Issues
Utah releases management plan for Greater sage-grouse. On Wednesday, April 24th, Utah released its new Greater sage grouse conservation plan to protect and expand the grouse’s habitat region. The plan, which covers 90 percent of the species, designates 11 sage grouse conservation areas over 7.5 million acres and includes plans to restore sage brush, some of which has been burned by wildfires or overtaken by juniper plants.
The plan also envisions a “mitigation bank,” a system that enables industry to purchase the privilege to “disturb” habitat, including leks, by reclaiming four times more habitat for the birds elsewhere. According to John Harja, advisor to the state Department of Agriculture, the goal of the plan is to avoid overall disturbance. “If you have to move in with an oil well or with a recreational opportunity, we hope to compensate that loss
According to Kathleen Clarke, Gov. Gary Herbert’s top public lands adviser, this is an important step to avoid a costly, burdensome federal regulation. “We are very committed to helping the sage grouse in Utah thrive. The folks in rural Utah consider the land, both private and federal, their backyard and they take good care of it and they want those wildlife critters to stick around.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is currently expected to make a decision on whether to list the greater sage grouse under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) by the end of 2015. Read Utah’s full plan HERE.
Rep. Thornberry takes action on the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. According to Fox 14 in Texas, U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) of Texas sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee this week to delay funding of any further efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Congressman calls for a one-year “time out” on the FWS’s plan in order to provide local landowners and state officials adequate time to protect the bird without federal intervention. The letter states that this one-year delay will “allow local landowners and public officials the opportunity to enter into conservation agreements to protect the species and ensure economic growth.” Members of Congress from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado also signed the letter.
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ESA WATCH – SPECIAL REPORT US Fish and Wildlife Service Pursues Implementation of the Endangered Species Act On Basis of Threat of Energy Resource Development By Kathy G. Beckett, Esquire, Jackson Kelly PLLC March 29, 2013, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) release for public comment its draft economic analysis of the July 26, 2012, proposal to list the diamond darter as endangered and to designate critical habitat. 77 Fed. Reg. 43906, July 26, 2012. The summary of the justification for the initial July 26, 2012 release read as follows:
A review of the comments by WV Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) provides rebuttal to USFWS claims: The WVDEP reports that the demise of the Diamond Darter is more particularly related to the historical impoundment of streams, not industrial activities. WVDEP also comments the current regulatory programs are protective of water quality and aquatic life. It is noteworthy that the Elk River in West Virginia is designated as a high quality water. The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) reports that sampling for the Diamond Darter is difficult because it buries itself in the sand, raising significant question about the population figures in this proposal. The WVDNR also comments that there would be little change to the regulatory program for protection of habitat because the existing program is very protective of this high quality stream. It is also worthy of note that in spite of there being no ability to collect any diamond darters in Kentucky there is a proposal to list for a portion of the Green River. The USFWS proposal references a study that asserts it is likely the diamond darter was never common to Kentucky. To add to confusion on USFWS data, historical records place the species in Ohio and Tennessee. Neither of these states are targeted for this rulemaking. The urgency for this listing is not actual water quality concerns, or stressed species, but instead the urgency is the potential for increased activities of extractive natural resource industries. USFWS asserts the threat of “spills” to the Elk River are of concern. Upon review of the actual experiences of the Elk River, WVDEP suggests the real threat to this species, as evidenced by history, has been impoundment of the flowing rivers. There has been no catastrophic spill to the Elk River of oil or other “toxics”, nor is it impounded. This federal action has the suspect substance of yet another initiative to halt the domestic development of our energy resources. USFWS provides the comment that it does not anticipate the protected species status nor the critical habitat designation to impact coal mining, oil extraction, or drilling activities taking place in the study area. What these statements do not address is the adverse outcome of increased regulatory actions that will impact the construction of stream crossings. At a point in time where the energy industry is working to provide access to downstream users of natural gas, increased regulatory burdens designed to protect a species that is not well understood creates an adverse outcome with little understanding as to the benefits, that limits energy marketing, production and consumption in West Virginia, particularly Kanawha County the location of significant historical downstream chemical industry infrastructure. Failure by USFWS quantify the likely impacts to the regulated community particularly relative to coal mining and oil and