Issues

IPAA Discusses Greater sage-grouse in Casper Star Tribune. This weekend, IPAA President Barry Russell highlighted the concerns of America’s independent oil and natural gas producers over a proposed federal listing of the Greater sage-grouse on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Listing the bird, Russell argued in the Casper Star Tribune, would adversely impact conservation measures already in place at the local and state level. A future federal listing of the Greater sage-grouse would also devalue the oil and gas industry’s efforts to protect the species’ habitat, including strides in reducing surface impact made possible by investments in restoration plans and horizontal drilling technology.

Listing the Greater sage grouse could negatively affect the Western economy statewide, from lost jobs to decreased tax revenues. From IPAA’s Op-Ed:

“Needless to say, a federal listing decision would have an immense impact on energy development and the economic benefits that oil and natural gas provide for the region. Here in Wyoming, a federal listing could also fuel unemployment in a still-struggling economy. According to a recent Wyoming Law Review article by attorney David Willms and economist Dr. Anne Alexander, listing the grouse could result in the loss of over 1,600 oil and gas jobs, nearly 4,000 indirect jobs, and $135 million in direct labor income. Over in Moffat County, Colorado, for example, where the grouse’s habitat occupies 75 percent of the county, the impact would also be devastating. As a recent report from Moffat County Commissioners highlights, the county sits atop nearly 73,000 billion cubic feet of natural gas, a resource base that could provide $13 billion in tax revenue, billions of additional dollars in state taxes and royalty payments, and a secure supply of clean-burning natural gas to heat millions of American homes.”

IPAA’s Op Ed echoes recent comments made by the organization in December when IPAA leadership met with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to discuss the proposed listing of the bird. During the meeting, IPAA emphasized the harm that a federal listing of the Greater sage-grouse would cause to the economy of the grouse’s 11-state range, while ignoring the steps oil and gas producers have taken to work with stakeholders to protect the Greater sage-grouse and its habitat.

Governors Ask Jewell for Greater sage-grouse Timeline. The Western Governors’ Association has asked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to clarify the specific timeline for determining whether the Greater sage-grouse will be listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act, E&E News (sub req’d) reported. In a letter sent to Secretary Jewell on January 16, the Association asked Secretary Jewell how a federal listing would impact state-based conservation efforts and highlighted how states are currently fighting to save the bird:

“Western states have expended considerable resources to develop management plans to conserve greater sage-grouse and its habitat. These plans preserve the customs and culture of the West, the states and local communities. We have invested countless hours and millions of dollars in habitat conservation, mapping and monitoring. The result is a model for conservation which accommodates land ownership patterns of individual states, ameliorates the identified threats to greater sage-grouse, and honors the laws of each state.”

Read the full text of the letter HERE.

Secretary Jewell released a Secretarial Order earlier this month calling for a comprehensive wildfire-fighting strategy to protect the Greater sage-grouse habitat. According to the Department of Interior (DOI), the order establishes a task force led by DOI Deputy Secretary Mike Connor that will work with “other federal agencies, states, tribes, local entities and non-governmental groups on fire management and habitat restoration activities.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) is scheduled to determine whether to propose a federal listing for the Greater sage-grouse by the September 30 deadline. In December, Secretary Jewell said she would act “with urgency” to meet the deadline.

Northern long-eared bat Could Determine Fate of Minnesota Pipeline Project. The proposed Sandpiper oil pipeline through Minnesota could be forced to change its route if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decides to list the Northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Associated Press reported. Enbridge Energy’s $2.6 billion project, a 620-mile oil pipeline that carries Bakken crude oil to refineries in Wisconsin, may be delayed if a route chance is required

According to Twin Cities Business, Enbridge preemptively committed $5 million to a study of the bat’s habitat in order to minimize the pipeline’s effect on bats and modify the route if necessary. In fact, Enbridge changed the project’s route in Aikin and Carlton counties after analyzing the data.

