Weekly Newsletter | November 16, 2018
Issues
Mixed response on sage-grouse conservation plans. Western states are working to change how they manage sage-grouse conservation. In Colorado, Parks and Wildlife is finalizing an updated map of sage-grouse habitat. The draft map is expected to affect industry development in the state, specifically in Garfield County where habitat maps overlap rich natural gas reserves. The county has long challenged the map’s accuracy and, in light of the new revisions, have voiced their support for the change.
Commissioners to the Associated Government of Northwest Colorado drafted a letter saying, “We concur with and applaud [Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s] conservation approach to greater sage-grouse habitat mapping, and encourage the BLM to incorporate these new maps into its resource management plans, understanding the underlying collaboration between local government and the State of Colorado in their creation.” The letter was ratified and signed by all the commissioners, including Garfield County’s.
David Boyd, area U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spokesman, said the BLM will need to review the revision when it is submitted by Parks and Wildlife, noting the BLM can make minor changes to the plan once it’s submitted, but tends to rely on wildlife officials for analysis.
While Colorado’s handling of sage-grouse conservation was applauded, the sentiment was not shared by Montanans on BLM’s plan for sage-grouse in the Treasure State, with dispute over a proposed controlled burn of 30,600 acres of sagebrush in Southwest Montana to increase and improve habitat for sage-grouse and other sagebrush dependent species. The plan contends that a prescribed burn of sagebrush is a proactive approach that will protect the habitat from untamed wildfires that could devastate the habitat.
Some view the plan as counterproductive, believing that cheat grass will just grow in its place, an invasive plant species with no currently effective method of eradication. Despite these concerns, BLM has been using prescribed burns as a land management tactic for years and contend that they would not continue if it wasn’t working.
CBD presents lawsuits against DOI and BLM. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a 14-page complaint against the Interior Department (DOI), claiming the existence of a secret program for assessing threatened species.
According to the lawsuit, DOI has used this alleged program to assess and deny protections for the Pacific walrus. CBD has also filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents related to the American burying beetle. The group claims Interior has also used the species status assessment program to limit protections for the Canada lynx. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. requesting a public notice and comment period for the supposed program.
In other news, the Center for Biological diversity has also sued the service over protections for the gray wolf. As E&E News reports, the activist group filed a lawsuit in federal court a day after Fish and Wildlife denied the Center’s petition for a nationwide recovery plan for the wolf. The Center for Biological Diversity has a history of suing federal agencies through a practice known as sue-and-settle, an effort to drive new species listings.
In the News
Can big data help save endangered species? High Country News. Depending on whom you ask, the 45-year-old Endangered Species Act is either a hallmark of this country’s conservation legacy or a failure in drastic need of reform. Just 1 percent of federally protected species have gone extinct, the law’s defenders say, while critics respond that only about 1 percent of such rare species have recovered. Now, conservation biologists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are trying to improve and modernize endangered species conservation using big data tools. An online application called the Recovery Explorer helps wildlife managers and budget-makers make decisions by revealing the costs and expected benefits of different recovery strategies for endangered species. Developers believe the tool can help create more effective recovery plans, but critics worry it could be used to justify the extinction of some species. While the act bars choosing which species to protect based on economic factors, money inevitably plays a role in recovery efforts. With a limited budget, Fish and Wildlife splits funds between programs it oversees, such as land rehabilitation partnerships, captive breeding programs or invasive species eradication efforts. Though the agency breaks down how it allocates money in annual budget documents, it does not justify its expenses based on how many species are likely to recover or be saved from extinction. Instead, projects are selected and highlighted for a variety of reasons — the ecological value of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park, say, or the economic and cultural importance of protecting the Pacific Northwest’s salmon runs.
Tribes Drop Endangered Species Lawsuit In Klamath Basin. OPB. The Klamath Tribes are dropping an endangered species lawsuit aimed at protecting two species of culturally-significant fish native to Upper Klamath Lake. The suit claimed that the federal government was not adequately protecting Lost River and Shortnose suckers, both of which were on the Endangered Species Act list. It could have also had repercussions for water availability for farmers and other water users in the Klamath Basin. The Klamath Tribes say the two species of suckers continue to decline because of water quality issues in Upper Klamath Lake. But they’re dropping their lawsuit in order to focus on a larger federal push to rewrite a conservation plan for the fish, called the “biological opinion” (BiOp). Last month, the Trump Administration announced it would expedite that process – meaning we could see a new opinion as early as next spring. “The new BiOp is an opportunity to address the problems of past operations,” said Klamath Tribal Chair Don Gentry in a statement. The tribes want more water held in the lake to protect the fish, but that would likely mean less water available downstream in a drought-prone region.
