Issues
WAFWA urges companies enroll in lesser prairie chicken conservation programs. This week, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) released a statement, urging oil and natural gas companies to enroll leases and projects into voluntary programs, known as a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, to conserve the lesser prairie chicken.
Earlier in September, a senior U.S. District Judge in Texas overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bird was originally listed in April 2014 with a 4(d) rule that specified take of the bird was authorized when undertaken by participants in the Lesser Prairie Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan. Based on the decision, WAFWA’s conservation agreement program is again open for energy companies to join in the chicken’s five range habitat in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
According to WAFWA’s announcement, it is unclear how long this opportunity will be available given Fish and Wildlife’s challenge to the federal judge’s decision. As such, WAFWA is encouraging “all interested companies to enroll as soon as possible.” Sean Kyle, WAFWA’s industry services director, highlighted in E&E News that since 2014 “more than 180 oil, gas, wind, electric and pipeline companies have enrolled about 11 million acres in the WAFWA plan, committing $47.5 million for habitat conservation.”
Hearings scheduled on Interior proposal to withdrawal rights on sage-grouse habitat. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will hold nine public hearings over the month of December regarding its proposal to withdraw 10 million acres of federal land identified as “sagebrush focal areas” in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming from location and entry of new mining claims. According to the notice in the Federal Register, the announcement “extends the comment period for both the proposed withdrawal and initial scoping for the environmental impact statement (EIS) being prepared to consider the merits of the proposed withdrawal and announces the times, dates, and locations of public meetings.” A full list of meetings is also available in the notice.
As IPAA noted before on ESA Watch, both new and existing mining projects would be impacted under the proposed plan. According to E&E News (sub req’d), “while BLM and the Forest Service will honor all ongoing mining activity, as well as all valid claims made before the sage grouse plans were approved, all 10 million acres have been ‘temporarily segregated’ from new mining claims for up to two years while the EIS is completed.” The BLM is now accepting public comments on the plan until Jan. 15, 2016.
Western leaders call for ESA reform. This week, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and the Western Governors’ Association hosted the first of a series of workshops under its Species Conservation and Endangered Species Act Initiative. The event included panels and roundtable discussions focused on Energy and Mining, Sportsmen, Recreation and Environmental Interests, Agriculture and Forestry, Government and Quasi-Governmental Entities, Recovery and Delisting, and Innovative Conservation Practices and Tools. Watch the videos from the workshop HERE.
As reported by the Associated Press, Gov. Mead emphasized the low recovery rate of species under the ESA, stating “We need better than a 1 percent success rate. It’s critical in the West to get this right.” Gov. Mead also highlighted the importance of collaboration and transparency, noting “we need to get to a place where the Endangered Secies Act can provide predictability for species, our citizens and for industry.” Upcoming workshop locations this winter include Idaho, Hawaii, and Colorado.
In the News
Conservationists come to BLM’s defense in grouse lawsuits. E&E News (sub req’d). Conservation groups have decided to defend the Bureau of Land Management’s sage grouse conservation plans in federal courts in Nevada and Washington, D.C., against legal challenges by states, counties, miners and ranchers. Several counties, miners and the state’s attorney general are challenging BLM and Forest Service land-use plans designed to prevent sage grouse from becoming listed under the Endangered Species Act. The entrance of conservationists represents a significant new juncture in a legal battle that could affect the long-term status of sage grouse and administrative protections spanning 10 states.
USDA offers $4M to boost monarch protection. E&E News (sub req’d). Farmers in monarch butterfly fly-through country are getting an extra incentive to invest in the survival of the imperiled black-and-orange winged insect. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture, today announced a $4 million investment spanning 10 Midwestern states. At a Farm Foundation event Tuesday, division Chief Jason Weller said the goal is to keep monarchs off the endangered species list. Butterfly populations have dwindled to 34 million today from more than 1 billion in 1995. The destruction of milkweed, the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars, and other native species in recent decades is blamed for the population crash.
Simpson and Otter weigh in on Idaho sage grouse debate. Boise State Public Radio. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter filed a lawsuit challenging the BLM and Forest Service for the changes in land-use regulations that came with the ESA decision. Otter said at the time he was supportive of the decision to not list the native bird, but accused federal officials of creating “legally flawed” last-minute changes to the plans. But according to a story from the Associated Press, Otter may have changed his mind since then. The Governor told land management officials Tuesday he would have rather seen the sage grouse receive ESA protections than work under the new federal land regulations. Rep. Mike Simpson doesn’t agree. Simpson says listing the sage grouse would mean ranchers would have to “consult on every decision that
White-nose fungus found in Neb. bats. E&E News (sub req’d). Researchers have found the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in Nebraska bats, marking the westernmost detection of the cold-loving P. destructans. Nebraska is now one of 30 states where researchers have found either the fungus or white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than 6 million North American bats since 2007. Researchers from the commission and several University of Nebraska colleges found the fungus in samples from northern long-eared bats, tri-colored bats and big brown bats. None had signs of the disease, which causes white fungal growth on the nose, among other symptoms. Earlier this year, FWS listed the northern long-eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Republicans have objected, opposing restrictions on industries — such as timber and energy — that are unrelated to the white-nose syndrome that poses the biggest threat to the species.
BLM open to sage-grouse mapping changes. Citizen Telegram. Garfield County officials remain optimistic over possible changes to habitat mapping for the greater sage-grouse in Colorado, changes that those officials said could ease restrictions on development, specifically in the oil and gas industry, while protecting the bird’s habitat in an area northwest of Parachute. The optimism stems from two recent developments: an assurance from the Bureau of Land Management that habitat mapping can change as new data becomes available; and an effort by Colorado’s northwest communities to conduct new habitat mapping across the region.
Governor: Now is not the time for litigation. Elko Daily Free Press. County commissioners voted Wednesday to send a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval requesting his support of a lawsuit challenging land use restrictions in sage grouse habitat. Sandoval, who was visiting parts of Elko County that day, told the Free Press that his response is still the same: “I am very supportive of litigation, but not at this time.” Defending his position to not support litigation at this time, the governor noted that there is still an opportunity to be heard. “… there’s still a public comment period, which I intend to participate in with the Secretary of the Interior,” he said. “There’s an ongoing process to work with the secretary in terms of getting to the place where I want the state to go and where I’m sure Elko County wants to go that we’re comfortable with. “If we don’t achieve that, then I will lead the way when it comes to litigation,” Sandoval said.
