Issues
FWS Extends Bald and Golden Eagle Programmatic Take Rule Permit. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a final rule to extend the duration of programmatic bald and golden eagle take permits from five years to 30 years. The rule applies to wind farms, transmission projects, and other long-term energy operations. According to Hogan Lovells LLP:
Wind energy developers and others have urged the adoption of this rule change as a practical necessity because wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects usually have a 30-year, not a five-year, life span. Critics of the administration’s domestic energy policies and a number of environmental groups, including the Audubon Society and Natural Resources Defense Council, have opposed the rule change.
The rule is set to go into effect on January 8th, 2014. Read more from Hogan Lovells LLP HERE.
Report Questions Impact of Tall Structures on Sage Grouse. A new report set to publish in the Wildlife Society Bulletin questions the assumption that sage grouse dislike tall structures, such as wind turbines or electrical poles. According to report co-author Karl Kosciuch:
“We know from a lot of these studies that birds – grouse in particular – do respond to development,” Kosciuch said. “But we can’t say what aspect of development. … You could not necessarily conclude that the observed pattern was due to the tallness of the structure.”
The study could have impacts on future proposed management plans for the sage grouse.
IPAA and API Drafting Comments on Proposed Listings. The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) are drafting comments on the proposed listing of the Northern Long Eared Bat and Eastern Small Footed Bat Rulemaking. The comments are provided in two sections, one Legal and Policy and the second Scientific and Technical. More to come on the final comments from IPAA’s ESA Watch team in 2014.
Interior Announces Revised Rule for the LPC. Last week the U.S. Department of Interior released a revised rule regarding the “take” of lesser prairie chickens (LPC) if listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to E&E News (sub req’d):
“The revised rule says ‘take’ of lesser prairie chickens incidental to activities conducted by an individual enrolled in the rangewide conservation plan will not be prohibited. The 4(d) rule will apply only if the threatened listing is finalized, a decision to be made next March. Such actions are normally banned by ESA.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stated that the proposed rangewide plan provides a net benefit for the LPC:
“On October 23, 2013, the Service announced our endorsement of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan (dated September 2013) as a comprehensive conservation program that reflects a sound conservation design and strategy that, when implemented, will provide a net conservation benefit to the lesser prairie-chicken. We would like to consider the conservation measures in this plan in our final listing determination for the lesser prairie-chicken.”
FWS will accept comments on both the proposed 4(d) take rule and the December 2012 listing proposal of the bird until January 10th, 2014. More information available in the Federal Register HERE.
| SAVE THE DATE: Please save the date for the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s (IPAA) Strategic Planning Conference on Emerging Land Access and Environmental Issues in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 10- 11, 2014. IPAA plans to host a networking reception on the night of February 10 for speakers and member companies, starting at 5pm and hold an all-day conference on February 11. We hope you can join us for this meeting to discuss emerging energy issues in the environmental and land access issue areas. Contact Kristen Lingley and Julia Bell for agenda and registration details at Klingley@ipaa.org and Jbell@ipaa.org. |
In the News
Comment period extended on sage grouse listing. Associated Press. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is extending for 45 days the comment period on a proposal to list a distinct population of sage grouse as a threatened species. Public comments will be accepted through Feb. 10. The federal agency in October proposed protecting a distinct population along the Nevada-California line under the Endangered Species Act. The proposal would designate about 1.8 million acres as critical habitat.
Heller: Sage-grouse conservation rests in wildfire control. Elko Daily Free Press. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said Wednesday unless federal agencies can control wildfires, keeping sage grouse off the endangered species list would be difficult. During a rural conference call, Heller said the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service should place a greater emphasis on suppressing wildfires and then treating more burned acres afterward. The BLM and Forest Service are drafting a regional sage-grouse conservation plan for Nevada and California, and are taking public comment until Jan. 29.
Witnesses Highlight Examples of How Endangered Species Act’s Settlements are Harming Transparency, State and Local Economies, and Efforts to Conserve Species. Sierra Sun Times. Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing entitled “ESA Decisions by Closed-Door Settlement: Short-Changing Science, Transparency, Private Property, and State & Local Economies.” This hearing examined the impacts of the Endangered Species Act’s (ESA) closed-door mega-settlements on listing and critical habitat decisions and the need to reform this law to ensure that its focus is on recovering species while protecting jobs and local economies.
Nevada sage grouse critics call feds closed-minded. Associated Press. An ex-state lawmaker and longtime critic of U.S. land managers says he’s convinced the feds have already made up their mind to list the Greater sage grouse as a threatened or endangered species.
Feds seek comment on lesser prairie chicken proposal. Amarillo Globe-News. The plan to keep regulation of the region’s agriculture, oil and natural gas and power industries out of the control of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking flight. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a draft rule in the federal Register on Wednesday that is based on a conservation plan created by a coalition of five states to protect and expand the habitat the lesser prairie chicken needs to increase its population.
Commission to prepare to give sage grouse comment. Elko Daily Free Press. Commissioner Grant Gerber was critical Wednesday at an informal open-house meeting hosted by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service regarding a proposed sage-grouse conservation plan. The multi-agency document
Federal court to hear Wyoming wolf delisting. Associated Press. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is set to hear arguments from environmental groups challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent move to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming. Judge Amy Berman Jackson has set a hearing for Tuesday on a complaint by a coalition of environmental groups. They claim the federal government’s recent transfer of wolf management authority to the state of Wyoming violates the Endangered Species Act.
