NATIONAL

As GOP pushes listing delay, sage grouse numbers have tumbled – report. E&E News (sub req’d). Greater sage grouse numbers fell by more than half from 2007 to 2013 across the western United States, according to a newly released study by leading sage grouse scientists. The study, commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts and shared exclusively with E&E Daily, comes months before the Obama administration must decide whether the chest-puffing bird deserves protections under the Endangered Species Act and as Republicans in Congress push legislation to delay those protections.

The regulated West. The Economist. Competition for land use is as old as the West, but for most of the time it has been between humans. Those who would do as they please now also find themselves in conflict with the greater sage-grouse, a rare and neurotic bird whose habitat is too easily disturbed.

Should Humpback Whales Be Removed from the Endangered Species List? Scientific American, Op-Ed. Even if the whales lose their endangered species status, they will remain covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as well as by the international ban on commercial whaling, but is that enough? The Center for Biological Diversity called NOAA’s proposal “premature,” saying ESA protection of humpbacks from threats such as climate change, ocean acidification, ocean noise and habitat disruption could still be valuable. The MMPA fails to cover those conditions.

Successful Conservation Partnership Keeps Sage-Grouse Off Endangered Species List. Ammo Land. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the Bi-State population of greater sage-grouse does not require the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Secretary Jewell joined with USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird and other state and local partners to celebrate an extensive and long-term conservation partnership on behalf of the bi-state greater sage-grouse population.

Green group seeks federal protections for 2 sharks. E&E News (sub req’d). Two shark species should gain protection under the Endangered Species Act as they face threats from commercial fishing and shark finning, according to Defenders of Wildlife. The environmental group recently petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the smooth hammerhead shark and the bigeye thresher shark as endangered or threatened. Such petitions require NMFS to respond within 90 days.

In Florida, should the manatees swim alone? Washington Post. The increasing number of manatees and humans in Three Sisters has turned flickering concerns about the animals’ welfare into a flaming debate. Conservationists are calling for greater protections. Some propose banning swimming; others ask for more extreme rules. Last month the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed an intent-to-sue. The group claims that Fish and Wildlife is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to safeguard the manatees in the refuge.

IDAHO

Idaho oil and gas commission approves sage grouse plan. Associated Press. The Idaho Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved a plan for greater sage grouse on state endowment lands as part of the state’s effort to avoid a federal listing of the bird under the Endangered Species Act. The commission on Thursday voted 5-0 to approve two sections of the state’s 82-page Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan.

NEVADA

Blackfeet launch campaign against oil and gas development in Park. Ravalli Republic. The tribe believes the leases should be nullified because when issued, the federal agencies did not consult with the tribes – a provision of the National Historic Preservation Act, he said. The tribe also contends that proper analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act was not completed, and that leases would violate the Endangered Species Act due to wildlife in the area, Murray said.

WASHINGTON

Newhouse proposes bill to delist gray wolf. Yakima Herald-Republic. Freshman Congressman Dan Newhouse has introduced a bill to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in Washington, Oregon and Utah. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — the agency charged with deciding what species are put on or removed from the endangered list — proposed to take wolves off the list nationally in 2013.