Issues
Western Governors Discuss Greater Sage-Grouse Listing with Jewell. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell met with governors representing Western states on Sunday to talk about a potential listing of the Greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to Western Governors Association (WGA) chairman Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Sec. Jewell was “guardedly optimistic” that the bird will not be listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) due to state-based habitat conservation and protection efforts already in place in the grouse’s habitat region.
WGA sent a letter to Jewell in January 2015 asking for clarification regarding collaboration between states and federal agencies on sage grouse protection. According to the letter, “
Gov. Hickenlooper later reiterated Colorado’s position on the issue, stating “We’re going to be at the table and very focused on finding a long-term resolution, which is to say no listing at all on the Greater sage-grouse.”
Jewell Fields Questions about Greater Sage-Grouse in Senate Hearing. Debate over the Greater sage-grouse also continued back on Capitol Hill this week, where Republican Senators criticized the Interior Department’s approach to the Greater sage-grouse and the Northern long-eared bat during an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.
Sen. James Risch (R-ID) raised concerns about a U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife (FWS) memo from October that classifies over 16 million acres of Western rangelands as eligible for maximum protection as sage grouse habitat. Some of those lands are located in Idaho, but Risch contends that the state already has a plan in place. “We’re ready to go in Idaho. We’ve got a plan,” he said during the hearing. “This again moves the goal post.”
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) also cited a letter Secretary Jewell wrote to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead in January that stated the Department of Interior’s intent to decide on a sage grouse listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), even though the 2015 omnibus funding bill blocked money from being spent on rules to protect the bird. “With all due respect, I can’t make sense of your letter, and I find your plans to ignore federal law troubling,” Sen. Barrasso said.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) also asked the Secretary how state sage grouse conservation programs can be given time to succeed. Secretary Jewell responded that state-federal cooperation on the issue has been unprecedented, and that all involved are working to prevent an ESA listing.
Northern Long-Eared Bat Also Brought Up in Senate Hearing. Concerns about the Northern Long-Eared bat were also brought up at this week’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) expressed concern that a federal listing of the species could hurt commercial development across the bat’s 37-state range. Secretary Jewell replied that while the bat is likely to be listed as threatened by the scheduled April deadline, that listing would probably include a “sweeping” 4d rule that will protect commercial interests.
The Secretary also noted that the Department of Interior recognizes that White Nose Syndrome is the primary threat to the bat and that any ESA listing decision would reflect that issue. IPAA has long highlighted this fact in its comments on the bat, stating in recent joint comments with the American Petroleum Institute that, “No evidence has been put forward that oil and gas exploration and production operations jeopardize the future existence of this species.” FWS is expected to decide whether to list the Northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in April.
Local and National Conservation Groups Concerned About Wind Turbines. Local and national conservation groups are petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to protect endangered species from wind turbines. Earlier this month, the Washington, D.C.-based American Bird Conservancy called for requiring wind energy operators to apply for permits to kill birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, including the Greater sage-grouse.
According to a study cited by the American Bird Conservancy in its petition, “Nearly 30,000 wind turbines have already been installed within areas identified as being of high importance to federally-protected birds in the United States, with more than 50,000 additional turbines planned for construction in similar areas. These include…1,800 in greater sage-grouse breeding strongholds.”
Meanwhile, a Michigan residential group filed a lawsuit against FWS and Heritage Sustainable Energy, which operates a local wind farm, over concerns on the impact of the project to the Northern long-eared bat. According to the Detroit Free Press, the opposition group alleges that the wind farm will “kill protected and endangered species such as the Kirtland’s warbler, piping plover and northern long-eared bat.”
In the News
Guest opinion: Sage grouse listing must be avoided to protect energy industry. Billings Gazette, IPAA President and CEO Barry Russell. In November, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Gunnison sage-grouse, a bird that resides in sagebrush lands across Colorado and Utah, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Many landowners and involved stakeholders, who voluntarily implemented conservation measures on their property to protect the bird, were not only disappointed with the decision, but also fearful of what it could mean for future ESA listing decisions by the Obama administration – especially as it relates to the greater sage-grouse. While the recently passed funding bill by Congress may have bought more time for the greater sage-grouse – preventing the federal government from potentially listing the bird until after September 2015 – the debate over this iconic bird in the West is far from over.
Idaho proposes sage grouse protections on additional state lands. E&E News (sub req’d). The state of Idaho has proposed a new conservation plan to protect some of the most important greater sage grouse habitat in the state, in an ongoing effort to prevent the bird from being listed for federal protection. The draft plan, developed by the Idaho Department of Lands, would still allow for numerous activities on the endowment lands, such as oil and gas development and wind farms, grazing and mining. But it would impose lease stipulations, such as a slightly more than half-mile buffer around leks, and the adoption of best management practices, such as noise limits on drilling activity to protect the bird. It also focuses on addressing threats to grouse habitat from wildfires and invasive plant and animal species.
Bats could impede Mt. Juliet road project. Wilson Post. The endangered species is the Indiana Bat that likes to nest in the Shagbark Hickory, a tree that grows in the five-acre area that needs to be cleared for the three-mile road project. This final phase of the Eastern Connector will run from Eastgate Boulevard to Beckwith Road, according to Mt. Juliet Deputy Public Works Director Andy Barlow. When complete, the connector will run from Interstate 40 to Lebanon Road.
If placed on endangered list, desert tortoise could affect development. Tucson Sentinel. Arizona developers could face some obstacles if federal officials place the Sonoran Desert Tortoise on the endangered species list. It could mean more restrictions on which land they can develop and what sort of projects are allowed. And that’s exactly the kind of issue leaders of Arizona State University’s new Large Landowner Initiative plan to tackle. The initiative, based out of the W.P. Carey School of Business, addresses the challenges of large land ownership.
Gray wolves, once decimated by eradication campaign, rebound in Oregon. Reuters. Oregon’s once decimated gray wolf population has rebounded to at least 77 animals, and the wolves are now pairing off and breeding across a wide region, state officials with the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Wednesday. But as population growth triggers a review of state Endangered Species Act restrictions on harassing or killing wolves that threaten livestock, conservationists cautioned it remained too early to celebrate the species’ recovery.
