Issues

Fish and Wildlife asks judge to reverse lesser prairie chicken delisting ruling. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has asked a federal judge in Texas to rethink his ruling that overturned the agency’s March 2014 decision to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agency warned that the court’s ruling would result in a fragmented habitat, endangering conservation efforts aimed at protecting the bird.

In September, Judge Robert Junell of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that the agency’s decision to list the prairie chicken failed to consider the extent to which a range-wide conservation plan created by the states would mitigate threats to the bird. The Fish and Wildlife Service told the judge that there was a “serious possibility” that the agency would arrive at the same threatened conclusion they had reached in 2014, even after re-evaluating the conservation plan in the manner prescribed by the court.  In a statement to the court, the Service said that since the court’s ruling the agency had already been notified of “several potential development projects” that would harm the prairie chicken without adequate ESA protections in place.

In September, Permian Basin Petroleum Association President Ben Shepperd stated the ruling “serves as vindication of the unprecedented stakeholder participation across the lesser prairie chicken range.” Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) also praised the decision, stating “the court’s decision to vacate the listing demonstrates that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not adequately consider these conservation plans prior to the listing decision, which is a binding requirement.”

BLM releases report in response to sage grouse plans by Western governors. The Bureau of Land Management released a report today in response to challenges submitted by the governors of Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah surrounding the department’s federal land use plans for the greater sage-grouse.

Concerns put forward by the governors include upset over the lack of flexibility for oil and gas development in priority habitat areas and the current development caps on total surface disturbance activities in the federal plans. As reported in E&E News, Kornze responded to each state’s challenges, noting they are “inconsistent with the federal objectives of implementing ‘consistently strong’ protection measures for sage grouse habitat on federal lands.”

Some governors have now expressed interest in joining a court challenge to the federal land use plans currently put forward by Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, counties in Nevada, and mining groups. Read the full report HERE and more from E&E News.

Nevada official says land use plans are “1,000 percent worse” than listing the sage grouse. In September, Elko County joined Eureka County and two exploration companies in Nevada in filing a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management’s land use plan amendments in U.S. District Court. The amended land use plans are meant to preserve sagebrush habitat critical to the greater sage-grouse and could restrict mining, energy development, and grazing on public lands.

The lawsuit, which was later denied, challenged the legality of the land use plan and “its draconian land use prohibitions and restrictions that affect 20 million acres in Nevada.” Elko’s Assistant County Manager Randy Brown called the plans a “devastating” decision, warning that the plans give BLM the power to shut down federal land “whenever they see fit.” Brown has also stated the county will continue to consider if it wants to go further with the lawsuit.

BLM proposed withdrawal to impact 10 million acres across six states. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed to withdraw 10 million acres of federal land identified as “sagebrush focal areas” in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming from location and entry of new mining claims. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the proposal “aims to protect the greater sage-grouse and its habitat from adverse effects of mineral exploration and mining,” including habitat fragmentation.

Both new and existing mining projects will be impacted under the proposed plan. According to BLM, the proposal kicks-off a two-year segregation period, preventing new mining claims on federal lands in sagebrush focal areas. During this time, BLM will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to determine the impacts of the proposed withdrawal. At the conclusion of the segregation period, the Bureau will decide whether or not to withdraw the area for up to 20 years, with the possibility of further extensions.

During the segregation period, BLM may also require mineral examination reports to demonstrate the profitability of mineral deposits located in the segregated area. If this requirement is not satisfied, BLM can terminate the mining claim. If the proposed withdrawal is approved, the mining claim validation procedure becomes mandatory. The BLM is accepting public comments on the plan until December 23, 2015.

In the News

FWS concludes 20 species don’t need federal protections. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that Endangered Species Act protections are not warranted for most populations of the Sierra Nevada red fox and 19 other species. “We are proud of our close work with so many diverse stakeholders, and of the role of the Endangered Species Act in supporting these collaborations,” FWS Director Dan Ashe said in a celebratory statement.

A Shifting Approach to Saving Endangered Species. New York Times. To many conservationists, although, the federal government’s resolution to keep away from itemizing the grouse displays a bigger shift in considering that’s taking maintain in educational departments and advocacy circles across the nation, even because it stirs controversy.

FWS acts to save rare fern and mollusk in Fla. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service is moving to protect two Florida species that are found on opposite ends of the state but are similarly imperiled by agriculture, development and climate change. The Florida bristle fern, found on public lands in Miami-Dade and Sumter counties, will be added to the endangered species list, and the Suwannee moccasinshell mussel, which lives in a northern Florida river basin, will be proposed as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act in tomorrow’s Federal Register.

Researcher Finds Way to Fight Cheatgrass, a Western Scourge. New York Times. Interest is high because the need is urgent. Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell ordered a new strategy to address the wildfires — fueled by cheatgrass — that are torching huge parts of the West’s sagebrush landscapes. The resulting losses of habitat were a big reason the greater sage grouse was considered for the endangered species list. (The federal government declined to list the bird last month, citing new recovery plans by state and federal agencies.)

Federal sage grouse plans abandon scientific integrity. The Hill (Op-Ed). The Obama administration’s public lands legacy may well be attempting the largest conservation effort by acreage, then botching it by ignoring their own scientists. Today there are more federal regulations, but they’re ineffectual, and sage grouse still don’t have the protection they need to survive.

FWS declines to list Sonoran Desert tortoise. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service has decided that the Sonoran Desert tortoise found primarily in Arizona does not warrant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, angering some environmental groups that say the decision could push the tortoise to extinction. Fish and Wildlife determined that the tortoise does not face an immediate threat of extinction across its narrow range in Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora, according to an advance notice in today’s Federal Register.

Two Rare Macaws Get Federal Protection. Courthouse News Service. Two macaws found in Central and South American now have federal Endangered Species Act protection in an attempt to curb poaching and illegal trade. The great green macaw and the military macaw are now listed as endangered species under the ESA due to habitat loss and fragmentation, small population size, and poaching. Both species are at risk of extinction throughout their ranges.

FWS adds Black Pinesnake to threatened and endangered species list. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Press Release. The black pinesnake, which can grow to six feet in length and is now only found in parts of Mississippi and Alabama, will be protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).