Issues
Settlement requires FWS to study impacts of two common herbicides. In a settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to study the effects of two common weed killers, glyphosate and atrazine, on endangered species. The Center reached a similar deal with the Environmental Protection Agency last year. The Fish and Wildlife Service has until December 2022 to finish its review, which could lead to restrictions on the herbicides’ use.
Environmental groups accuse glyphosate, marketed as Roundup by its manufacturer, of contributing to the loss of milkweed, a plant essential to the survival of the imperiled monarch butterfly. Roundup and atrazine are the two most common herbicides used in the United States, and atrazine is credited by the American Farm Bureau Federation as “one of the most important herbicides used with practices such as no-till and conservation tillage.”
New online mapping tool can help protect sage-grouse habitat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and researchers from across the west announced a new mapping tool this week that will help identify and address threats to sage-grouse habitat. The tool, which utilizes the Google Earth Engine, will allow conservationists and other stakeholders to analyze data on the encroachment of invasive species like juniper trees and cheatgrass, allowing the Natural Resources Conservation Service and its partners to target areas where the trees are young and easier to pull up.
The mapping tool is part of USDA’s Sage-Grouse Initiative, which was credited as a major factor in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to list the sage-grouse on the endangered species list last year. When completed, the map will include layers for each threat outlined in USDA’s Sage-Grouse Initiative 2.0, a four-year effort to permanently protect nearly 400,000 acres of private land. One layer that is already available within the tool provides an index of ecosystem resilience and resistance to cheatgrass based on readings of the soil’s temperature and moisture content.
Western Governors to host workshop on Species Conservation and ESA Initiatives. On March 9-10, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead will host the third in a series of regional workshops through the Western Governors’ Species Conservation and Endangered Species Act Initiative in Denver, Colorado. The event will discuss the role of states in species conservation, funding for conservation efforts, and a legal analysis of the ESA. The full agenda for the event is available HERE.
NLEB 4(d) ruling faces legal fight. Four conservation groups have announced their plans to challenge the 4(d) rule for the northern long-eared bat. The groups challenging the rule include the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Coal River Mountain Watch and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. In a joint press release earlier this month, the groups criticized the Obama Administration’s use of 4(d) rules in ESA listings, and highlighted their opposition to energy development in the bat’s range.
On January 14, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its final 4(d) rule on the bat, exempting oil and gas activities from incidental take prohibitions in the same way that forest management activities were exempted. The decision reflects the minimal impact of energy development on the bat, and rather the extensive impact of white-nose syndrome on the population.
Feds update policy on state ESA collaboration. The Obama Administration this week released a new policy on how federal agencies can engage and collaborate with state agencies in applying the Endangered Species Act. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe highlighted in E&E News that, “State fish and wildlife agencies are essential partners in implementing the Endangered Species Act to protect our most at-risk species across the country. We look forward to continuing our work together on conservation successes that all Americans can be proud of.”
This week’s revisions are designed to allow more engagement from the states, increased transparency, and access to better science. Defenders of Wildlife, however, objected to language for applying habitat conservation plans, calling the new policy “alarming.” The group is worried that the Fish and Wildlife Service is giving states greater authority in permitting activities within critical habitat than they legally have.
In the News
Environmentalists sue for more rules to protect sage grouse. Associated Press. Environmental groups sued Thursday to force the Obama administration to impose more restrictions on oil and gas drilling, grazing and other activities blamed for the decline of greater sage grouse across the American West. A sweeping sage grouse conservation effort that the government announced last September is riddled with loopholes and will not be enough to protect the bird from extinction, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Idaho. It follows several legal challenges against the same rules from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Mining companies, ranchers and officials in Utah, Idaho and Nevada argue that the administration’s actions will impede economic development.
New Endangered Species Act (ESA) critical habitat rules expand federal authority and add uncertainty. National Law Review. The new rules first revise the term “destruction or adverse modification.” This is a fundamentally important term in implementing the ESA. This shifts the historic endpoint for this factor from “both the survival and recovery” of a species to simply conservation of a species. The Services have even changed the underlying significance of the term “conservation.” The existing Section 402.02 definitions include a definition for “conservation recommendations,” which are “suggestions of the Service regarding discretionary measures to minimize or avoid adverse effects of a proposed action on a listed species or critical habitat.”
