Issues
Occidental Enrolls 1.8 Million Acres to Support Lesser Prairie Chicken. This week, Occidental Petroleum announced it has enrolled nearly 1.8 million acres of its oil and gas interests in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma, into programs designed to support conservation measures for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Bill Albrecht, President of Oxy Oil and Gas, Americas, discussed the exciting news in the Rural Messenger and Hays Post:
“The Range-Wide Plan represents an unprecedented collaboration between the USFWS and the states in protecting endangered species without adversely impacting our economy. Oxy’s enrollment under this state-managed agreement will ensure that the company can continue providing the jobs and producing the oil and natural gas important to the nation while also significantly supporting the conservation of this species.”
Occidental is one of the first oil and natural gas companies to enroll in the Range-Wide Plan and has committed roughly $12 million over a three-year period to help fund conservation efforts for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. The bird’s habitat covers nearly 40 million acres across Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Read Occidental’s full press release HERE.
Senator Pryor and Landrieu Introduce ESA Legislation. On Wednesday, Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Senator Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S. 2084, The Community Protection Act of 2014. This bill would modify the process for analyzing the potential economic impacts of a proposed designation of critical habitat under section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bill has three core elements: First, the bill would make exclusion of an area from critical habitat mandatory if the Secretary determines that the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion. This provision remains subject to the caveat that an area cannot be excluded if it would result in the extinction of the species. Second, under a new section 4(b)(2)(C), the Secretary would be required, by statute, to issue a draft economic analysis concurrent with a proposal to designate critical habitat. This would memorialize the Administration’s adoption of a similar requirement in its ESA regulations. See 73 Fed. Reg. 53058 (Aug. 28, 2013) modifying 50 C.F.R. § 424.19. Third, the bill defines the scope of the economic analysis for a proposed designation of critical habitat.
USFWS and WAFWA Sign Agreement to Protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken. On Friday, February 28th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) signed the Range-wide Oil and Gas Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). The voluntary agreement is designed to protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken and its habitat. Energy companies and individual landowners who enroll in the CCAA consent to maintain conservation steps on behalf of the Lesser Prairie Chicken and to pay a fee if their actions harm the bird or its habitat. USFWS Director Dan Ashe released the following statement following the agreement:
“This landmark agreement between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies shows how cooperation between federal and state government agencies and private landowners can help advance conservation objectives while considering the economic needs of the nation. It is also another example of how flexibility in the Endangered Species Act helps us address the complex issues often associated with protecting our rarest wildlife and their habitats.”
The agreement was also met with praise from additional stakeholders and government leaders. E&E News reports that Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) believes that the CCAA is progress toward avoiding a federal listing: “Farmers, ranchers, energy companies, and landowners can work together with state wildlife agencies to preserve habitat and protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken, without federal intervention.” Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) also praised the agreement, stating it will provide certainty for private landowners. According to Rep. Pearce, “Listing the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered threatens the economic stability of our communities. Fortunately, conservation and development are not mutually exclusive goals.”
The CCAA only goes into effect if the Lesser Prairie Chicken is listed under the ESA—a determination that is expected to be announced March 31, 2014. In addition to the CCAA, oil and gas, transmission, pipeline, and wind companies across Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico have agreed to spend $15 million and enroll 2.5 million acres to prevent an ESA listing for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Bill Van Pelt, grasslands coordinator for the WAFWA, which crafted the range-wide plan said it represents “unprecedented collaboration” with various government, industry, agriculture and conservation interests working together.
Obama Allocates $1.1 Billion to BLM in His Presidential Budget. According to a press release from the Bureau of Reclamation—a federal agency under the Department of the Interior—a significant portion of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) budget will be oriented towards species and habitat conservation. BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze said the following about the proposed budget:
“The BLM continues to be a major economic engine for many communities across the West and this budget makes smart investments that provide for a secure energy future, expanded outdoor recreational opportunities and thoughtful resource management.”
Media reports indicate Sage Grouse conservation continues to be a priority for the BLM in 2015. According to the Sierra Sun Times, $15 million is allotted to “implement broad-scale Sage-Grouse planning and conservation activities to lessen the threats to the sage grouse and its habitat to help prevent the future listing of the species for protection under the Endangered Species Act.”
