Issues

IPAA talks ESA at Planning Conference. This week, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) invited experts on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to their 2016 Strategic Planning Conference. This included a panel on pollinators and a presentation by Parker Moore of Beveridge & Diamond focusing on the monarch butterfly, rusty patched bumble bee, Western bumble bee, and the regal fritillary. Moore discussed the status of each of the species and ongoing listing decisions, as well as strategies to address proposed listings such as submitting comments, developing candidate conservation agreements and safe harbor agreements, and continuing a dialogue with the agency.

Dr. Michael G. Dobbs, Vice Chair of Bayer’s CropLife America Endangered Species Issue Management Team, also presented at the conference on the current status of the monarch butterfly and the crop protection industry. For more information on the conference please reach out to SMcdonald@IPAA.org.

IPAA and API comment on proposed changes to refuge drilling rules. IPAA joined with the American Petroleum Institute to comment on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed changes to regulations over non-Federal oil and gas operations located within national wildlife refuges. The rule applies to oil and gas activities associated with sub-surface mineral deposits that are private, state, or tribally owned but where the Service governs the surface area as part of the Refuge System. The revision will impact roughly 5,000 oil and gas wells located on more than 100 national wildlife refuges.

As the joint comments state, “The legal and practical bases for the proposed regulations are, at best, questionable. The most prudent approach would be for the Service to continue to manage oil and gas activities under its 2012 guidelines for a sufficient period of time, and with adequate staffing, resources, and training, to accurately determine the areas in which those guidelines are effective and the areas in which they are not.” Read the full comments HERE.

Utah sues federal government over sage-grouse plans. Utah officials filed a lawsuit last week seeking to invalidate federal land-use plan changes intended to protect the greater sage-grouse, claiming that the plans would hurt Utah’s oil and natural gas industry. The federal plans were adopted last September as part of Fish and Wildlife’s decision not to list the grouse as a threatened species.

Governor Gary Hebert introduced Utah’s own conservation plan in April 2013 designed to “protect, enhance and restore sage grouse habitats throughout the state,” resulting in the restoration of more than 500,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat. The federal plans “are in many ways more restrictive than an Endangered Species Act designation,” said Gov. Hebert in a statement. “This one-size-fits-all decision does not reflect the tremendous diversity in greater sage-grouse habitats across the West.”

With this lawsuit, Utah joins a group that includes the state of Idaho, several counties in Nevada, mining companies, and ranchers who have all filed lawsuits against the federal plans. IPAA’s President and CEO Barry Russell wrote last September that “these plans largely ignore the great strides made by state regulators, local officials, ranchers, and energy developers alike to protect the sage-grouse and its habitat.”

Federal government finalizes changes to habitat protection rules. The federal government last week finalized several controversial updates to the Endangered Species Act that will alter how federal wildlife managers determine how much habitat is needed to protect threatened or endangered species. The changes would allow unoccupied areas to be designated as critical habitat, expand the habitat features that are to protected from “adverse modification,” and adopt a de facto moratorium on considering federal lands for exclusion from critical habitat designation.

IPAA and dozens of other oil and gas groups requested that the draft policy be withdrawn last year. “The Fish and Wildlife Service’s re-interpretation of critical habitat and proposed expansion of authority is not supported by the ESA and is at odds with the intent of Congress that critical habitat be limited in scope and focus on the immediate survival needs of species,” IPAA’s Dan Naatz said at the time.

Obama’s budget increases conservation funding, draws fire from environmentalists. The Obama Administration’s proposed budget requested $1.6 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service, a four percent increase from the FY16 spending level of $1.55 billion. But environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed disappointment with the funding request, saying that the requested amount was not enough to “ensure the survival and recovery of the nation’s plants and animals that are on the brink of extinction.”

The President also requested a $14.2 million increase in funding over FY16 levels for the Bureau of Land Management’s sage-grouse conservation program, which would bring BLM’s total investment in protecting and restoring sage-grouse habitat to $74.2 million. The administration proposed a $5 million increase for the National Seed Strategy aimed at restoring the bird’s habitat following wildfires.

In the News

Planning 2.0: BLM takes major step toward modernizing planning process, increasing public involvement. Bureau of Land Management (Press Release). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced a major step as part of its Planning 2.0 initiative to modernize the agency’s planning process and increase public involvement in the management of 245 million acres of public lands the agency directs. The new approach will make future land-use planning more collaborative, transparent, and effective. The changes will increase opportunities for early engagement by state and local government, Tribes and other stakeholders in BLM’s land-use decision-making while adopting a broader landscape-scale, science-based approach to managing public lands and incorporate modern technology into the agency’s planning process.

