Issues

New Mexico Jumping Mouse to Get Federal Protection. This week, the New Mexico Jumping Mouse was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Jumping Mouse’s historical habitat consists of New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado.  The mouse was first identified as a candidate for the ESA in 2007 when WildEarth Guardians settled with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to make final determinations on 252 candidate species by 2016.

Some expressed concern over the decision, including New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce. From Rep. Pearce:

“Once again, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service chose to cater to big-city radical special interests instead of protecting our jobs, and ignored the fact that conservation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. FWS is sectioning off thousands of acres of federal, state, tribal and private lands to benefit one species at the expense of ranchers in three states. The U.S. Forest Service collaborated with FWS to deny ranchers access to water in Otero County before the Jumping Mouse was even listed. FWS failed to recognize that its own policies–which have stopped timber harvesting and forest thinning–are to blame for the raging wildfires that threaten the mouse. This decision was made before all the facts were considered.”

The final ruling is published in the Federal Register. Regulations will go into effect in July 2014.

Update on the Northern Long-Eared Bat. The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), along with other concerned industries, has been conducting outreach efforts regarding the proposed listing of the Northern Long-Eared Bat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). IPAA has helped educate members of Congress about the potential impacts of this particular listing for their constituents while aiding in the direction of four congressional delegations on the subject in Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

This week, the Pennsylvania delegation received a response from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) indicating that they will likely delay an “endangered” listing until April 2015. The letter did not allude to a substitute “threatened” listing for the Northern Long-Eared Bat; instead, Regional Director Thomas Melius said that the listing will continue to be based off of the “best available and scientific and commercial data.”

Forty-Three Members of Congress Request Public Comment Period Extensions on ESA. On June 11, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings along with forty-three members of Congress sent a letter to Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Kathryn Sullivan, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the letter, the membersrequested an extension of the comment period for proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules, including 1) the Definition of Destruction or Adverse Modification of Critical Habitat, 2) Policy regarding implementation of Section 4 (b) 92) of the Endangered Species Act, and 3) Implementing Changes to the Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat.

From the letter:

“As written, these rules could dramatically increase the amount of private and public lands designated for habitat, which in turn could result in blocking or slowing down an array of agricultural, grazing, energy transmission and production, transportation, and other activities on the more than 680 current habitat designations and hundreds more slated to be finalized in the next few years.”

The members request FWS and NOAA extend the comment period by at least six months to provide adequate time for interested parties to provide comments.

In the News

Vess Oil quits Kansas sites over prairie chicken flap. Petro Global News. Vess Oil Corp. chairman J. Michael Vess said Tuesday his company has abandoned three western Kansas sites where it was ready to put up drilling rigs after the federal government put the lesser prairie chicken on a list of protected animals.

Comment sought on MT sage grouse, wolf proposals. KPAX. The Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission is looking for the public to weigh in on a proposal that would either maintain the same 60-day sage grouse season and two-bird daily bag and four bird possession limit as last season; adopt shorter seasons and reduced bag and possession limits; impose region-specific hunting opportunities or closures; or close the sage grouse hunting season statewide.

Balancing energy and sage-grouse – Wyoming does it right. The Hill (Blog). The sage-grouse itself is an original and essential part of America’s hunting tradition. But its population has dropped by as much as 80 percent, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service determined in 2010 that the species “warranted” a listing under the Endangered Species Act, with a final determination to be made in 2015. The clock is ticking, but there is still time for other Western states to develop their own approaches to conserving sage-grouse that create win-win scenarios like Wyoming has.

Sage grouse ‘pause button’ bills. Oil & Gas Journal. Congressional Republicans from four Rocky Mountain states rallied behind legislation introduced May 22 that would delay a court-ordered decision on whether the Greater Sage Grouse should be listed as an endangered species for 10 years.

Bill would delay grouse protection. The Durango Herald. With six months until an administrative rule on whether the Gunnison sage-grouse will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, a new piece of legislation is ramping up efforts to delay a listing for 10 years.

BLM approves fracking project in Eastern Nevada. News 4. A controversial project that will bring more fracking to eastern Nevada is getting the go-ahead from the Bureau of Land Management.The BLM approved a proposal by Noble Energy to drill up to 20 wells on public and private lands to explore for oil. The area is east of Mary’s River and west of Wells, Nevada in the Bishop Flat area. BLM spokesman Bryan Fuell said, “Fracking is something that is not uncommon in the oil and gas industry. It’s just new to Nevada so there are concerns we will address.”

Wind development and Greater Sage-Grouse conservation aren’t mutually exclusive. Denver Business Journal. Discussions are taking place between the wind energy industry, state and federal agencies, conservation groups and other entities as all parties work to avoid the possibility of a listing of the Greater Sage-Grouse under the Endangered Species Act.

Cost of Endangered Species Act Must Be Weighed. Electric Co-op Today. The real costs of protecting species under the Endangered Species Act should be considered before a listing is made, an official with the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. told a House committee, adding that a bill circulating in Congress makes great strides toward that goal.

Fish and Wildlife Commission seeks comments. The Prairie Star. For sage grouse, the commission is seeking comment on a proposal that would either maintain the same 60-day season and two-bird daily bag and four bird possession limit as last season; adopt shorter seasons and reduced bag and possession limits; impose region-specific hunting opportunities or closures; or close the sage grouse hunting season statewide.