Issues
Draft legislation released to strengthen the ESA. Last week, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso (R) released a critically needed draft bill that would modernize and strengthen the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA).
Speaking to The Hill, Chairman Barrasso insisted that the current ESA is “not enough” and the new draft legislation will “increase state and local input and improve transparency in the listing process.” The proposal would expand states’ authority in writing species recovery goals, habitat objectives and other criteria for delisting or down listing at-risk animals and plants under the ESA. The “recovery teams” could modify such criteria by unanimous votes “based on a material change to the best scientific and commercial data available” with the Interior secretary’s approval, according to a discussion draft of the proposal. The Interior secretary then would have 90 days to approve or reject the team’s recommendation.
Chairman Barrasso’s legislation is modeled after bipartisan efforts that the Western Governors Association (WGA), led by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R), has undertaken over the last three years to identify potential changes to the current implementation of the act. The top elected officials— Republicans and Democrats — in the western-most 21 states and three Pacific territories took on the challenge of studying the ESA to determine how they could find common ground on needed regulatory and statutory changes. The Governors recommended that ESA deadlines be made more realistic. They also recommended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) be allowed to prioritize petitions for species of concern. Those species that are already the subject of on-the-ground conservation efforts would be a lower priority than other species that are not being helped. This would allow time to determine how any conservation efforts are working before the USFWS jumped in.
Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President and CEO Barry Russell drafted a letter in support of the legislation, citing the much-needed rejuvenation of the ESA to “protect and conserve endangered and threatened species.” As stated, “IPAA believes the legislation is rightly focused on some key areas of improvement including: improving transparency and the federal state partnership, enhancing regulatory certainty, and optimizing and encouraging conservation.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing next week on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 to discuss the “Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2018” draft legislation that would reauthorize the ESA for the first time in over two decades.
Congressional Western Caucus unveils ESA modernization package. Earlier this week, Congressional Western Caucus members held a press conference to reveal a nine-piece “modernization package” of legislation that aims to make delisting recovered species a more efficient, local process and address long-neglected issues with the ESA. Similar to recent efforts to reform the ESA, the roster of nine bills has received a breadth of support from over 100 organizations, including IPAA.
At the hearing where the bipartisan bills were revealed, IPAA’s Sam McDonald testified that “transparency, flexibility and focus on recovery of imperiled species should be the main focus of the ESA,” and while the original conception of the ESA was virtually unopposed, since then “[the ESA] has evolved into one of the most litigious statutes on the books. As of yesterday, the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife] Service had listed 2,339 total species as threatened or endangered. The amount recovered is 54. That’s an abysmal success rate of 2.5 percent,” McDonald noted.
“The Service has not balanced delisting efforts with responding to the barrage of sue-and-settle listing petitions,” McDonald continued. Explaining the growing impotence of the ESA, she noted that “species seem to easily find their way into the protective fold of the ESA with no plan or pathway for delisting.”
Cosponsored by 23 congressional members, the “Western Caucus Endangered Species Act Modernization Package” is a comprehensive raft of bills that, if passed, would be the first major overhaul of the ESA since its inception 44 years ago.
Lesser prairie chicken numbers on the rise. A recently conducted aerial survey shows lesser prairie-chicken populations are up by nearly 30 percent from last year’s, following an upward trend over the last six years. Conducted in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, the aerial surveys indicate an estimated breeding population of 38,637 birds.
“The most encouraging result from the survey is the steadily increasing population trend over the last six years, which likely reflects improving habitat conditions,” said Roger Wolfe, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Lesser Prairie-chicken program manager
Favorable weather patterns have also been amenable to the bird’s survival, though officials warn that imminent droughts that cover portions of the lesser prairie-chicken range this year could break the 6-year streak of population growth. Nevertheless, other officials noted that fluctuation is expected regardless and successful conservation for the bird will further require decades of consistent progress. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be making another ruling on the status of the lesser prairie-chicken later this year, and is expected to take the survey’s findings into consideration.