“We believe this was the largest survey of northern long eared bats ever conducted in the world,” Enbridge senior environmental manager Paul Meneghini said.

The Northern long-eared bat’s status is currently under consideration by the FWS due to the species’ susceptibility to white-nose syndrome, which has killed an estimated 6.7 million bats in the Northeast and Midwest since 2006. Minnesota’s logging industry is particularly concerned about a potential bat listing, which could force an annual summer shutdown. The state Department of Natural Resources has also argued against a listing, since white-nose syndrome is not as prevalent in Minnesota.

The deadline for deciding on the bat’s ESA status is April 2.

Keystone XL Bill Amendments Have Implications for Endangered Species. Proposed amendments to legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline include measures such as revoking the lesser prairie chicken’s “threatened” status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and changing how ESA litigation costs could be awarded.

Sens Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the amendment in reaction to a decision made last March by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list the bird, reported E&E News (sub req’d). Local governments in states where the species roams—Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado—have criticized the ruling and engaged in legal action to overturn it.

Environmental and wildlife groups say they are concerned about the amendment.

“Congressional meddling with the Endangered Species Act has become a disturbing trend,” Defenders of Wildlife director of federal lands conservation Mark Salvo told E&E News (sub req’d) on Tuesday. “Reversing the listing decision for lesser prairie-chicken — a species that waited nearly two decades for federal protection — would be detrimental to its conservation and recovery.”

Another proposed amendment to the bill, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) would “alter how litigation costs under the Endangered Species Act could be awarded,” Bloomberg reported.

In the News

Seeking more protection for sage grouse. Associated Press. Two environmentalist groups filed suit Tuesday seeking stronger protection for a bird found only in Colorado and Utah, reaching that legal step ahead of state officials who counter the federal government already has gone too far. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project said in court papers that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should go back and produce an “adequate finding” on the status of the Gunnison sage grouse, whose habitat has been encroached on by humans. They say that when the agency listed the bird known for its elaborate mating dance as threatened last year rather than endangered, it “failed to acknowledge the dire straits that the species is in right now, compromising the ability of conservation managers to ensure its survival and long-term recovery.” NOTE: Montrose Daily Press also reports.

Moran amendment would reverse lesser prairie chicken protections. Topeka Capital-Journal. Calling the move “yet another example of unnecessary intrusion into private lives and businesses by the federal government,” Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran this week introduced an amendment that would reverse the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department’s decision to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Moran, a Republican, said the federal protections carry regulations that adversely affect how residents and businesses in rural Kansas manage their land and resources. Those regulations infringe on private property rights and economic development, Moran said.

“A number of industries — farming, ranching, oil and gas development, transportation and wind energy — are already feeling the effects of the listing,” Moran said in a news release announcing his amendment. NOTE: Ottawa Herald also reports.

Senate defeats dueling amendments on parks, monuments. E&E News (sub req’d). Senators yesterday defeated a pair of dueling public lands amendments by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), taking sides in a contentious debate over the conservation and expansion of the federal estate. Senate Republicans also failed to advance an amendment by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to expedite drilling for oil and gas on public lands and waters. The measure would have set a 30-day deadline for the Bureau of Land Management to approve oil and gas permits on federal lands and set 180-day deadlines to complete National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act reviews. It was defeated 51-47. Heitkamp and Manchin were the only Democrats to support it. Ayotte, Collins and Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) voted against it.

House panel pares down energy, conservation oversight agenda. E&E News (sub req’d). The House Agriculture Committee passed by voice vote an oversight plan yesterday with fewer energy and environment agenda items than in the last Congress. Hot-button topics remain on the priority list from last Congress, including review of U.S. EPA activities, the Endangered Species Act, the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States proposed rule and pesticide issues. The committee also agreed to review the administration of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program; look into areas of electricity reliability in rural regions; and assess the implementation of the renewable fuel standard.