Issues
Guardian Files Complaint Against Fish and Wildlife. This week, WildEarth Guardians filed a complaint against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to meet their 12-month findings for 69 species. The group previously called for federal protection of these species and their habitats and the Service later issued 90-day findings, noting “the petitions presented substantial information that listing each of these 69 species may be warranted.”
According to WildEarth Guardians, “to remedy these violations, Guardians seeks declaratory relief to affirm that the Defendants are in violation of the ESA and Administrative Procedure Act by failing to make 12-month findings on Guardians’ petitions to list these eight species, and injunctive relief that establishes dates certain for Defendants to determine if listing these species as endangered or threatened is warranted.”
IPAA has a breakdown of what states are impacted by the species mentioned in the WildEarth Guardians complaint, available HERE.
FWS Reopens Crayfish Comment Period. The Fish and Wildlife Service has reopened the comment period for the Big Sandy Crayfish and the Guyandotte River Crayfish, each found at specific sites in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The Service first proposed listing the two species in April 2015, but has reopened the comment period to provide additional time to comment on the decision.
According to the Service, “we are taking this action to make the results of the 2015 summer surveys available for public review and comment. The surveys provide updated information on the two species’ distribution and abundance.”
The announcement notes that comments previously submitted on the proposed rule do not need to be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final listing determination. The public now has an additional 30 days to comment.
Spending Bill Moves Forward. This morning, the Senate approved the $1.15 trillion funding deal by a 65-33 vote. According to E&E News, “the spending bill did not roll back BLM and Forest Service land-use plans to conserve the greater sage grouse, as many Western Republicans had hoped. But the report does urge BLM to be mindful of ‘complaints’ Congress is receiving about the plans.”
The bill also directs the Bureau of Land Management to “provide guidance to its state offices and partners on how it will update sage-grouse habitat maps, adopt new scientific information, as appropriate, and engage state, local, non-governmental and private partners.”
In the News
State seeks private landowner cooperation on sage grouse recovery. Montana Public Radio. State officials are working out the details of the landmark agreement to save the greater sage grouse without having to put the bird on the Endangered Species List. This September the U.S. Department of Interior announced it wouldn’t put the bird on the list, because individual states had come up with their own plans to protect the bird and its habitat. That decision brought mixed reactions from environmental groups. Some said the lack of a listing would lead to further decline of the bird. Now, it’s up to state land managers to put their plan into motion to try to balance sage grouse protection and private property rights.
Sage grouse chick production at its highest in 10 years. KGWN. New data on the Wyoming sage grouse population reveals bird numbers should continue to grow in the coming year based on an analysis of sage grouse wings provided by hunters. There were 1.7 chicks per hen in 2015, the same as 2014. This ratio is the highest documented since 2005, and more than double the recent low of 0.8 chicks per hen noted in 2012. The 10-year average, from 2005-2014, was 1.3 chicks per hen. Grouse numbers declined in most of those years.
New DOI initiative will spur investments in water conservation and sage grouse habitat. Water Online (Blog). This morning, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that her department will establish a Natural Resource Investment Center, an initiative meant to spur public-private partnerships that will help increase investments in water conservation, habitat improvements, and critical water infrastructure. One of the Center’s primary objectives will be to facilitate water exchange in the Western U.S. in partnership with local, state, and tribal governments. In a press release, the Department of the Interior listed one example of the type of creative partnerships the Center hopes to identify: An investment in enhancing greater sage grouse habitat in Nevada, made possible by DOI, Barrick Gold of North America, and The Nature Conservancy.
Letter to congressional leaders on sage grouse rules. Elko Daily Free Press (Letter). We are writing to request congressional action to protect state’s ability to implement their Greater Sage-grouse conservation planning efforts. We support provisions before Congress which allows the state of Nevada to remedy unnecessary restrictions to the highly controversial and unnecessarily problematic Resource Management Plan Amendments (RMPs) implemented by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.
BLM approves project critics claimed was doomed by sage grouse protections. Associated Press. Federal land managers have approved the right of way a rural Nevada county needs to replace an aging water tank that critics had argued was a prime example of development doomed by new U.S. protections of the greater sage grouse. The move comes a week after Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Interior Secretary Sally Jewell had agreed to address a number of concerns about the land use restrictions, including the water tank White Pine County officials say is desperately needed near the Utah line.
