Issues
Lesser Prairie Chicken Listed as a Threatened Species. On Thursday, the Obama administration officially listed the Lesser Prairie Chicken as a “threatened species” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to the final listing document for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS):
“In recognition of the unprecedented partnership efforts and leadership of the five range states, the Service is finalizing concurrently a 4(d) special rule for the species that will retain more state responsibility for managing the lesser prairie-chicken than has ever been retained with respect to any other ESA-protected species. It will also provide regulatory certainty for landowners and businesses enrolled in the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan and USDA’s Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative (LPCI). The final listing determination will be effective 30 days after publication.”
Director Ashe underscored that this plan is unique in that individual states have increased command in relation to conservation efforts. He noted that, “the states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species – more than has ever been done before – and participating landowners and developers are not impacted with additional regulatory requirements.”
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) expressed disappointment with the listing given the substantial efforts of IPAA member companies to commit acreage to a range wide plan to conserve the bird. IPAA spokesman Jeff Eshelman said:
“Our member companies worked hard to commit acreage to a range wide plan, another option which would have provided a solution to provide conservation for the species in a meaningful way, rather than listing it as threatened. America’s oil and natural gas industry has become a world leader in energy production while exhibiting great care for the environment and communities where we work. Listings like this could threaten the progress we’ve made.”
The IPAA ESA Watch team will continue to monitor the situation as it moves forward. For more information on the final listing visit FWS.org.
Oversight Hearing on the Obama Administration’s Enforcement Approach for America’s Wildlife Laws and Its Impact on Domestic Energy. This week, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing titled, “Collision Course: Oversight of the Obama Administration’s Enforcement Approach for America’s Wildlife Laws and Its Impact on Domestic Energy.” The hearing focused on transparency and bureaucratic issues between the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Committee, as well as between FWS and the energy industry.
FWS Director Daniel Ashe was the sole panelist at the oversight hearing. Mr. Ashe was repeatedly questioned about his department’s perceived unwillingness to respond to requests from the Committee, specifically in regards to the Migratory Bird Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Both the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the proposed federal listing of the Sage Grouse were mentioned tangentially at the hearing. Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) discussed the bird while questioning Director Ashe:
“The Western Governors Association passed a bipartisan resolution that simply said the Endangered Species Act needs to be reviewed. In view of that, there is a whole lot of questions that deal with the ESA; I know western states are working on the Sage Grouse and many of them are spending a great deal of money and complain that the Fish and Wildlife Service is not necessarily helpful in that process.”
Individual species that were also brought up during the hearing included the Valley Longhorn Elderberry Beetle by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and the White Bluff Bladderpod by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA). For more on the hearing and to view an archived video visit the Committee on Natural Resources website HERE.
Two Conservation Groups Support the Lesser Prairie Chicken Plan. The Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) announced their partnership with wildlife organization—Pheasants Forever—and their plan to invest $5 million in support of the Lesser Prairie Chicken. The funds will be jointly invested over three years and will aid farmers and ranchers in their efforts to maintain the Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat.
The Pampa News reports that since 2010 farmers and ranchers have maintained more than a million acres for the species’ habitat. According to the article, “as agreed to by NRCS and FWS, farmers and ranchers voluntarily applying lesser prairie-chicken-friendly conservation practices may be protected from additional regulations under the Endangered Species Act for up to 30 years.”
Inhofe Pushes Range-Wide Plan for Lesser Prairie Chicken, Urges Against Listing. On Monday, March 24, 2014 United States Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) sent a letter to the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Dan Ashe. The letter emphasized the efforts undertaken by Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado alongside the FWS to voluntarily institute the Range-Wide Conservation plan (RWP) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances. Inhofe highlighted the unprecedented acreage commitment from multiple industries, state governments and private landowners as well as the financial pledge of $21 million in order to operate the RWP.
Inhofe’s letter represents the concerns of many as the Lesser Prairie Chicken entered the final listing-determination processes. Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said that a federal listing of the species would seriously impede oil production and would be unfair to the communities that make up the Lesser Prairie Chicken’s habitat:
“A listing would be a tragedy. People have really spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears trying to put meaningful conservation on the ground. A federal listing throws all that work into the garbage.”
Amos Eno, president of the Resources First Foundation, said that a listing would also damage the FWS’s partnerships with states as well as the industry’s interest in conservation efforts in the future.
Potential Listing of the Greater Sage Grouse Threatens Development. Johnson County (WY) commissioners expressed their concerns this week with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) revised resource management plan (RMP). As the Buffalo Bulletin reports, the RMP has the potential to affect $2.2 million in tax revenue. Duane Spencer, the Buffalo BLM field office manager, said that the Sage Grouse was a driving source behind the new RMP.
Commissioner John Gibbs believes that the allocated zones for the Sage Grouse and other species in Wyoming are overdone: “If there’s no mineral production, there’s no one renting. There’s no one buying gas, and there’s no one selling food.” County Commissioner Jim Hicks echoed Gibbs’ sentiment, stating “It’s the future of a lot of young kids here. Energy has saved the culture of this whole area more than once. It affects the whole economy.
In the News
Lawmakers weigh reforming landmark law to reduce Forest Service lawsuits. E&E News. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry held yesterday’s hearing to examine the impacts of the Endangered Species Act on the Forest Service. Specifically, Republicans wanted to know the cost — and whether Congress should reform ESA to curb what they called “frivolous lawsuits.”
The Suh-and-Settle Nominee. Wall Street Journal (Editorial). Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu has taken the reins of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and her first big political test will be Thursday’s vote on the nomination of Rhea Suh to be assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the Interior Department. This is an obscure post with big implications for U.S. energy exploration.
County terminates predator control contract. Elko Daily Press. The county designated the Devil’s Gate Ranch a sage-grouse conservation pilot project. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said a dwindling sagebrush ecosystem will determine whether sage grouse are listed as endangered next year, the county hopes to demonstrate that aggressive predator control and livestock grazing is beneficial to sage grouse survival.
Study: Sage Grouse Habitat Slow To Rebound After Fire. OPB News Network. A new study suggests creating livable habitat for the dwindling sage grouse may be trickier than originally thought. Wildfires have been tearing through the bird’s territory in the West. Now, federal researchers find even 20 years after a fire, the ecology is still not up to sage grouse standards. Sage grouse, as their name suggests, like sagebrush. They eat the shrub as well as nest under it. But hundreds of thousands of sagebrush land burns every fire season.
Sage Grouse Could Change Central Oregon Range. The Bulletin. The 1993 listing of the spotted owl as a threatened species crippled the logging industry in Oregon, and the economies of towns that relied on mills. Now McCormack, like many other Central Oregon ranchers, is worried an Endangered Species Act listing for the sage grouse could have a similar impact on ranching communities, including businesses such as feed stores and Western wear shops.
Job Creators Sue Federal Government. Townhall (Column). For years environmentalists have usurped individual private property rights and thwarted economic development. On Monday, March 17, on behalf of the state of Oklahoma and the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (DEPA), Pruitt filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit alleges the “FWS engaged in ‘sue and settle’ tactics when the agency agreed to settle a lawsuit with a national environmental group over the [Endangered Species Act] listing status of several animal species, including the Lesser Prairie Chicken.”
Endangered Species Act litigation stifles U.S. forest management — House Republicans. E&E News. The “bipartisan effort” House Republicans have been calling for on Endangered Species Act reform was not immediately evident yesterday, as questions from mostly Republican members targeted administrative practices in the Forest Service and the fundamental effectiveness of ESA.
