Issues
FWS Extends Comment Period on Bat. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its decision to reopen the public comment period on the proposed listing of the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Comments on the proposed listing will now be accepted through December 18, 2014 and a final decision is due on April 2, 2015.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) have submitted previous joint comments to the Service regarding the proposed listing, highlighting the role of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) in the bat’s decline. As the groups highlighted in January 2014, “White Nose Syndrome disease is the primary reason for the significant reduction in the Northern Long Eared Bat, yet the USFWS is only proposing endangered listing which has as its primary tool habitat protection. Habitat protection will not appreciably halt or reverse the species’ decline or WNS.”
IPAA and API also submitted comments to the Service in August 2014 regarding the proposed listing, highlighting the impact of a listing on human activities and oil and gas development in the 38 states the bat occupies. According to the comments:
“Although listing the Northern Long-Eared Bat is not warranted, any such listing decision should avoid placing restrictions on human activities that bear no causal relation or offer no demonstrable influence on the incidence, spread or effects of WNS on the species. In particular, no evidence has been put forward that oil and gas exploration and production operations jeopardize the future existence of this species. The development of oil and gas wells, pipelines and processing facilities in the region where the Northern Long-Eared Bat is found has not resulted in changes to habitat, hibernation, migration, roosting or reproduction of the species that cause adverse effects at a population level. Technological advances in directional and horizontal drilling technology minimize the impacts on forests in which the species is found, and reduce habitat disturbance and fragmentation. In fact, some evidence suggests that openings in the canopy such as those provided by access roads promote beneficial foraging by the species.”
According to the Service, the comment period has been re-opened “to alert the public to additional information provided by state conservation agencies within the range of the species.”
Anadarko Report Analyzes Impact of O&G on Sage Grouse. A peer-reviewed commentary from researchers at Anadarko Petroleum was recently published regarding the impacts of oil and gas development on sage grouse habitat in Wyoming. The report, which was published in the journal Human-Wildlife Interactions put out by Utah State University, analyzed the status of Wyoming’s sage grouse leks, areas where male sage-grouse gather during spring breeding season to attract their mates, by evaluating oil and gas well-pad density within a 3.2-km radius of a lek.
The research aims to provide a new perspective on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management assumptions regarding the scale of oil and gas development and its proposed impact on sage grouse habitat in the future. As the report highlights, advances in horizontal drilling technology is reducing surface impacts of oil and gas development, reducing the potential impact of energy production in Wyoming on the grouse and its leks.
According to the report:
“The habitat management framework provided under the Wyoming Core Area Policy in combination with deployment of directional and horizontal drilling decreases the projected future disturbance, fragmentation, and activity profiles of the oil and gas industry. Increasing well-pad density in proximity to leks has been shown to reduce lek attendance and increase lek abandonment rates. New oil and gas development is being deployed at lower pad densities and should reduce impacts on lek attendance and abandonment.”
Based on the findings, the report “suggests that threat projections in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2010) listing decision on sage-grouse due to future oil and gas development have been overstated.” Read the full report HERE.
Controversy Remains Over Gunnison Sage Grouse Listing. U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s decision to list the Gunnison sage grouse as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) continues to ruffle feathers on both sides of the issue. Just this week, two conservation groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project, filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Service regarding the threatened listing, arguing the bird should have been listed as endangered. According to Amy Atwood, endangered species legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, “full protection is needed in order to save this charismatic bird, and that’s why we’re taking this to court.”
Meanwhile, Governor Hickenlooper (D-CO) has also pledged to sue the Service, arguing a threatened listing is unwarranted. As he stated earlier this month, “We made a commitment, if ranchers, farmers and the oil and gas industry put in the work, and we see the success and benefits of that work, if the federal government is going to come in and overstep that work – we will oppose it.”
Concerns Rise Over Proposed Listing of Greater Sage Grouse. After the recent “threatened” listing of the Gunnison sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), stakeholders in Moffat County, Colorado are increasingly worried a similar listing decision is heading their way – this time, for the Greater sage grouse.
While landowners and industries in the region have dedicated time and resources to protecting the bird, the Greater sage grouse’s habitat range occupies 75 percent of Moffat County. Due to the large economic role of oil and natural gas development in the area, many fear a federal listing could derail both the conservation efforts already in place and the economic energy development already underway.
From the Craig Daily Press editorial board:
“To quantify the issue, Moffat County sits on billions of dollars of natural gas that could be negatively affected if sage grouse gets listed or if restrictions are too tight. Specifically, Moffat County has nearly 73,000 billion cubic feet of natural gas throughout its region. That equates to $254 billion in reserve, which breaks down to $13 billion in tax revenue split between Moffat County School District, the college, the county, city of Craig and more, according to research compiled by Moffat County commissioners.”
The greater sage grouse is found in a total of 10 Colorado counties and 11 states. A final listing decision is due in September 2015.
In the News
E&P impact of federal sage grouse decision remains open to debate. Platts (sub req’d). Five groups representing the oil and gas industry disputed the service’s assessment of minimal economic damage to the industry, in comments submitted last year to the FWS. “If baseline and incremental impacts are combined, this amounts to annual impacts of approximately $290 million and 79 jobs in Colorado and $400,000, 11 jobs, and $120,000 in tax revenue in Utah,” said the comments, submitted by Western Energy Alliance, Independent Petroleum Association of America, the American Petroleum Institute, the International Association of Drilling Contractors and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
Gunnison listing brings greater worries to Northwest Colorado. Craig Daily Press. Because the Fish & Wildlife Service decided, through its decision to list the Gunnison sage grouse, that local efforts are not sufficient for preserving the species, Moffat County officials and residents are concerned that they could use the same logic and the greater sage grouse might be listed next.
Sage-grouse Protection Troubles Co-ops. Electric Co-Op Today. “While a threatened listing is less problematic than an endangered listing, as the FWS first proposed, it’s the wrong approach and harmful to electric co-ops and local economies in Colorado and Utah,” said NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson. “The FWS said it will propose a special rule in 2015 that may exempt a number of ongoing activities from ESA restrictions,” she said.
Chicken-like bird threatens western state economies, as feds weigh new rules. Fox News, Video. A small, chicken-like bird is threatening economies across the American West as the feds weigh new regulations to protect it. Meet the sage grouse. The animal stands at the center of the latest battle pitting America’s domestic energy industry against conservationists trying to protect a little-known species from harm. Like past clashes over the spotted owl or a desert-dwelling pronghorn, the results could be costly.
Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for Rare Lizard in Colorado. eNews Park Forest. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to decide whether the Colorado checkered whiptail warrants consideration for Endangered Species Act protection. The Center first petitioned for this lizard — along with 52 other amphibians and reptiles — in July 2012 because habitat loss and other factors are threatening them with extinction.
Gunnison sage-grouse listing is a confirmation of grassroots conservation. The Hill, Op-Ed. Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, took fire from both sides over his agency’s decision last week to list the Gunnison sage-grouse as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Several Western politicians threatened to sue over a listing they thought was too restrictive and dismissed voluntary conservation efforts. At the same time, some conservation groups threatened a lawsuit over a listing they felt did not go far enough. Still others viewed the threatened status as a positive outcome for local efforts to preserve this grouse.
