Issues
FWS postpones decision on lesser prairie chicken. This week, federal wildlife officials decided to postpone making a final decision on whether to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The decision pushes back the deadline for a final listing by six months.
This announcement follows a letter from Senators across the Great Plains last week, urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take more time to decide whether to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened. The letter noted the importance of allowing participants in the five-state plan the maximum amount of time to enroll in these programs and to demonstrate their effectiveness. Learn more about this letter and supporting messages from the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) on ESA Watch.
Senators call for documents behind ESA landmark settlements. Again. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) sent a letter to Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe this week, requesting a record of communications between the Obama administration and the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians. In 2011, the FWS signed landmark Endangered Species Act (ESA) settlements with these two groups, requiring FWS to speed protection decisions for 250 species. The letter is the third of its kind from Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee seeking answers on these settlements. As the letter states:
“Many of the more than 250 listings could occur as a result of these settlements will have a tremendous impact on states and local governments, private property rights, and economic growth. Yet, FWS chose to make these agreements with two litigious environmental groups without any consultation from Congress or affected stakeholders like wildlife agencies who are the traditional land managers in states. Without such consultation their views remain unrepresented in the process”
The letter, also signed by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.), is critical of the FWS and its lack of response to repeated calls for a record of communication between the groups and the administration. The Senators also note, “The longer our requests for documentation are avoided, the more evident it seems that these settlement agreements may have been entered in an unscrupulous manner.” Read the full letter to the FWS HERE.
In the News
Colo. regulators look to expand sensitive wildlife habitat, species protection. E&E News (sub req’d). The sensitive wildlife habitat maps have proved a success in helping to protect critical wildlife habitat for a host of sensitive species, some of which are being evaluated by the Fish and Wildlife Service for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act. Those include the greater sage grouse and the Gunnison sage grouse, which Fish and Wildlife proposed listing as endangered in January. The COGCC is proposing adding 416,000 acres in Gunnison sage grouse habitat to the sensitive wildlife habitat datasets.
Fox is the new raven. Elko Daily Free Press. In light of a potential sage grouse inclusion on the endangered species list, the county developed its own conservation plan with a large component focused on predator control. Raven were identified as the greatest threat to the birds, with coyotes a close second.
Sleepy Mouse May Get Protections and Habitat. Courthouse News. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse for endangered status under the Endangered Species Act, with over 14,500 acres of critical habitat.
Sage grouse survival may hinge on success of Wyo. strategy – study. E&E News (sub req’d). While Fish and Wildlife has determined that the grouse warrants federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, the agency hasn’t placed the bird on the ESA list due to a backlog of other “candidate” species warranting protection. FWS is under a court mandate to make a final determination on the grouse’s status by 2015.
Lesser Prairie Chicken’s fate in agency’s hands. Santa Fe New Mexican. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday closed the window for outside comment on potential inclusion of the lesser prairie chicken on the agency’s endangered species list, but the issue continues to ruffle feathers.
Group Files Lawsuit to Protect Northeast Songbird. Main Public Broadcasting Network. “The thrush is an icon of our New England woods, but it’s disappearing right before our eyes,” says Mollie Matteson, a conservation advocate for the group, in a statement. “This songbird needs Endangered Species Act protection to stand a chance in the face of climate change.”
States Pressed for Limits on Gray Wolf Protections. ABC News. The documents show the government weighed a variety of factors beyond gray wolf survival, including economic impact on the livestock industry, public tolerance and other issues outside the scope of the Endangered Species Act.
County inks Gunnison sage-grouse agreement. Montrose Press. Montrose County stepped up its efforts to prevent having the Gunnison sage-grouse federally listed as an endangered species as commissioners on Thursday signed a multi-party conservation agreement for the rare bird.
Drought heightens need for protecting prairie chicken – Audubon. E&E News (sub req’d). “The lesser prairie chicken is not safe, as representatives from the New Mexico Game and Fish Department have publicly stated, in the past week,” said Karyn Stockdale, Audubon’s executive director. “State wildlife agencies need to focus on next steps in implementing conservation measures and monitoring their effectiveness, rather than maneuvering to influence the potential application of the Endangered Species Act.”
Landmark settlement aims to protect Gulf whales and dolphins. E&E News (sub req’d). The environmentalists claimed that Interior violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act when it permitted the use of air guns without preparing an environmental impact statement.
ESA still needed. The Tribune (Column). This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. The ESA has served as our country’s safety net for imperiled wildlife on the brink of extinction. Iconic species such as the bald eagle and the grizzly bear, in the Lower 48 states, have not disappeared from nature’s landscape thanks to the act and adequate funding from our government.
