Issues

New Mexico Counties Stand Up Against LPC Listing. This week, the Quay County Commission alongside other Eastern New Mexico counties signed a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Daniel Ashe, opposing the proposed federal listing of the lesser prairie chicken (LPC) as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Quay County Commissioner, with the support of Chaves, Curry DeBaca, Eddy, Haring, Lea, and Roosevelt counties, urged the FWS to not list the bird pending research that has found the LPC’s population is growing in the region.

The letter highlights work from Robert M. Zink, professor at the University of Minnesota, who has called FWS findings “inconclusive” and has stated populations of LPC are actually increasing, not decreasing as FWS scientists have found. According to the Quay County Sun:

“Zink said, the service’s finding that human-made structures are damaging LPC populations because they give raptors (hawks and eagles for instance) perches from which they can prey on LPCs is also false, since raptors have done less damage to LPC nests than mammals and reptiles on the ground, the letter says.

“Further, Zink said, diseases are unlikely to spread among LPCS, since LPC groupings tend to be isolated from each other. Zink also refutes a finding that LPCs need more protected land to maintain viable populations by saying that more than enough land, 25,000 acres, is already protected.”

The letter also proposes the reintroduction of the Mexican wolf, an endangered species, be confined to areas away from agricultural range lands.

In the News

FWS finalizes federal protection for N.M. salamander. E&E News (sub req’d). A small salamander that lives only in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico will be protected under the Endangered Species Act after the Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a final rule on the amphibian.  

Bearded seal’s threatened listing prompts lawsuit from Alaska Native corp. Alaska Dispatch. An Alaska Native regional corporation says it will sue the U.S. Department of Commerce over a 2012 decision to list bearded seals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Proposal to boost gas drilling could jeopardize federal funds. E&E News (sub req’d). Two bills floated by Pennsylvania legislators would make it trickier to list and protect endangered species in the state, potentially paving the way for more natural gas drilling.

Fed guidelines for wind farms aim to reduce bird killing. Star tribune. In addition to birds protected by the Endangered Species Act, operators must be concerned about species in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and species of concern, which include the Greater Sage Grouse, prairie chicken and some bat species Strictland (President of Western EcoSystems Technology) said. NOTE: E&E News (sub req’d) also reports.

‘Threatened’ status sought for Ga. and Ala. Plant. Associated Press. Federal wildlife officials want a plant they say is found only in Georgia and Alabama to be classified as “threatened.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is seeking the designation for the Georgia rockcress. The plant has been a candidate for listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 2000.

The Cost Of Species Protection. Law 360. Effective Oct. 30, 2013, a new rule will limit the economic impacts that federal regulators may consider when designating property as “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act. The rule, jointly proposed last year and promulgated last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (together, the Services), also requires the Services to publish a draft economic analysis for public comment at the time they propose critical habitat for listed species.

Endangered species bill could threaten federal funds. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the bills recently introduced by Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong, and Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, would curb the authority of the independent commissions to protect threatened and endangered species and give the Legislature more control over the listings.

Sagebrush study targets diversity to improve sage grouse habitat. Capital Press. Thinning old sagebrush stands to allow younger sagebrush, native grasses and forbs to grow might provide more high-quality habitat for sage grouse, a candidate species for protection under the Endangered Species Act.