NATIONAL

Black Hills Future Uncertain Due to Long-Eared Bat. Black Hills Pioneer, Op-Ed. Sen. John Thune writes: Unfortunately, northern long-eared bats are dying at alarming rates in parts of the country. Researchers have determined that the leading cause of death among northern long-eared bats is a disease in certain areas of the country known as white-nose syndrome. While this disease has been found in 22 states across the country, it has not been detected in South Dakota. Limiting forest management practices due to listing the long-eared bat as endangered is unnecessary, reckless, and irresponsible.

Judge Rules for Hunters in Fight Over Captive Herds. Courthouse News Service. A federal judge has ruled for hunting interests in the latest skirmish of the longstanding battle regarding captive herds of three species of endangered antelope. Conservation groups sued to have the exclusion for the hunt clubs repealed on the basis that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires a case-by-case permitting process rather than a blanket exemption, and finally prevailed in 2009. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the exclusion in 2012.

ARIZONA

Arizona Lawmakers Try to Undermine the Endangered Species Act. Phoenix New Times. In case all the ocelots, jaguars, and Mexican spotted owls are starting to feel too safe, the Arizona Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety is stepping in, having passed a memorial to modify the rules and provisions of the Endangered Species Act.

CALIFORNIA

Two ways to assist the plovers. Lompoc Record. The Air Force is responsible for enforcing provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act, and closing the beach seems the least the military can do in the effort to retain the snowy plover as a viable inhabitant of planet Earth. As irksome as it may be to keep the public off local beaches, we support efforts that will keep an animal species from extinction. All mankind should support such actions.

COLORADO

County commissioners pen intent to sue over Sage Grouse. KJCT. The Mesa County commissioners signed an important document Monday morning regarding a controversial species of grouse. County Attorney Patrick Coleman wrote a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over their designation of the Gunnison Sage Grouse as an endangered species.

FLORIDA

Environmental group wants to stop people from swimming with the manatees. Tampa Bay Times. An environmental group wants to stop all the “swim with the manatees” businesses that over the past 40 years have become the foundation of Citrus County’s tourism industry. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed notice Monday that it intends to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over protections for the endangered animals. The suit, filed on behalf of four Citrus County environmental activists, calls for the federal agency to halt any program that lets humans get within 10 feet of a manatee. NOTE: FOX 13 also reports.

Miami Port Expansion Still Raises Environmental Concerns. Maritime Executive. Despite all of the precautionary measures to protect they aquatic marine life, the dredging project continues to raises concerns from activists and environmentalists. A major concern is now for the well-being of staghorn coral, which is a listed in the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, the corps has relocated about 924 other coral varieties, but after the initial survey by contractors in 2010, the staghorn is in danger and divers have recently found dead or dying stretches of the coral buried under layers of sediment.

KANSAS

Keeping bird off endangered list priority for KFB group. High Plains Journal. A less than satisfactory ruling led to the lesser prairie-chicken being placed on a threatened list, and those who track property rights believe being one step away from being endangered should catch the attention of those who own and manage the land. The bird’s habitat is found in 39 western Kansas counties.

MONTANA

Flathead National Forest Unveils Vision for Future Management. Flathead Beacon. The Flathead National Forest released a conservation strategy for grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. An amendment detailing how grizzly bears will be managed in the future is being added to the Flathead forest plan, as well as forest plans for the Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark and Lolo national forests. The conservation strategy is required under the Endangered Species Act before a population can be delisted.

Against Senate Bill 247. Helena Independent Record, LTE. The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has a sage grouse management plan. This plan is researched and written with the best science available also ample public involvement. This plan is the result of years of research and deliberation by the Montana Sage Grouse Working Group, which includes a wide and diverse spectrum of Montanans. It includes conservation objectives for both sagebrush habitat and sage grouse populations. The plan provides guidelines and tools for assessing habitats to obtain standardized results, which is useful in protecting, improving and restoring sage grouse habitat.

NEVADA

Amodei encourages cooperation in sage grouse preservation. KTVN. Congressional Rep. Mark Amodei says Nevada lawmakers have nothing to fear from working with the federal government on sage grouse preservation efforts. Amodei assured a joint session of the Nevada Legislature on Monday evening that federal authorities were dedicated to helping preserve endangered sage grouse environments throughout the state.

TEXAS

Grey Forest eyes updating city code of ordinances. San Antonio Express-News. At a recent meeting, Councilwoman Jen Nottingham urged the council and mayor to present a united front in opposing the final draft of the Southern Edwards Plateau Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Study, which was developed by the city of San Antonio and Bexar County. The official wording of the document states that the final draft is “an effort by Bexar County and the city of San Antonio to address endangered species issues that threaten the economic growth of the region and to promote the conservation of endangered species and related natural resources.”

WASHINGTON

Federal agencies in Bellingham to talk about grizzly bear recovery efforts in North Cascades. Bellingham Herald. Grizzly bears are in danger of becoming extinct in the North Cascades ecosystem, and national park and wildlife officials will be in Bellingham this week to talk about the next steps in the effort to increase their numbers. The Wednesday, March 11, open house at Bellingham Central Library is one of six held by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the bear. The meetings are part of the environmental impact statement process for grizzly bear restoration in the North Cascades ecosystem, made up of 9,800 square miles in the United States and 3,800 square miles in British Columbia.

WYOMING

Don’t play chicken with sheep management. Casper Star Tribune, Editorial. The other concern is basic and central to our Wyoming way of life. Legislating wildlife removal is a slippery slope. If sage grouse are listed as an endangered species, will the state mandate their wholesale removal in order to avoid having to comply with federal regulations governing their protection?