Keep the Sage Grouse Out of Nevada Politics. In an editorial this week, the Reno Gazette-Journal cautioned that involving the Sage Grouse in state and local politics will only increase the chances of a federal endangered species listing. The editorial notes that if a listing were to go through, the state of Nevada could face serious obstacles in vital industries including mining, agriculture and energy development. The Reno Gazette-Journal also calls out several Nevada public officials for bringing the state’s conservation credibility into question. The article notes that the sharp decline of species like the Sage Grouse serve as warning sign that there is “trouble on our public lands” and that “Nevada needs to show the federal government that it is taking that warning seriously.”
The Reno Gazette-Journal editorial follows an Associated Press article from this week which highlighted the divisions between state lawmakers surrounding the Sage Grouse. Specifically, the issues at stake are whether Nevada’s course of action addresses industry interests or the continued health of the Sage Grouse population.
In the News
Bird Groups Raise Alarms over Wind Industry Installation of Six Giant Wind Turbines in Critical Great Lakes Bird Migration Corridor. American Bird Conservancy (Press Release). ABC and BSBO led a petition campaign that acquired over 5,000 signatures in opposition to the earlier wind turbine project at Camp Perry. Together, they filed on January 8, 2014, a formal Notice of Intent to Sue the Air National Guard (ANG), charging that a proposed turbine in the area was being built in violation of several major conservation and wildlife protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act.
Big turnout expected for last chance at smelt. Seattle Times. A big turnout is expected for what should be the final dip-net bank smelt fishery along the Cowlitz River from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday. February 8th was the first time in three years that the smelt dip-net fishery has been open. Smelt were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act after more than a decade of declining returns. Smelt returns in 2011 began making a comeback, and returns have been good since.
Fishermen, beachgoers work to loosen plover closures. Martha’s Vineyard Times. Although winter still has us in its icy grip, it won’t be long until the bluefish and the striped bass are biting, the piping plovers are nesting, and beaches across the Cape and Islands are closing. Since it was designated as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1986, the piping plover has seen a significant surge in population from 790 nesting pairs in 1986 to 1,890 by 2011.
Mown on the range. The Ranger. Removing sagebrush may seem like an odd way to help sage grouse, but researchers think it might work. They are looking into the question with a study across 3,000 acres in southeastern Fremont County. Fewer or smaller sagebrush could allow more forbs, wildflowers and other broad-leafed plants, to grow, the scientists hypothesize. Forbs are a major food source for young sage grouse, and they attract more insects, which make up almost the entire diet of grouse chicks.
Pumpkin Hollow project full of promise. Elko Daily Free Press. Just southeast of Yerington, perhaps a 15 minute drive, is Nevada Copper’s Pumpkin Hollow project. Currently in the advanced exploration stage, the company intends to begin mining in 2015 to recover an estimated mineral inventory of 5.22 billion pounds of copper.
A Reprieve for Bristol Bay. New York Times (Editorial). The Obama administration announced on Friday that it was putting the brakes on a massive gold and copper mine proposed for the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay while it decides whether to prohibit it permanently. […] Given the science, this is not the hardest environmental decision the administration has faced or will face. It has yet to devise a legally sound plan to protect endangered salmon runs in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. And it must adjudicate between the needs of the endangered sage grouse and the oil industry, which occupy the same lands in the West. But on Bristol Bay, it is headed in just the right direction.
Bob Thorpe trims wolf proposal. Arizona Daily Sun. State Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, said he’s amending a bill he introduced last week that aims to end the Endangered Species Act in Arizona and deport some of the endangered animals. Thorpe said he introduced the bill after talking to the cattle industry about problems they perceive with the Mexican gray wolf program. His bill would stop state participation in programs that were not “cooperatively implemented” with the state and then require the Arizona legislature to approve any future endangered species programs.
For ‘green’ energy liberals, windmills trump endangered species. The Washington Times (Editorial). Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana, James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma and Mike Crapo of Idaho noticed that the EPA didn’t bother to consult with the Interior Department when it wrote the latest global-warming rule for regulating power plants, as the law requires. “[The] EPA and the Fish & Wildlife Service may be tempted to overlook the existing protections for the environment embodied in the [Endangered Species Act (ESA)]. Their failure to appropriately conduct an ESA consultation would lead to dire results for protected species and their habitat.”
Sage grouse need cattle and ranchers. Capital Press. An ESA listing of the sage grouse, while creating havoc in the rural West, will result in less sage grouse. Active management of the high desert by knowledgeable, competent, motivated, “native environmentalists” will provide an economic base for our rural communities and ensure that we can keep our beautiful, diverse, open West intact.