Montana officials move forward with sage grouse plan. Associated Press. A Montana panel overseeing a sage grouse conservation plan finalized guidelines on Friday for awarding $10 million in grants to help boost habitat for the imperiled bird. Meanwhile, state officials have completed evaluating the bulk of 112 projects proposed within prime habitat for the sage grouse, as part of the ongoing implementation of an executive order issued by Gov. Steve Bullock in September. Montana is taking measures to protect sage grouse habitat on state lands in response to federal restrictions on 67 million acres of public lands in 11 states, including Montana, to protect sage grouse habitat and prevent the bird from being listed as a threatened or endangered species. The restrictions cover wide swaths of eastern Montana.
Bill advances to outline how Utah would manage federal lands. Salt Lake Tribune. Legislators took a first step Friday to outline how Utah would manage 31 million acres of federal public lands if the state were able to gain control of it. The House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee voted 9-1 to approve HB276 and sent it to the full House. Its sponsor, Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, said it would provide a framework for state priorities for managing that land and what agencies would oversee it. Legislators are considering spending $14 million on a lawsuit to seek control of most federal lands in the state, which they contend Utah was promised at statehood. “It will be managed for multiple uses and sustained yield,” in sort of an “all of the above” approach for ranching, mining, grazing and wilderness, Noel said.
Conference highlights challenges to Great Basin ecosystem, sage grouse. Deseret News. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Assistant Secretary Janice Schneider said it will take an “all hands, all lands” approach in the Great Basin region to save the imperiled greater sage grouse, building on the success of cooperative partnerships and state plans already in place. Schneider spoke Tuesday at a regionwide sagebrush conservation conference in Salt Lake City hosted by the Great Basin Consortium, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Utah State University. Schneider pointed to a memorandum of understanding slated to be signed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forest Service that prioritizes reducing the threat of wildfire and invasive species, removing juniper and restoring wetlands.
Natural gas pipeline OK comes with many conditions. Energy Biz (Magazine). The developers of a $3.2 billion natural gas pipeline in the Southeast finally got the green light this month from federal regulators but only after vowing to protect water supplies, threatened species and do what they can to minimize noise pollution. “Sabal Trail will adequately avoid or minimize impacts to protected species habitat and will implement construction and restoration measures with FERC, in consultation with other federal and state agency, recommendations,” Grover wrote. Of special concern is scrub-jay habitat. The bird is classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
National Wildlife Federation threatens to sue over Line 5 safety issues. Petoskey News. The National Wildlife Federation plans to sue a pipeline safety agency if it does not comply with several laws it is alleged to have violated in allowing twin oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac to operate. In an article posted to its website Monday, the National Wildlife Federation announced it had officially sent a notice of intent to sue to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, claiming the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Oil Pollution Act in allowing the operation of Line 5 — owned by Enbridge Inc., running from Sarnia, Ontario to Superior, Wis.
Pennsylvania judge orders resumption of Constitution Pipeline tree felling. Natural Gas Intelligence. A federal district court judge in Pennsylvania has ordered tree-clearing activities for the proposed Constitution natural gas pipeline to proceed, making clear that anyone interfering with the work would be arrested and held in contempt of court. According to Middle District of Pennsylvania Court records, Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC filed an emergency motion for declaratory judgment on Feb. 12 after more than a dozen opponents of the pipeline blocked the company from accessing two parcels in Susquehanna County, PA, on Feb. 10. Constitution hopes to finish the tree felling before March 31 to avoid impacting migratory birds and the Northern long-eared bat.
Monarchs are agenda of trilateral meeting. Mexico Daily News. New strategies to protect the monarch butterfly are being discussed in Mexico City this week at a four-day meeting involving Mexican, United States and Canadian delegates. Both government and non-government officials are looking to create a joint strategy to preserve the yearly migration of the butterfly, and its migratory and wintering grounds. The three countries had reached an accord in 2014 to create a top-level working group that would guarantee the preservation of the monarch butterfly and its migratory patterns. The three governments have also been coordinating projects that focus on improving and rehabilitating the monarchs’ habitat. Another contemplates the creation of communication strategies to raise public awareness about what can be done at the local level.
