Post by jonsdigs on Dec 15, 2006 21:24:24 GMT -5
Parks extend time for bioprospecting input
By Cory Hatch
Jackson Hole News
December 12, 2006
The Park Service has extended the comment period on a plan to cash in on scientific discoveries that are made in national parks and lead to the development of profitable technologies.
Park officials originally set a Dec. 15 deadline for public comments on the “Benefits Sharing” draft environmental impact statement but will now accept comments until Jan. 29.
The Park Service developed the plan to ensure that parks like Yellowstone get a percentage of the profits once a technology is determined to be viable.
Because of their pristine locations and unique features, national parks have become popular with biotech researchers looking for exotic species of commercial value.
Researchers who practice this type of science, called bioprospecting, often make use of microscopic organisms.
The knowledge gained from bioprospecting has led to crucial advances such as cancer drugs. From a microorganism discovered in the soil in Yosemite National Park, one drug company patented an antibiotic that helps prevent and fight tumors in ovaries and in the colon. In the caves of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, researchers found a bacterium that releases an enzyme that attacks leukemia cells.
Most of these discoveries are knowledge-based and have little or no impact on park resources.
According to Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash, officials allowed the extension in order to compensate for a printing problem.
The document and an electronic form to submit comments on the Internet are available at the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at parkplanning.nps.gov. Select “Washington Office” under “Choose a park” and then click “Benefits Sharing.” The draft EIS is also available on compact disc or in hard copy by writing the Benefits Sharing DEIS Team, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.
Article
By Cory Hatch
Jackson Hole News
December 12, 2006
The Park Service has extended the comment period on a plan to cash in on scientific discoveries that are made in national parks and lead to the development of profitable technologies.
Park officials originally set a Dec. 15 deadline for public comments on the “Benefits Sharing” draft environmental impact statement but will now accept comments until Jan. 29.
The Park Service developed the plan to ensure that parks like Yellowstone get a percentage of the profits once a technology is determined to be viable.
Because of their pristine locations and unique features, national parks have become popular with biotech researchers looking for exotic species of commercial value.
Researchers who practice this type of science, called bioprospecting, often make use of microscopic organisms.
The knowledge gained from bioprospecting has led to crucial advances such as cancer drugs. From a microorganism discovered in the soil in Yosemite National Park, one drug company patented an antibiotic that helps prevent and fight tumors in ovaries and in the colon. In the caves of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, researchers found a bacterium that releases an enzyme that attacks leukemia cells.
Most of these discoveries are knowledge-based and have little or no impact on park resources.
According to Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash, officials allowed the extension in order to compensate for a printing problem.
The document and an electronic form to submit comments on the Internet are available at the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at parkplanning.nps.gov. Select “Washington Office” under “Choose a park” and then click “Benefits Sharing.” The draft EIS is also available on compact disc or in hard copy by writing the Benefits Sharing DEIS Team, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.
Article