Sage grouse fight far from over. Nevada Public Radio. Nevada is still fighting with the Interior Department over the sage grouse.  Last fall, the department decided not to put the small, chicken-like bird on the Endangered Species List. Instead, it put in place land use plans that critics say are more restrictive to industry than if the bird had been listed. Interior Secretary Sally Jewel has been open to talking with western states impacted by these land use restrictions. And there is some evidence that further research on these protected areas bolsters the states’ case that some lands shouldn’t be restricted. On Jan. 15, Governor Brian Sandoval formally asked the Interior Department to release some lands in the restricted use plans in exchange for others.

Governor puts Jewell’s credibility on the line. Elko Daily Free Press (Editorial). Gov. Brian Sandoval has thrown down the gauntlet in the battle over hardrock mining’s future in Nevada, taking the bold step of calling out Sally Jewell over management of agencies she oversees as Secretary of the Interior. Their response will reveal whether the proposed mineral withdrawal is more about helping the sage grouse or harming the state’s mining industry. The Bureau of Land Management’s comment period closed three weeks ago, and Nevadans could learn by the end of the month whether the current two-year ban will be extended to 20 years. If it is, there will be no exploration along the northern edge of our state, nor in much of Idaho and southeastern Oregon. For the sake of rural Nevada’s hardrock mining industry, however, we hope the Secretary and other administration officials listen to him.

Refinery owner PBF may be sued; sturgeon threat cited. Delaware News Journal. The conservation group Delaware Riverkeeper has filed an intent to pursue a lawsuit against Delaware City Refinery owner PBF Energy and possibly the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control alleging violation of federal rules. Bristol, Pennsylvania-based Delaware Riverkeeper, in a court filing, says the refinery’s cooling water intake structure is responsible for the death of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, two fish species protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. About 300 Atlantic sturgeon and less than 1,000 shortnose sturgeon are believed to be part of the Delaware River population.

BLM: Sage grouse habitat eliminates airport sites. Idaho Mountain Express. Representatives from the BLM told the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority board Tuesday that the federal agency’s plan to protect sage grouse eliminates many of the replacement airport sites selected in a 2008 environmental impact study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Board member and Hailey Mayor Fritz Haemmerle asked if listing sage grouse as an endangered species would restrict building an airport on private land near sage grouse protection areas. Wilhelm said an endangered listing would eliminate that possibility. In addition to the existing sage grouse habitat management areas outlined by the BLM, Wilhelm said, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated Sagebrush Focal Areas, considered the highest-priority sage grouse habitats, where surface building projects would be tightly restricted.

NOAA sets short-term goals for high-risk species. E&E News (sub req’d). The National Marine Fisheries Service released “action plans” today mapping out recovery efforts for eight species that face extinction in the near future. The five-year plans are part of the agency’s “Species in the Spotlight” campaign. Created last year, the campaign aims to put renewed focus on the most at-risk species under the Endangered Species Act. For beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, for example, the agency will work toward reducing the threat of man-made noise, protecting foraging habitat and ensuring healthy prey, among other things. NMFS also released plans for the Gulf of Maine population of Atlantic salmon, central California coast coho salmon, Hawaiian monk seals, Pacific leatherback sea turtles, Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon, southern resident killer whales in Puget Sound and California coast white abalone.

Retired marine defending Endangered Species Act compliance at bases: ‘I’m not going to say it enhances military readiness.’ CNS News. A Marine general turned environmentalist conceded during a congressional briefing Wednesday that complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on military bases does have a “cost” and does not enhance troop training – but said it was still “worth it.” Lehnert then said that although military base operation may face restrictions in areas that are designated as breeding grounds for endangered species, military operations are often restricted by rules of engagement issues. He cited restrictions on fighting in civilian areas, for example, or fighting in a minefield.

Bill would restrict habitat protections in Kansas. Wichita Eagle. Threatened and endangered species in Kansas would see their protected habitats greatly shrink under a proposal that would change how those habitats are designated, a conservationist told a Senate committee on Wednesday. The measure before the Senate Natural Resources Committee would add a narrow definition of critical habitats and restrict habitat protection to areas where a vulnerable species lives. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism would also need to publish a recovery plan on the department’s website for each vulnerable species

Gas companies want wildlife limits waived. Jackson Hole News & Guide (sub req’d). The northern reaches of a large Sublette County gas field could soon be bustling with drilling activity throughout the year if the Bureau of Land Management approves a 245-well plan now being reviewed. The proposal for the Jonah Field would take five years to build out. It requests waiving seasonal restrictions on development that are designed to protect sage grouse and pronghorn, BLM documents show. In exchange, Jonah Energy would reduce the number of gas pads from 221 to 24.