natural gas production and manufacturing industries is arbitrary and capricious. The offering of circuitous rationale asserting that habitat is not the issue of impact on the economy, rather species listing is the point of reference for economic analysis is an effort to avoid the economic question. Stated in a more direct manner, designation for protection creates a presumption of the need for enhanced regulation. It is disingenuous to assert the presumption is not quantifiable and therefore there is no economic impact. Finally, small businesses, some of which are representative of the extractive industries such as coal mining, timbering, and oil and gas development have been an important source of jobs and progress in the Elk River watershed for well over a century. Energy businesses stand to sustain difficulties in marketing its capabilities when encumbered by an ESA designation with such ill-defined bases. Even the environmental community is convinced that this listing may be premature as evidenced by the fact the Nature Conservancy intends to conduct its own watershed assessment in 2013. The agency is urged by the regulated community to move cautiously in advancing any such listing or designation and therefore must develop a more thorough record before finalizing this proposal. IPAA has partnered with the West Virginia regulated community in advancing substantive comments to these USFWS diamond darter proposals. |
In the News
Alaska Oil and Gas Association plans to sue after ice seals listed as threatened species. Associated Press. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in December that ringed seals and bearded seals in the Arctic Ocean would be protected under the Endangered Species Act. These joined polar bears as species listed as threatened by loss of sea ice. The oil and gas group says in a news release that there is “no scientific evidence linking climate change now or in the future” to adverse effects on the seals.
FWS proposes protections for Sierra Nevada amphibians. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing a species of frog and toad under the Endangered Species Act. The Yosemite toad and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog populations have decreased due to livestock grazing, fungal infections, pesticides and hungry non-native trout.
Lesser Prairie Chicken could restrict farming, ranching. Leader and Times. For counties, an LPC listing would impose additional federal considerations for agriculture, ranching and industrial activities within their jurisdictions. “It eliminates land for ag use everywhere in the country,” said Seward County Commissioner Jim Rice. Immediate impacts from the listing would be additional rules, and some long-term results include declining land valuations and associated tax reductions.
Austin, Texas, seeks changes to salamander’s habitat plan. E&E News (sub req’d). The city of Austin, Texas, has asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to change a habitat conservation plan for an endangered salamander that shares its habitat with thousands of people who visit springs where it lives. The city plans to undertake major restoration projects at Barton Springs to help improve habitat for the Barton Springs salamander, and the plan needs to be altered to accommodate those activities. An “incidental take” permit allowing the city to harm, harass or kill some salamanders during such projects will also need to be changed.
Protected Utah prairie dogs fight for home on the range. Washington Times. The Utah prairie dog isn’t exactly on the brink of extinction the state is home to an estimated 40,000 but the rodent is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Unfettered by pest-control efforts, the prairie dogs have dug up a cemetery, an airport landing strip, a golf course and untold hundreds of lawns.
In the battle to free an orca, activists secure a small victory. Seattle Times. Animal-rights activists Wednesday won a round in the long-running fight over the fate of Lolita, a killer whale captured in Puget Sound and kept in the Miami Seaquarium for more than four decades. The federal government accepted a petition that calls for the captive orca to be protected under the Endangered Species Act
Government agrees to review listing status for captive whale. E&E News (sub req’d). It’s not unusual for endangered species to be exhibited in zoos, but the law renders special protection on such animals and controls the conditions under which they are kept, said Jenni James, a litigation fellow for the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Webinar slated for discussion of lesser prairie chicken. Pratt Tribune. The potential listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) as a threatened or endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is on the minds of many landowners in Kansas and a cause of concern for land managers.
Judge dismisses enviro mega-suit accusing EPA of lax species protection. E&E News (sub req’d). The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America brought the suit in 2011 alleging that the Endangered Species Act required EPA to consult other agencies before approving — or registering — 382 pesticides that have a negative impact on 214 endangered or threatened species, including Florida panthers, California condors and black-footed ferrets.
Study: Sage grouse might need more space. Billings Gazette. Data released Monday by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest the threatened bird can tolerate disturbances in up to about 3 percent of surrounding land sections. Wyoming’s sage grouse policy, signed as an executive order by former Gov. Dave Freudenthal and affirmed by Gov. Matt Mead, allows for 5 percent surface disturbance, which could include such things as roads, antenna towers and industrial development.
