NATIONAL

 

Noem Introduces Legislation Preventing Long-Eared Bat From Endangered Species Act. KCSR. South Dakota Rep. Kristi Noem today introduced legislation to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the long-eared bat as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. South Dakota Senator John Thune introduced the language in the Senate earlier this year. NOTE: Read the full press release HERE.

Wildlife advocates warn FWS of Mexican wolf lawsuit. E&E News (sub req’d). Conservation and animal advocacy groups today threatened to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service, accusing the agency of failing to adequately protect highly endangered Mexican wolves. The notice of intent to sue, which is a required step groups must take before pursuing a case, claims that recently finalized rules for managing the Mexican wolf recovery are in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The notice was signed by lawyers for WildEarth Guardians, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Friends of Animals.

 

Some Turtles Recovering, Others Still in Decline. Courthouse News Service. A status review of sea turtles has sparked a proposal to downlist two populations that have recovered through conservation efforts, but other populations continue to decline. Monday’s proposed rule, jointly filed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, comes in response to a petition submitted by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to identify the Hawaiian population as a distinct population segment (DPS), and to delist it under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

 

Extension of timber payment program included in ‘doc fix’ bill. Washington Post. A bipartisan agreement to rework a formula that provides payments to doctors seeing Medicare patients also includes hundreds of millions of dollars for rural counties that have seen revenue from timber sales plummet in recent years. One unrelated provision extends the Secure Rural Schools Act, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars to rural counties that depended on timber receipts to fund their budgets. Counties in Oregon, where the logging industry was hit hard by a decision in 1990 to include the spotted owl on the Endangered Species Act, will receive about one-third of the total funding.

ALASKA

Hydropower project seen as danger to salmon. Cordova Times. A study of the proposed Susitna hydropower dam project by the American Fisheries Society has prompted concerns that the project would cause adverse changes to habitat critical to all five species of wild Alaska salmon. The Susitna River Basin is home to all five species of Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling, Burbot, Arctic char and lake trout. Another resident species is Eulachon, which was listed by the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2010 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

CALIFORNIA

Caltrans noticed by environmental groups about alleged violations of federal laws. Pacifica Tribune. Pacificans for a Scenic Coast, Pacificans for Highway 1 Alternatives and the Center for Biological Diversity provided notice of their intent to file a citizen suit for violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Caltrans is named a defendant in both. The notice of intent to sue under violations of Sections 7 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act alleges Caltrans’ failure to hold required consultations and a failure to include the National Park Service and the Army Corps of Engineers in consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Alleging the project will likely adversely affect two endangered species — the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake — a consultation under section 7 of the ESA is required, the notice states.

IDAHO

Court: Endangered Selkirk caribou critical habitat must be revisited. Spokesman Review. In response to a lawsuit from a coalition of six conservation organizations, a federal court on Monday ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2013 decision to reduce by 90 percent its designation of critical habitat for the endangered mountain caribou. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Northwest, Selkirk Conservation Alliance, The Lands Council, Idaho Conservation League and Defenders of Wildlife, and were represented by attorney Laurie Rule of Advocates for the West.

NEW MEXICO

Anti-Conservation Bills Defeated In 2015 Legislature. Los Alamos Daily Post. There was a disturbing trend of legislation that attempted to give Gov. Martinez and her administration absolute authority over issues that affect the health of New Mexicans and wildlife. Each of these measures were defeated. This trend included HM 66 (Rep. Baldonado), HM 99 (Rep. Nuñez), HM 74 (Rep. Roch), HM 114 (Rep. Gomez) and HM 117 (Rep. Nuñez), which each attempted to weaken protections for critical wildlife populations in New Mexico, including the Mexican gray wolf, Lesser Prairie Chicken, elk and cougars.

OREGON

Conservation efforts could avoid listing. Argus Observer, Op-Ed. The state of Oregon has also stepped in with an aggressive effort to help coordinate conservation efforts between private and public lands. Dozens of stakeholders have convened over the past few years in an effort known as “SageCon” — a partnership working to coordinate an “all lands, all threats” approach that embraces conservation and rural sustainability in eastern Oregon. Other western states are developing management plans for the greater sage grouse as well. According to wildlife biologist Connelly, the Oregon and Idaho plans are among the best because they “embrace the latest science in a collaborative conservation approach.”

Oregon Cattlemen Support Fee To Help Sage Grouse. My Central Oregon. Ranchers are bringing forward a public declaration of their support for a conservation bill that calls for what the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is calling a “Natural Resource Conservation Fee.” The fee works by taking $1 per head assessment at the time of an already required brand inspection. Brett Brownscombe, acting deputy director for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, believes the bill has great potential to help prevent a Sage-Grouse listing.

TEXAS

Combs: Expanded government rules create regulatory swamps. Austin American-Statesman, Op-Ed. Left unchecked, the White House will keep turning the regulatory thumbscrews across a whole array of sectors, including one I know all too well — the Endangered Species Act. Let’s do a quick review. The Endangered Species Act was imposed in 1973, modified slightly a few years later, and thereafter was expanded to encroach on the private property rights of millions of Americans through additional regulations, rules and opaque interpretations.

WASHINGTON

Proposed razor clam digs scheduled for April, May. News Tribune. Another proposed 24 days of razor clam digs in April and May will likely cap a season packed with the most “beach days” in the last 25 years. Meanwhile, state wildlife managers are asking diggers, and other beach visitors, to avoid disturbing snowy plovers and streaked horned larks. Both species are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.