Issues

Federal agencies finalize new rule on petition listing. On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finalized a rule changing the process by which species are petitioned for listing, delisting or reclassification under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The requirements will restrict the number of species that can be petitioned at a time with only one species allowed per petition.

The agencies argue these changes will allow them to more effectively leverage limited resources to improve conservation efforts. But the rule, which has been a work in progress since May 2015, has drawn criticism from differing stakeholders.  The Center for Biological Diversity called the rule an “impediment” to utilizing the ESA, claiming it does not address the “backlog” of species that are still awaiting listing.

Meanwhile, House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said the lawsuits and pushback from litigious groups such as the Center would persist, stating “These revisions give the appearance that state input will improve and that closed-door settlements will no longer drive petition and listing decisions. Unfortunately, serial environmental litigation will continue to drive ESA policy, and there is nothing the agencies can do about it unless we reform the underlying statute.”

Collaboration efforts celebrated at one-year anniversary of greater sage grouse decision. Last week, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper celebrated the one-year anniversary of the decision to not list the Greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act. At the event in Colorado, both Jewell and Hickenlooper highlighted the unprecedented collaboration by federal, state and local agencies working with conservation organizations, private landowners and industry to conserve the species.  According to Secretary Jewell, there was “a lot to celebrate,” while the Governor applauded the diversity of participants attending the event as “evidence of broad commitment to conservation from more than just federal and state regulators.”

Last year IPAA highlighted the negative impact a federal sage-grouse listing would have on economic development in the west by placing new restrictions on key industries and ignoring the significant strides made by state regulators, local officials, ranchers, and energy developers alike to protect the sage-grouse and its habitat.

Rusty patched bumblebee recommended for endangered species list. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the rusty patched bumblebee under the Endangered Species Act. The decision follows the Service’s 90-day finding for the bee in response to a petition from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in 2013, claiming the population had declined 87 percent in recent years.

NGI Daily (sub req’d) reported on the news this week, highlighting the potential impact of the decision on the oil and natural gas industry. As stated by Locke Lorde’s energy practice, “The listing could have significant implications for developers of both energy and real estate projects as well as those in other industries.” Locke Lorde also highlighted that while development and habitat loss are not identified as key reasons for the bee’s decline, many industries could be “at risk of causing a ‘take’ and violating the ESA if those activities take place in or near occupied rusty patched bumble bee habitat.” The firm highlights wind, oil and gas, timber, and infrastructure development as industries likely to be impacted if a listing moves forward.

In the News

FWS extends protections to dozens of species. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it is extending Endangered Species Act protections to 49 Hawaiian species and a Midwestern rattlesnake. FWS will add to the endangered species list Hawaiian birds like the band-rumped storm-petrel, bugs such as the orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly and 39 types of plants because it has concluded that all 49 species are at imminent risk of extinction.

MT Hunters Urge Congressional Delegates to Protect Sage Grouse. Public News Service. Groups representing thousands of Montana hunters and sportsmen are asking the state’s Congressional delegates to support the Bureau of Land Management’s conservation plans for sage grouse approved last year. Signers of letters to U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke include the Montana Bowhunters Association, the Anaconda Sportsmen’s Club and others. The groups are speaking up as members of Congress debate a provision for sage-grouse protections that was included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017.

FWS lists eastern massasauga rattlesnake, found in Genesee County, as threatened species. The Batavian. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The Service also determined that designating critical habitat for the eastern massasauga is not prudent. Eastern massasaugas are currently found in scattered locations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. In New York, this snake is found in two counties: Genesee and Onondaga.

BLM postpones coal lease sale in central Utah. Daily Herald. The Greens Hollow coal lease sale was scheduled for Sept. 22 in Salt Lake City. The tract, containing 6,175 acres, is located on land managed by the Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National Forests. An estimated 55.7 million tons of recoverable coal is located in the tract. On Sept. 12, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust and the Sierra Club filed an appeal and petition for stay with the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Their appeal is primarily based on concerns regarding sage-grouse habitat conservation, leasing procedural matters, and other items.

Politicians Squawk at Greater Sage Grouse Provision in Annual Defense Bill. NBC News.  A House provision in the annual military spending bill is ruffling feathers in Congress. At issue is the greater sage grouse, a stout bird whose dwindling population tends to live in areas of the United States that are rich in oil, gas, and ranches. The 11 states it inhabits also have a number of military training grounds in them. Debate over the fate of the feathered fowl has stymied congressional leaders who had hoped to pass the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act by this week. NOTE: Defense News also reports.

BLM extends time to comment on plan for Gunnison sage-grouse. Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Interested parties now have until after the holidays to comment on a Bureau of Land Management plan for helping protect the Gunnison sage-grouse, and three meetings on the plan will be held next month. The BLM has pushed the comment deadline back by about two months, to Jan. 9, 2017, on a draft resource management plan amendment and environmental impact statement.