Issues

Federal Government Denies Appeal for Listing of Ribbon Seals. An appeal to list ribbon seals under the Endangered Species Act was rejected by the National Marine Fisheries Service on Tuesday. The listing was rejected because the species decline was not perceived as imminent under federal regulations. After assessing the endangerment risk, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spokeswoman Julie Speegle announced:

“NOAA’s status review concluded that the anticipated threats to ribbon seals, primarily from reductions in sea ice and disrupted prey communities, will result in a gradual decline in ribbon seal population abundance…however, this decline is not expected to render the species in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future.”

Jon Kurland, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant regional administrator for protected resources, also noted that ribbon seals can adjust to the environmental changes, and are “fairly adaptable” animals. The federal agency had previously rejected a listing for ribbon seals in December 2008. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), along with Greenpeace, sued for reconsideration.

DOI Releases Regulatory Agenda. This week, the Department of Interior released its Spring 2013 regulatory agenda which lists pending proposed and final regulatory actions for each Departmental agency. The agenda includes over 150 Endangered Species Act (ESA) actions that are expected to be published in the Federal Register by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) within the next year. Read the full document HERE and contact Kristen Lingley at KLingley@ipaa.org with questions.

CBD Sues California County Over Drilling Project. On Wednesday, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit against Monterey County, California in response to its approval of a drilling project in the region. CBD officials claimed the project would have negative effects on endangered condors in the area as well as local drinking water. According to CBD officials, the country violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by not first conducting an extensive analysis of potential impacts. Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association in Sacramento, contested the notion that the process — cyclic steam injection — would be environmentally harmful. According to E&E News (sub req’d):

“Hull said the cyclic steam injection is ‘relatively common and a very well-understood process that has been going on for decades’ in the state. ‘We don’t think it’s dangerous; we don’t think there’s evidence that it has been a risk or posed a risk to groundwater or any other water source,’ he said.”

The lawsuit arrives less than two months after a previous CBD defense of the California condor, when the Bureau of Land Management authorized the construction of wind turbines through the East Wind Project. Learn more at ESA Watch.

In the News

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Nest Survival May Decline by 2050. U.S. Geological Survey (Press Release). The lesser prairie-chicken has experienced widespread declines in abundance and distribution, with some estimates suggesting greater than a 90 percent decrease of the population. The species is currently proposed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and is a priority species under the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative.

Service announces a six-month extension of LPC’s final listing determination. Odessa American. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that a six-month extension of the final determination of whether to provide protection under the Endangered Species Act for the lesser prairie-chicken, according to a release from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s office via the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wildlife group seeks new protections for disappearing Tennessee salamander. The Tennessean. Recently, the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect hellbenders under the Endangered Species Act.

Endangered Bird Found Dead at Desert Solar Power Facility. KCET. A bird found dead at a Riverside County solar project in May was a Yuma clapper rail, a Federally listed Endangered species. The rail is one of a number of water birds found dead at the site, according to one of the owners of the project. The fatality marks the first reported death of a Federally Endangered bird at a renewable energy generation site in the mainland U.S.

K-State study: Wind farms have little effect on prairie chickens. Wichita Business Journal. A seven-year study by researchers at Kansas State University shows that the creation of wind farms across the state has had little effect on the state’s prairie chicken population. Rather, the grassland birds are more susceptible to rangeland-management practices and the availability of native prairie and vegetation cover for nesting sites.

In Montana Wilds, An Unlikely Alliance To Save The Sage Grouse. National Public Radio. Pristine sagebrush is disappearing, however, and so are the birds. Biologists want to protect the sage grouse, but without starting a 21st century range war over it. So they’ve undertaken a grand experiment in the American West, to keep the grouse happy, as well as cattle ranchers and the energy industry.

BLM plan for sage-grouse habitat in NV challenged. Associated Press. A conservation group is asking a federal judge to set aside federal land managers’ plans to eradicate sagebrush, pinion pine and juniper across a large swath of public lands in eastern Nevada.

FWS seeks independent review of wolf delisting. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service plans to conduct an independent scientific review of its proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections from wolves in most of the lower 48 states.