Issues
Court says species can be listed as threatened based on climate change projections. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the federal government may list a species as “threatened” based on climate models showing possible future habitat loss, even if the species’ population is currently healthy. The ruling could have major implications on future ESA listing decisions, including allowing federal agencies to make listing determinations without presenting scientific evidence on how the species is currently threatened or endangered.
The Court ruling hinged on a decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the Pacific bearded seal as “threatened,” even though it is currently listed as a species of “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The NMFS projected that the seals’ winter sea-ice habitat in Alaska and Russia would decline as a result of climate change, thus endangering the species by 2095. The Court’s ruling struck a blow to groups that had filed a lawsuit against the agency’s decision, including the state of Alaska, the American Petroleum Institute, and the governments and Native corporations representing the Barrow and Kotzebue regions in Alaska.
“If this opinion stands, the National Marine Fisheries Service would list a species that is abundant and in good health based on the claim that climate change will impact habitat over the next 100 years and may cause harm,” said Brad Meyen, senior assistant attorney general for Alaska.
Alaska Oil and Gas Association president Kara Moriarty echoed this concern noting: “The approach taken by this 9th Circuit panel fails to require federal agencies to make any scientific demonstration that a species qualifies as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ under the (Endangered Species Act). This is not what Congress intended when it enacted the ESA.”
Conservation group threatens additional lawsuits to force more listing decisions. In a report celebrating its 2011 settlement with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), WildEarth Guardians pledged that “litigation will continue to be an important tool in Guardians’ work going forward as long as the Service continues to undermine the ESA.” The threat of new legal challenges comes as the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) prepares to sue the agency to force listing decisions on 417 species.
In 2011 the FWS reached a settlement agreement with CBD and WildEarth Guardians to make listing decisions for 252 candidate species by September 30, 2016. The agency also agreed to make 90-day findings on 505 petitioned species, 12-month findings for another 100 species, and critical habitat rulings for 201 more.
To tackle its backlog of potential ESA listings, the FWS adopted a new method a prioritizing status reviews for petitioned species in July. The policy change allows for already-implemented voluntary conservation plans to lower the priority for a species under consideration.
OSU study shows invasive grass causing increased wildfires, harm to sage-grouse habitat. Recent findings from an Oregon State University study show invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass, are responsible for an increase in wildfire frequency that is consequently reducing sagebrush habitat and greater sage-grouse populations.
According to the lead researchers of the study, cheatgrass burns more easily and regrows more rapidly than native grasses, including sagebrush, which has created long-term challenges for the greater sage-grouse population that depends on the native plant community. Christian Hagen, senior research associate at OSU, noted, “there are long-lasting effects from wildfire that negate increases in sage-grouse population growth that typically occur after years of higher precipitation…So even when we have a good precipitation year in the Great Basin, the sage-grouse don’t recover as they once did because the habitat to support them has been lost to cheatgrass.”
Researchers believe one solution is to increase and improve fire prevention and suppression efforts in areas of high sage-grouse density where sagebrush is still intact. Hagen called for increased focus on federal fire policies and improved collaboration between rural communities and fire protection associations.
In the News
Investigating the mystery of one of America’s most endangered bees. Atlas Obscura. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that one of those species—the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), named for the small, red-brown crescent on its back—receive federal protection as an endangered species. In comments opposing the original listing petition, the Independent Petroleum Association of America argued that programs already in place to preserve habitat for honey bees, monarch butterflies and northern long-eared bats were sufficient to protect bumble bee populations. But scientists believe that without endangered species protections, prospects are dim for the rusty patched bee. “We have a bee that is on the brink of extinction and now we have a chance to do something about it,” says Strange.
