Issues
NEXT WEEK: On October 10th, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Congressional Working Group is set to hold a forum entitled “Reviewing 40 Years of the Endangered Species Act and Seeking Improvement for People and Species.” The forum is scheduled to include a diverse group of stakeholders focused on discussing the ESA’s history, its impacts on people and species, and potential improvements to the Act moving forward. The meeting will be held in Washington, DC in the 1300 Hearing Room in the Longworth House Office Building. Additional details, including any possible rescheduling due to the Government Shutdown, is available HERE.
Trades Call for Extension in Coral Listing. On September 30th, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) submitted a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The letter requests the NMFS extend by 30 days the deadline for its data collection effort in relation to a proposed listing of 66 species of coral in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In September 2012, NMFS announced a 6-month extension of the final rule deadline due to “substantial disagreements” in sufficiency of data and analysis relevant to the proposed listing determinations. The NMFS, however, allowed only 11 days to provide additional information relevant to the six key areas the NMFS noted contained large disagreements.
According to this week’s letter:
“Eleven days is simply not sufficient time for the Associations to evaluate the existence of, and provide, additional information relevant to the proposed listing. The Service’s proposed rule is unprecedented in its scope and breadth. Not only does the proposal attempt to evaluate extinction risks to 68 different species, it does so largely based on climate models that, as discussed in our previous comments, contain significant limitations, especially at the spatial and temporal scales relevant to the proposed listing. Evaluating the existence of new information on such a large number of species in a listing that is based on multiple scientific disciplines cannot be accomplished in 11 days.”
The associations also note that, while the 30 day extension for data collection is desirable, the initial proposal contains serious flaws that will not be remedied by new data alone.
NESARC Prepares Comments to FWS. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is collecting comments regarding a proposed regulation on the use of surrogates for quantification of take and the treatment of programmatic actions within incidental take statements. The National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition, of which IPAA is a member, is drafting Coalition comments.
Federal Sage Grouse Plan Faces Criticism in North Dakota. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released a new proposal aimed at establishing 33,000 acres of priority sage grouse habitat in the southwest of North Dakota. The proposal could limit oil and gas development, road building and off-highway vehicle use in the area. Ron Ness of the North Dakota Petroleum Council commented on the proposed plan in E&E News (sub. req’d):
“Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council in Bismarck, said most of the area in question has already been drilled and that the industry worked with BLM to restore drilled areas and to protect sage grouse breeding areas, called leks, during production. ‘And all of a sudden, they now come in with what’s in essence a blanket roadless area,’ Ness said.
“’That’s why we have zero drilling rigs operating on federal lands in North Dakota,’ he added, despite the state’s booming Bakken Shale oil formation. ‘We’re very fortunate that 90 percent of the Bakken is on private lands.’”
The BLM notes that while the North Dakota sage grouse population is small, it is important to the overall health of the species. This is one of 15 draft environmental impact statements moving forward as a part of the BLM’s “National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy.” The draft is open for public comment until December 26th with plans for a final decision to be made in September 2014. Read the full proposal HERE.
In the News
Criticism greets new federal plan for protecting sage grouse in N.D. E&E News (sub req’d). The Obama administration continues to roll out management plans covering thousands of acres that are designed to restore dwindling habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse.
Two Southeast Mussels Listed With Habitat. Courthouse News. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the fluted kidneyshell and the slabside pearlymussel as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and has designated 1380 river miles of critical habitat for the two mussel species in a separate action.
Enviro groups petition FWS for protection of 2 tortoises. E&E News (sub req’d). Environmentalists yesterday filed petitions asking for federal protection of two tortoise species that are threatened by the exotic pet trade. The spider tortoise and flat-tailed tortoise, both native to Madagascar and known for their patterned shells, are imperiled by deforestation in their homeland.
Protection sought for bats decimated by white-nose syndrome. Associated Press. The Richmond-based Center for Biological Diversity says the service has proposed granting Endangered Species Act protection to the northern long-eared bat, a species that has been devastated by the disease known as white-nose syndrome.
Missouri Fish Gets Listing, No Habitat. Courthouse News. The grotto sculpin, a cave-dwelling fish found in only one county in Missouri, has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to designate critical habitat for it due to community efforts.
Rare Ala. fish that lives near explosive growth gets new protected status. E&E News (sub req’d). The Obama administration today granted protections for a rare Alabama fish that may result in critical habitat designations near the fastest-growing city in the state. The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule that makes the spring pygmy sunfish a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
For some, rare birds mean more government. Amarillo Globe News. But as is frequently the case in debates about threatened species, the private landowner has the most at stake — and often seems absent from the negotiating table. That is especially true for Texas and the lesser prairie chicken, whose U.S. population has decreased to 17,000 from 34,000 in the past year
Logic and the endangered species act. Santa Maria Times (Op-Ed by David Pratt, Santa Maria Energy). For those who are intent upon opposing energy projects, the California Endangered Species Act has often proven itself useful for delaying or preventing energy development. And there are a lot of endangered species in Santa Barbara County. One is the California tiger salamander, an amphibian found in a number of areas north of the Gaviota Pass.
Two Rare Arizona Cactuses Gain Endangered Species Act Protection. eNews Park Forest (Press Release). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted Endangered Species Act protection today to two highly imperiled cactuses found in northern and southern Arizona. Protection for the Acuña cactus and Fickeisen plains cactus results from a 2011 settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity requiring the agency to speed protection decisions for 757 species across the country.
