Issues
Gunnison Sage Grouse Listing Delayed; Met with Cheers. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its decision to delay its proposed listing of the Gunnison Sage Grouse by six months. The decision comes in the wake of strong opposition to the federal listing, support for local programs already in place, as well as “substantial disagreement” within the scientific community reporting on the status of the sage grouse.
Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Mark Udall (D) and Representative Scott Tipton (R) have been among those in support of a delay, sending a letter last week asking for the extension and outlining Colorado’s collaborative work to protect the bird. The group applauded the Service’s announcement for its delay. Read their letter and their response to the delayed listing HERE.
WSJ Discusses Habitat Exchanges for the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC). The Wall Street Journal this week explored the role of “habitat exchanges” in the ongoing debate to list the LPC as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The plan – being worked on by rangers, oil companies, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) – would create a type of cap-and-trade program for the LPC. As the Wall Street Journal explains:
“If the chicken is listed as threatened or endangered, under the exchange plan, ranchers would generate credits by taking steps to protect the bird’s habitat, such as tearing out invasive juniper trees or letting land revert to grassland. To drill new wells or build roads, oil companies would offset the impact on the chickens’ habitat by purchasing these credits at auctions.”
While the current population size of the LPC brings any type of federal listing into question, many stakeholders in the habitat region support the habitat exchange program as the best option if such a listing moves forward. Learn more about the LPC listing debate and comments from IPAA on ESA Watch.
Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife Complaint Over Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. A complaint was filed on June 19th between plaintiffs Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity versus defendants Sally Jewell, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), and Daniel Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). This complaint challenges the decision of the DOI and the FWS to withdraw a proposal to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The complaint is largely in response to a prior 2010 dispute over the species when a FWS proposal to list the lizard under the authority of the ESA was subsequently revoked when an alternate conservation agreement had been reached with Texas. Read the full document HERE.
In the News
Bison fire may have helped Nevada sage grouse. Miami Herald. As firefighters waged a battle against a massive wildfire south of Reno earlier this month, experts paid close attention to a secondary but vital issue — the condition of mountain terrain crucial to a chicken-sized bird poised for potential listing as an endangered species.
Plan would benefit the lesser prairie chicken. High Plains Journal. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Regulatory Affairs Director Marla Peek is in Washington, D.C., to speak with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe about an agriculture and energy stakeholder plan to conserve and enhance Lesser Prairie Chicken populations.
Feds postpone decision on lesser prairie chicken. Associated Press. Federal wildlife officials have agreed to postpone making a final decision on whether to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.
Lawmakers may press Jewell on sage grouse emails. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service in 2010 said the sage grouse qualified for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but the agency held off on a listing, saying it needed to address other priorities first.
How the ESA Endangers Endangered Species. Texas Public Policy. Proponents of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) claim it encourages conservation and leads to species protection. However, this is not always the case.
NMFS proposes ‘critical habitat’ in Gulf, Atlantic for loggerhead turtles. E&E News (sub req’d). Three environmental groups — Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network — sued NMFS last year to force the agency to designate “critical habitat” for the threatened sea turtle. The service had never designated in-water habitat since listing the species under the Endangered Species Act in 1978, or since splitting the population into nine distinct groups in 2011.
Poll finds voter support for wolf protections. E&E News (sub req’d). In addition, 47 percent of voters oppose the Interior Department’s proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the animals, compared to 31 percent who support the proposal.
The Predicted Influence of Climate Change on Lesser Prairie-Chicken Reproductive Parameters. PLOSone (Study). The lesser prairie-chicken has experienced as much as a 97% decline in population size
Two opposite approaches to saving the sage grouse. Elko Daily Free Press. On Dec. 27, 2011, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, without any hearings, public notice or warning, the Bureau of Land Management issued its “Greater Sage-Grouse Interim Management Policies and Procedures” with the stated goal of conserving sage grouse habitat and populations to reduce the likelihood of the bird being listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
How to avoid a range war over sage grouse. Property and Environment Research Center (Blog). In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the sage grouse a designation of “warranted but precluded,” meaning the species qualifies for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but that higher priority species come first.