If Zinke goes, handoff to his No. 2 would be ‘seamless’. E&E News, Sub req’d. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spent the Friday before last Christmas mingling with staffers and their dogs, then flew out of Washington for a 15-day holiday break. Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt was erasing the departmental handbook’s climate change chapter. One-fifth of all American land would no longer require climate science to inform decisions about water, wildlife and landscapes because, as Bernhardt’s order said, it could “potentially burden” fossil fuel extraction. As investigations push Zinke toward potentially exiting the secretary’s suite, Bernhardt remains a steady force for rolling back environmental protections and boosting energy development. He’s kept a low profile, but both allies and adversaries say little would change after Zinke leaves because so many policies already bear Bernhardt’s imprint. “Certainly Zinke’s calling the shots at the department. But when it comes to the detailed policies, his deputy secretary is the one doing that detailed work,” Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma said. Along with the climate policy, Bernhardt has signed orders that could make it easier for industry to challenge the science undergirding department decisions.
Lawsuit planned to protect La., Miss. Turtles. E&E News, Sub req’d. An environmental group said yesterday that it plans to sue the federal government to protect two species of turtle found only in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Center for Biological Diversity released a copy of its letter to Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke. It says the center will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 60 days for failing to act on a petition to designate the Pascagoula map turtle and the Pearl River map turtle as threatened or endangered. The center’s letter cites federal law requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether a species warrants such designation within a year of receiving a petition. The center says environmental groups sought protection for the turtles in an April 2010 petition. “These turtles are threatened by habitat loss and degradation from dams, floodplain clearing and river channelization,” the center said in a news release. The letter to Zinke said a proposed Pearl River dam project in Mississippi’s Hinds and Rankin counties is among the threats facing the turtles. “The dam would destroy important habitats and possibly drive the species extinct in the area,” the center said in a news release. The letter signed by attorney Jason Totoiu noted that both species are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The wildlife service referred requests for comment to the Justice Department, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Enviros seek to maintain federal gray wolf protections. E&E News, Sub req’d. An environmental group has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to preserve federal protections for gray wolves and force the agency to develop a national recovery plan for the species. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., a day after the service denied the group’s petition for a nationwide recovery plan. The service said its regional approach meets the legal requirements. But the group says the agency is required under the Endangered Species Act to foster the recovery of gray wolf populations across their former range, not just in the northern Rockies, the Great Lakes region and the Southwest. Congress lifted federal protections for northern Rockies wolves, but courts have blocked efforts to lift them in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Panel bars amendments to gray wolf bill. E&E News, Sub req’d. The House Rules Committee last night sent to the floor legislation to remove the gray wolf from the endangered and threatened species list in most of the country. No amendments will be allowed. The panel advanced Wisconsin Republican Rep. Sean Duffy’s H.R. 6784 in a 6-2 vote. The bill would remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for the wolves in the Lower 48 by the end of fiscal 2019. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) asked for a closed rule for the bill because the House Natural Resources Committee didn’t offer amendments and opponents didn’t suggest any changes. “Rather than spend its limited resources protecting vulnerable species, litigation activists have forced [the Interior Department] to continuously defend their action,” Westerman said. The bill would also ensure the delisting of the gray wolf in Wyoming and the western Great Lakes, which was called for under previous Fish and Wildlife Service rules, would not be subject to any more judicial review. “I don’t have anything good to say about it,” said Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) of the bill. “I wish that we would let the agencies do their job.” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) offered a motion to change a section of the rule related to a bill regarding Saudi-led forces in Yemen. It failed 2-6.
Committee hunts for conservation common ground. E&E News, Sub req’d. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will revisit familiar, and potentially bipartisan, turf Thursday with a hearing titled “Examining Funding Needs for Wildlife Conservation, Recovery, and Management.” The hearing comes as Republicans and Democrats alike have been pushing legislation to revise and reauthorize federal wildlife conservation programs, giving hope to those seeking action even in a sharply divided Congress. Getting across the finish line, though, has proven difficult. In June 2017, for instance, the Senate passed by a simple-seeming voice vote S. 826, dubbed the “Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Act.” The measure would reauthorize the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program at $100 million a year, establish prize competitions relating to the prevention of wildlife poaching and trafficking, and help guide the management of invasive species, among other steps. “The WILD Act rewards innovative ideas to safeguard threatened species and keep invasive species under control,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said last year, adding that it “will enhance conservation efforts in America and around the world.” Seventeen months later, the House has yet to move companion legislation.
