Issues

Court Withdraws Proposed Listing of Dunes Sagebrush Lizard.  In June 2013, the Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after its decision to cancel the proposed listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard (DSL) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following a year of debate and deliberation, the D.C. District Court issued its verdict this week on the case and upheld the FWS’s decision to withdraw its proposed listing of the lizard.  According to Judge Rudolph Contreras, the decision “rested on the best scientific and commercial data available, as required by the Endangered Species Act.”

The DSL, whose habitat region overlies the Permian Basin, is currently supported by a state based conservation plan which was created and agreed upon with input from the oil and gas industry, biologists, property owners, and others. As Congressman Mike Conaway (TX-11) stated in reaction to the news, “West Texas oil and gas producers and ranchers are actively engaged in preserving the dunes sagebrush lizard. Listing the lizard as endangered would have derailed these efforts and hampered energy companies and ranchers from providing the food and fuel that our country needs.”

Congressional Western Caucus Co-Chairs also applauded the decision. Chairman Steve Pearce (NM-02) stated, “This decision ensures that sound conservation efforts are carried out in Eastern New Mexico without sacrificing the economic activity that the area depends on.” Chairman Lummis (WY At-Large) also noted that the lizard is “a success story” based on local conservation efforts. As she highlighted, “species are best served by boots-on-the-ground, not briefcases in the courtroom.”

Comments on Critical Habitat Due. Thursday, October 9th, marks the deadline to submit comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ recently proposed changes to regulations and policies regarding critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act.  IPAA is finalizing these comments for submission prior to the set deadline. For additional information on the proposed changes see the Federal Register notice HERE. For questions regarding IPAA’s comments please contact SMcDonald@ipaa.org.

Motion to intervene on Lesser Prairie Chicken 4(d) Rule Granted. This week, the D.C. District Court granted the oil and natural gas industry’s motion to intervene in the environmentalists’ challenge to the Lesser Prairie Chicken 4(d) Rule. The Court also officially filed the Motion to Transfer the D.C. action to the Northern District of Oklahoma that was submitted with the Motion to Intervene.  The Department of Justice and the environmentalist plaintiffs must file any responses in opposition to the motion by October 17, 2014, after which the industry interveners will have until October 24th to file a reply.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt applauded the decision to transfer the case to Oklahoma, while also criticizing the events leading up to the listing of the prairie chicken in March 2014. Aaron Cooper, Pruitt’s spokesman, stated “We appreciate the judge’s decision that keeps the lawsuit in Oklahoma. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service engaged in ‘sue-and-settle’ tactics and violated federal law in listing the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species. We look forward to proceeding with this lawsuit that seeks to hold the FWS accountable to the law.”

WEA Study Highlights Sue-and-Settle ESA Litigation. This week, the Western Energy Alliance released a report analyzing the legal actions surrounding the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The report looks into petitions and lawsuits filed by environmental groups following a 2011 mega-agreement between WildEarth Guaridans, the Center for Biological Diversity and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) Service. The “sue-and-settle” agreement called on the FWS to make listing decisions on 1,008 species. According to the Western Energy Alliance’s findings, the rate of ESA species petitions is now twice as high as before that settlement while environmental groups have petitioned to list over 38 species per year.

According to Jack Ekstrom, chairman of Western Energy Alliance, “Lawsuits are a lucrative business forenvironmental groups since the federal government often reimburses attorney fees at taxpayer expense. Environmental groups overload the government with far too many listing petitions and then sue for missing deadlines.”

Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at Western Energy Alliance, also highlighted how this litigation rate is impacting real species recovery. As she states, “Since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973, it has only managed a two percent success rate, due in part to abuse of the statute. Environmental groups overload the government with far too many listing petitions and then sue for missing deadlines. This diverts resources away from actual species recovery and into litigation and bureaucratic process.”

Read more from the Western Energy Alliance on their report HERE and HERE.

In the News

Yellow-billed cuckoo listed as threatened. Associated Press. The yellow-billed cuckoo has been disappearing from its home in the Western U.S., a decline that prompted the federal Fish and Wildlife Service to announce Thursday that the bird has been listed as a threatened species. The yellow-billed cuckoo will now be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Conservation program helps to protect lizard. Houston Chronicle, Op-Ed. The Texas Conservation Plan for the dunes sagebrush lizard, prepared and administered by the Texas comptroller’s office, was approved in 2012 after nearly a year of development and negotiation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully considered the plan, its enrollment, and research and decided not to list the lizard in June of 2012. A year later, environmental groups filed a lawsuit attempting to force Fish and Wildlife to reconsider not listing the species. We immediately intervened to protect the interests of the state of Texas. What was clear in the judge’s opinion was that sound science, protecting the economy and species and protecting landowner confidentiality are mutually compatible.

Sagebrush recreation sites across US West generate millions. Reuters. Miles of sagebrush may be tedious to interstate travelers across the U.S. West, but the ecosystems supporting the scrubby plants are an economic generator, pumping millions into the local and national economies, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Feds Rule Blind Spider Not Protected by ESA. Heartland Institute, Blog. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined a blind, cave-dwelling spider does not merit protection under the Endangered Species Act. The FWS found the Warton’s Cave meshweaver, is not distinct enough from other types of spiders to merit protecting.

Endangered bats may pose little threat to wind developers. Town Hall. Nothing strikes fear into developers and property owners more than a new critter on the federal list of endangered species. Case in point: The northern long-eared bat, found in 39 states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will probably place it on the list in April, and the logging industry is worried.

Idaho Fish and Wildlife Supervisor Wants to Avoid ESA Protection for Sage Grouse. Boise Weekly. At the most recent Idaho Environmental Forum on Sept. 30, the new supervisor of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, Mike Carrier, spoke on the mission of his office, endangered and threatened species in the state, and what goes into developing a conservation strategy to further protect Idaho’s wildlife.

Nevada sage grouse plan OK’d; feds criticized. Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a panel of Nevada policymakers on Wednesday adopted a new conservation plan designed to protect sage grouse habitat, the Western Governors Association has expressed concern that the multistate effort is being treated as an afterthought by federal agencies.

Federal judge won’t give Wyoming control of wolves, killing hunt. Associated Press. A federal judge on Tuesday denied requests from the state of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and pro-hunting groups to change last week’s decision that reinstated federal protections for wolves in the state.

Judge Rules against BLM in Grazing Dispute. Twin Falls Times-News. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management this week lost a second round of challenges by Western Watersheds Project over nearly 600 grazing allotments across southern Idaho. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill found that the BLM failed to consider stopping grazing in four allotments where critical sage-grouse habitat has degraded over the years. That territory is managed by the agency’s Burley Field Office.