two years ago.

Officials there have already released 38 young rabbits tagged with radio collars into restored habitats in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. They expect to release 100 more later this year. "It's a conservation priority in our region," said Lou Perrotti, director of conservation programs at the zoo, "so we're happy to be a part of it and will remain committed." He said the New England cottontail had not previously been bred in captivity, so his staff is "writing the book on husbandry and reproduction of the species." At a certain point, Perrotti said, the success of conservation efforts comes down to the creatures themselves. "The old adage 'they breed like he said, "doesn't always apply." Organic Daddy Pete's 'Plant Pleaser and fill it with some of his favorite things. "But then," Fenn says with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes, "I ruined the story by getting well." Perhaps the biggest misconception about Fenn whom some locals refer to as Santa Fe's Indiana Jones is that he was a treasure hunter himself.

"Forrest is a trader," said Dan Nietzel, a professional treasure hunter who has searched for Fenn's treasure. "He traded for these things. I think people think he went around digging all these things up." But there are some intangibles Fenn has spent his life searching out. "I love mysteries. I love adventures," he says.

"Begin it where warm waters halt And take it in the canyon down, Not far, but too far to walk. Put in below the home of Brown." That's part of the poem of clues to the treasure's location, which Fenn published in his memoir three years ago. So far, the best anyone seems to have gotten out of him is that the treasure is more than 300 miles west of Toledo, not in Nevada, and more than 5,000 feet above sea level "in the Rocky Mountains." But he emphasizes two things: He never said the treasure was buried, and he never said it was in Santa Fe, or even New Mexico. 'I love mysteries says man behind a mini-gold rush By Jeri Clausing Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. For more than a decade, he packed and repacked his treasure chest, sprinkling in gold dust and adding hundreds of rare gold coins and gold nuggets.

Pre-Columbian animal figures went in, along with prehistoric "mirrors" of hammered gold, ancient Chinese faces carved from jade and antique jewelry. Forrest Fenn was creating a bounty, and the art and antiquities dealer says his goal was to make sure it was "valuable enough to entice searchers and desirable enough visibly to strike awe." Three years ago, he lay two of his most beloved pieces of jewelry in the chest: a turquoise bracelet and a Tairona and Sinu Indian necklace adorned with exotic jewels. At the bottom of the chest, in an olive jar, he placed a detailed autobiography, printed so small a reader will need a magnifying glass. After that, he says, he carted the chest of loot, now weighing more than 40 pounds, into the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe and left it there. Next, Fenn self-published a memoir, "The Thrill of the Chase," distilling the autobiography and including a poem that 251b Pete's Cow Manure $3.99 1.5cf Pete's Raised Bed $6.29 501b Pete's Lawn and Garden Soil $5.59 25qt Pete's Potting Mix $5.29 2cf Pete's Planting Mix $6.89 25qt Pete's Mushroom Compost $5.99 401b Pete's Kickin' Chicken $6.29 Petes tan The real estate professionals of the Caine Companies have always known real estate is about more than buying, selling or leasing houses and buildings.

It's about helping people come home which we've been doing for the past 80 years. Let us help you find your dream home visit cbcaine.com. For more than a decade, Forrest Fenn claims he has packed a treasure chest, and hid it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, jeri CLAUSINGAP he says offers clues to lead a treasure hunter to the bounty. It wasn't long before word of the hidden trove got out, and the publicity has caused a mini-gold rush in New Mexico. But it has also set off a debate: Has Fenn truly hidden the treasure chest or was this, for the idiosyncratic, publicity-loving 82-year-old, just another way to have fun? One friend, Michael McGarrity, an author and former Santa Fe County sheriff's deputy, acknowledges it could be "a private joke," though he believes "Forrest has certainly buried something." Fenn says his goal is to get people away from their texting devices and looking for adventure outdoors.

It all began, Fenn says, more than 20 years ago, when he was diagnosed with cancer and given just a few years to live. That's when he decided to buy the treasure chest XsYEARS 7 1 2S0ffcAi at. Hsnnv flow A Sehil: 401b Pete's Organic Cai4 i 1 1 ha www.HappyCowCreamery.com THE CAINE COS SINCEJ933 We use sustainable fanning practices No chemicals or chemical fertilizers used in over 24 years tail from appearing on the endangered species list, a designation that would require a more urgent and costly response that could restrict land use and hunting. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Resources Conservation Service are working with landowners and zoos to restore natural habitat and use captive breeding to rebuild the population. The government has been conducting habitat management and restora tion projects for several years in collaboration with private landowners, land trusts and a few Native American tribes as they try to bring back the New England cottontail.

For conservationists, protecting the New England cottontail from extinction is worthy in and of itself. But habitat restoration also benefits the dozens of other species that thrive in shrublands, including songbirds, snakes, deer and turkey. GREENVILLE We are just a short 2 drive from hist about HWY418 anywhere in HWY8 the Upstate CAINE CAINE McKELVEYRD. 864-243-9699 332 McKelvey Road Pelzer, SC GREENWOOD I REAL ESTATE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RELOCATION REAL ESTATE GALLERIES DEVELOPMENT SERVICES MORTGAGE CONCIERGE SERVICES i.