In the News
The little lizard threatening to derail the Trump agenda. The Hill. Given the importance of the Permian Basin to the president’s agenda, it is essential that DOI develop consistent energy, conservation and mitigation policies for ESA jurisdiction impacting private lands and private minerals. As demonstrated in recent years, many operators in the Permian have and are continuing to develop voluntary conservation plans to protect and even enhance lizard habitat, and to further advance the science for this poorly understood species. A potential listing would be disastrous to these efforts. It’s critically important that DOI and FWS clarify the relevant governing policies. In 1990, no one could believe that ESA protection of the Spotted Owl could destroy our domestic timber industries of the Pacific Northwest. Yet, federal conservation of the owl did just that. And more recently, the federally listed Delta Smelt has devastated the water supply of California. Now the Dune Sagebrush Lizard presents that same sort of threat putting at risk access to the affordable, abundant, and reliable energy resources that make our lives happier, healthier, and more secure. The Texas state conservation plan that already protects the Dune Sagebrush Lizard has twice been successfully defended in federal litigation; the current plan still works just fine. To protect our future, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service should again reject these unnecessary and redundant requests, and deny efforts by radical liberal groups to attack private property rights in the Permian Basin.”
Lesser prairie-chicken population on the rise, but advocates say it’s not enough. The Texas Tribune. The number of lesser prairie-chickens in Texas and four neighboring states is up nearly 30 percent, according to the results of an annual aerial survey released this week by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which oversees a conservation plan aimed at protecting the grouse. Still, endangered species advocates describe that as minimal progress, and even association officials acknowledge there’s a long way to go in restoring the bird’s population. Last year, the breeding population of the lesser prairie-chicken — whose habitat spans the Texas Panhandle and parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado — numbered 29,934, according to the association, of which Texas is a member. This year’s survey shows there are now 38,637 of the birds, or 8,703 more, marking the sixth year of population growth, the association noted in a news release. But advocates pointed out that the number is a far cry from a 10-year average population goal of some 67,000.
BLM discusses changes to oil and gas leasing in sage grouse habitat at Craig meeting. Craig Daily Press. A draft change to the Bureau of Land Management’s greater sage grouse management plan in Colorado could open some priority grouse habitat on public lands to oil and gas leasing. The Bureau of Land Management hosted a public meeting in Craig Wednesday to provide information about the proposed changes. The greater sage grouse is a large bird found in the sagebrush of western Routt County and in a swath of habitat in neighboring Moffat, Jackson and Grand counties. The amended plans would allow oil and gas operators to apply for exemptions to lease minerals in areas designated as priority grouse habitat. Currently, the 2015 sage grouse management plan has a strict stipulation that restricts oil and gas leasing on priority habitat. The BLM estimated the change would open an additional 224,200 acres to leasing.
Enviros, BLM spar over Idaho habitat project. E&E News (Sub req’d). An environmental group is challenging a proposed project that the Interior Department says will protect greater sage grouse habitat by removing western juniper trees from hundreds of thousands of acres in southwest Idaho. Western Watersheds Project yesterday filed a formal appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals, claiming the project approved by the Bureau of Land Management in May “will lead to imminent, irreparable environmental harm to Idaho’s public lands, greater sage grouse, and WWP’s interests in both.” The project will do this, the 24-page appeal says, “by disturbing important sage grouse habitats and spreading invasive species.”
The Endangered Species Act Needs a Reboot. Outside. The Endangered Species Act was born in 1973. Passed at the height of the postwar environmental movement with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Richard Nixon, it was a law as well as an ethical statement: No animal or plant species should ever be permitted to go extinct. In the years since, we have learned a great deal about the complicated mechanics of protecting species, yet Congress has not significantly amended the act since the 1980s. The Endangered Species Act has two main objectives: prevent the extinction of plants and animals, and restore endangered species to the point where they no longer need protection. States have authority over most of the wildlife within their borders, but when a species becomes endangered, the act empowers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to take action.
BLM defers Colo. Leases. E&E News (Sub req’d). Federal land managers have delayed a planned September sale of oil and gas leases on 18,000 acres in Colorado’s Huerfano County. The Bureau of Land Management sale, scheduled for the week of Sept. 3, will still include 20 parcels totaling more than 8,000 acres. The deferred tracts may still be auctioned off at a later date, said Jayson Barangan, lead public affairs specialist for BLM in Colorado. “We are currently engaged in tribal consultation with the Navajo,” he told E&E News. Green groups celebrated the news, which was first reported by the Associated Press. Environmentalists had called to stop or postpone the sale due to the proximity of the acreage to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
BLM proposes removal of grazing limits for sage grouse. The Argus Observer. The main takeaway from the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed amended greater sage grouse land-use conservation plan is that grazing will be restored to about 22,000 acres of rangeland. The original 2015 conservation plan designed to protect the bird’s habitat included a mandate to remove livestock grazing in 13 Research Natural Areas in Oregon. The preferred alternative in the proposed amended plan, now out for public comment, would remove those grazing restrictions. The majority are in the BLM – Vale District. However, Jim Regan-Vienop, from the Oregon State BLM office, said this would not be a big change since the grazing restrictions have never been fully implemented.
