Issues
Gunnison Sage Grouse Listed as Threatened. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Gunnison sage grouse as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a decision that was met with criticism from a number of leaders across the region. The decision will impact roughly 1.4 million acres of designated critical habitat across Colorado and Utah.
In Colorado, leaders from both sides of the aisle expressed their disappointment with the federal listing. Governor John Hickenlooper (D) noted the decision is “a major blow to voluntary conservation efforts” and that the state is ready to challenge the decision. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mark Udall (D-CO) also expressed their disappointment, noting the listing decison “threatens to unravel much of the grassroots and science-based progress Colorado has made preserving the Gunnison sage grouse.” Republican Congressman Scott Tipton (CO-3) also criticized the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, noting the agency “disregarded science and the wellbeing of the Gunnison Sage Grouse.” According to the state attorney general’s office, Colorado is already working on a legal challenge to the decision.
Over in Utah, Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee, noted the decision ignores collaborative conservation efforts already in place at the state and local level. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) echoed his colleagues sentiment, stating “it is disappointing that the federal government is undercutting local efforts in San Juan County by imposing this listing that will have a big impact on local communities in southeast Utah.”
According to the Service, stakeholders who have previously entered into Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances will only be obligated to continue to abide by those agreements. The Service will also be releasing a 4(d) rule in early 2015, with the intent of allowing other landowners who commit to conservation measures for the grouse to continue to manage their lands without additional restrictions.
Will the Gunnison Impact the Greater? While a final decision is not due until September 2015, various stakeholders are already wondering what the recent federal listing of the Gunnison sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could mean for the proposed listing of the Greater sage grouse and the 11 state range it occupies.
According to U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (WA-04), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, the listing of the Gunnison sage grouse “follows hundreds of other listings resulting from the 2011 mega-settlement between the Department of the Interior and two litigious groups. It foreshadows the intentions of the Obama Administration in coming months with the potential listing of the Greater Sage Grouse in portions of eleven western states.”
Conversely, the Center for Biological Diversity expressed disappointment that the Gunnison was not listed as endangered under the ESA, noting the grouse “needs the full suite of legal protections that only recognition as an endangered species can provide.” As she stated in the Associated Press, this decision to list the Gunnison as threatened “does not bode well for the Greater sage grouse.”
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe emphasized that the two listing decisions are not related, noting “these are separate species and a much different fact pattern. I think the Fish and Wildlife Service makes decisions on the facts and the science as we see it in each case.”
In the News
IPAA: ESA prelisting proposal lacks assurances. Oil and Gas Journal. While the draft policy aims to provide incentives for landowners and others’ voluntary conservation measures, it does not assure them that their efforts will help avoid a listing, Daniel T. Naatz, Independent Petroleum Association of America vice-president of federal resources and political affairs, said as the organization submitted comments on Nov. 6. “By providing no assurance that a federal listing will be avoided,
Coalition urges Obama admin to list monarch butterflies as threatened. E&E News. In a pair of letters to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe and FWS endangered species program listing chief Douglas Krofta, 41 scientists and 220 environmental groups and businesses expressed support for a recent legal petition to have the butterfly listed as threatened (Greenwire, Aug. 26). Signatories included leading monarch scientists as well as the Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and organic food producer Clif Bar & Co.
Groups ask Obama administration to protect 5,000 Yellowstone bison. Reuters. Two conservation groups asked the Obama administration on Thursday to provide Endangered Species Act protections for about 4,900 bison at Yellowstone National Park, where managers intend to cull the herd by 900 this winter.
Coalition Sues Fish & Wildlife Service For Fate of Mexican Gray Wolves. Science Times. Early Wednesday morning, Nov. 12, after alleging that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to develop a comprehensive and viable recovery plan for the endangered Mexican Gray Wolf, a coalition of conservation organizations filed a lawsuit against the government agency seeking a court order demanding that such a plan be developed.
Utah prairie dogs still fully protected. Standard-Examiner. A recent court decision has left some in southern Utah wondering whether the Utah prairie dog — a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act — is still protected in the state. The answer is yes. Although the court ruling invalidated federal protections on state and private lands, Utah prairie dogs are still fully protected by Utah state law.
Dogging it on the prairie. Washington Times, Editorial. Prairie dogs, with more important things to do, don’t engage in interstate commerce. That was the finding of a federal judge last week in a decision that could unravel the Endangered Species Act and restore a little respect for private property. Federal law declares Utah prairie dogs a “threatened” species, and this imposes severe restrictions on the use of private property wherever these critters, more rat than dog, are found.
FWS reopens comments on cuckoo critical habitat. Capital Press. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking more comments on its proposed critical habitat for the yellow-billed cuckoo, whose federal protections began this month. The agency will accept comments through Jan. 12 on its plan to establish 546,335 acres of critical habitat for the bird in parts of California, Idaho, Nevada and six other Western states.