Not everything should be a crime. Daily Caller (Op-Ed). The Endangered Species Act contains an incredibly broad prohibition against “take,” which is essentially any action that has an effect, however indirect, on a protected species or its habitat. However, under the statute, a violation must be committed “knowingly” to be criminal. In their lawsuit, WildEarth Guardians argue that the statute’s knowledge requirement should be interpreted as narrowly as possible. So, for instance, if you were driving through the desert and a creature that, unbeknownst to you, happened to be a listed species scampered across the highway, you could go to prison if you accidentally hit it. In WildEarth Guardians’ view, you “knowingly” committed a “take” of the creature simply because you knew you were driving, regardless of whether you knew that you’d accidentally harm an endangered species.
Ohio birding group threatens lawsuit to block construction of wind turbine at Camp Perry. Cleveland Plain Dealer. An Ohio birding group has joined with a national bird conservation organization in an attempt to block the construction of a large wind turbine near Lake Erie. The Black Swamp Bird Observatory, based in Ottawa County, suspects the wind turbine planned for Camp Perry near Port Clinton would pose a danger to migrating birds and bats in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The BSBO and American Bird Conservancy this week filed a notice of intent to press a federal lawsuit against the Ohio Air National Guard, based at Camp Perry, within 60 days. The planned construction site is located less than a mile from Lake Erie and is situated within one of the largest confluences of migratory birds and bats in the world, said Michael Hutchins, director of the conservancy’s Bird-Smart Wind Energy Campaign.
Western governors, feds attempt uneasy collaboration. Idaho Statesman. The relationship between federal land management agencies and Western states to find collaborative ways to manage large swaths of forests and rangelands is improving but could be better, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said. “I’m seeing it improve,” said Otter. “It’s long overdue. I would also tell you that it’s not unique to Idaho.” Otter and U.S. Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim Lyons addressed a two-day workshop of the Western Governors’ Association’s National Forest and Rangeland Management Initiative that ended Friday in Boise. Otter has complained bitterly about the federal government’s sage grouse plan that he said eliminated Idaho suggestions, and has mounted a legal challenge contending that sage grouse-related restrictions imposed last year will impede economic development.
BLM presents plan to save Gunnison sage grouse. Cortez Journal. Since 2014, when the Gunnison sage grouse was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, farmers, ranchers, and oil and gas companies have braced for new federal polices to protect the rare bird. In August, the Bureau of Land Management released a 1,000-page proposal to increase protection for grouse that could limit development and activities on public lands. The BLM manages 40 percent of Gunnison sage grouse habitat. It is estimated that only 5,000 of the ground-dwelling birds remain, with 4,000 in the Gunnison Basin. The rest are scattered in satellite populations around Dove Creek and Monticello, Utah. Occupied habitat includes private and federal lands.
Feds’ species protections achieve too little because they restrict too much. The Hill (Op-Ed). In late September, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a modest proposal to improve the Endangered Species Act petition process, by encouraging greater state involvement in species’ conservation. However, this common sense change has been met by apoplectic responses from environmental special interests. The unfortunate reality is that any suggestion to improve the Endangered Species Act is immediately met by accusations of “gutting” the statute, usually by the groups who profit from the status quo and the unnecessary litigation that it entails. This toxic political climate on endangered species issues is unfortunate, both for property owners and imperiled species.
Colorado’s discovery of massive oil and gas reserves: A case for local energy and environment policy. Heritage Foundation (Report). Similar debates have surfaced in other issues, such as the Department of the Interior’s regulatory scheme for greater-sage-grouse habitat. In this instance, the Department of the Interior did not seek meaningful or timely participation from local commissioners in nearby Garfield County, despite the extensive local efforts to restore habitat and grouse populations while also accommodating multi-use purposes. It appears that national environmental groups that agreed with the Interior’s approach did receive greater access to federal decision makers, however.
Judge overrules feds’ refusal to list as endangered Utah wildflowers that grow on oil shale. The Salt Lake Tribune. A federal judge intends to vacate a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to not list two rare desert wildflowers whose range overlaps with Utah’s rich oil shale deposits in Uintah County. Denver-based U.S. District Judge William Martinez faulted the decision’s reliance on a conservation agreement that he doubts would adequately protect Graham’s and White River beardtongue, issuing a decision Tuesday that could upset a landmark deal to keep the plants off the endangered species list.