New justice’s first case could be about endangered frog. E&E News (Sub req’d). A stubby endangered frog with prominent warts along its back could provide an early test of how the new Supreme Court justice approaches environmental law. The high court today announced it would hear a dispute over critical habitat protections for the frog on Oct. 1. The case, which will be the first Endangered Species Act case decided by the Supreme Court in more than a decade, is first up when justices return from their summer recess. If President Trump’s pick for the vacant high court seat is confirmed by then, it could also wind up being the new justice’s first case after donning the black robe.
County prepares for effects of possible lizard conservation. Associated Press. A little lizard is the center of controversy again, with a Chaves County administrator vowing to work if need be to keep lands in the county available for business use. “The lizard is back on our radar,” said Chaves County Manager Stanton Riggs at the June 25 Board of Commissioners meeting. Riggs said that the county is working on the issue with Chaves County Public Lands Commissioner Dan Girand and the American Stewards of Liberty. American Stewards is a landowners’ advocacy and legal rights nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, that works on several issues, including preventing or removing Endangered Species Act listings when the group thinks federal protections are unnecessary.
Bill aims to protect endangered whales. E&E News (Sub req’d). A group of Democratic senators from eastern states are pushing legislation to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) last month introduced the “Scientific Assistance for Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act,” S. 3038, with co-sponsors including Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tom Carper of Delaware and Bill Nelson of Florida. Yesterday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said he was signing on as a co-sponsor. “The North Atlantic right whale is in crisis, and a unified effort along the entire extent of its range is needed to prevent the extinction of this treasured species,” Markey said in a statement. “Right whales are an iconic and integral part of our marine heritage in Massachusetts,” he said. “We must vow not to repeat our history, when, generations ago, the right whale was hunted to near extinction.”
BLM official: Gold mine is 5 miles from bird’s habitat. The Argus Observer. Meetings regarding the proposed gold mine in Malheur County are coming more frequently, and following the meeting of the wildlife subcommittee meeting on Monday, the full technical review team will meet July 25 to get a review of the permitting process status. The gold mine is proposed at Grassy Mountain south of Vale by the Calico Resources a subsidiary of Paramount Gold Nevada. The company is going through the consolidated permitting process, lead by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. The technical review team comprises representatives from the state agencies which will issue permits for the project.
Fish and Wildlife Service sued over mussel habitat. E&E News (Sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service is facing a new lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect imperiled freshwater mussels found in 18 states. The complaint filed yesterday by the Center for Biological Diversity argues that FWS has violated the Endangered Species Act by not designating critical habitat for the species. “The mussels’ very existence remains at risk until the Service fulfills its statutory duty to designate the critical habitats necessary to support survival and recovery,” the group’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia says. At issue in the suit are four species of freshwater mussel: the rayed bean, sheepnose, snuffbox and spectaclecase mussels. They are found in New York, West Virginia, Arkansas and Pennsylvania and in other states throughout the Northeast, Midwest and South.
Conflict over sage grouse fiercest in Colorado’s neighboring states. The Gazette. Across the West, the Trump administration is pushing for sweeping changes to greater sage-grouse protection plans and bringing oil and gas development closer to the bird’s key habitats. While only modest changes were proposed in Colorado, the amendments to plans in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Oregon are more substantial. All the plans were put in place in 2015 to prevent the bird from being listed as an endangered species. In Wyoming, which has the bird’s best remaining habitat, about 10.8 million acres of designated grouse habitat would be opened to drilling as close as within a quarter-mile of a “lek,” the bird’s mating ground, according to a lawsuit.
Trump DOJ backs Obama-era habitat rule in high court fight. E&E News (Sub req’d). The Trump administration is defending an Obama-era habitat rule in a hot-button Endangered Species Act fight in the Supreme Court. Government lawyers said Friday that the Fish and Wildlife Service properly included a parcel of private land in its 2012 rule setting out critical habitat areas for the endangered dusky gopher frog. The land is “essential” for the conservation of the frog, the Justice Department argued in a court brief. The area “not only contains the frog’s rare breeding habitat, but the best such habitat within the frog’s entire historical range,” DOJ said. The habitat fight pits the government against timber giant Weyerhaeuser Co. and other Louisiana landowners. Justices are poised to hear arguments when they return from their summer recess, potentially with a replacement for the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy among their ranks.
