Issues
Department of Interior Releases Greater Sage-Grouse Protection Plan. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell released an initial report Tuesday emphasizing fire prevention and response plans for protecting the habitat of the Greater sage-grouse, a species found in 11 western states, prior to the 2015 wildfire season.
The report, required under Secretary Jewell’s January 5th secretarial order, calls on firefighting crews to develop response plans to prioritize sage grouse habitat protection. In recent years, the Great Basin, including portions of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California, has experienced larger and more frequent wildfires and increased damage to sage grouse habitat due to invasive species such as cheatgrass. According to Secretary Jewell:
“Cheatgrass and other invasive species have contributed to making rangeland fire one of the greatest threats in the Great Basin—not only to sagebrush habitat, but to wildlife, ranching, and other economic activities that depend on a healthy landscape. As we head into the 2015 fire season, the actions recommended in this report will help ensure that our preparedness, response and recovery strategies better align with the threats facing the West.”
A final report is also scheduled for release by May 1st and will outline a strategy for 2016 and future wildfire seasons. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also expected to decide whether to list the Greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the fall of 2015.
Scientists Urge Stronger Sage-Grouse Response. A group of 11 scientists signed a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack this week, calling on the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to increase Greater sage-grouse conservation measures in order to prevent the species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The letter highlights the scientists’ concern that the 14 sage-grouse conservation draft plans released in 2013 and 2014 do not use the best available science to prescribe appropriate conservation measures. According to the letter:
“Federal agencies organized a National Technical Team (NTT) in 2011 to review the best available science and make recommendations for conserving Greater sage-grouse. We are concerned that federal agencies appear to be abandoning science-based conservation measures reflected in the published scientific literature as well as in the NTT Report in favor of more elastic, subjective measures identified in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conservation Objectives Team Report (COT Report).”
The letter continues, stating that while the NTT Report provides a scientific baseline for managing greater sage-grouse habitat, “other parts of the report contained questionable statements that are not supported by the best available science.” Other organizations, including the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Public Lands Advocacy, and other energy trade associations, have also previously criticized the NTT report for having a limited scope and not relying on the best publically available data. According to joint comments filed in 2012 by these associations, “It is our belief that the standards developed by the NTT are based upon inherently flawed scientific assumptions which have no factual basis and will severely impede the benefits of multiple-use activities on public lands in the West.”
The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a group representing all state wildlife agencies across the range of the Greater sage-grouse, also wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in May 2013 regarding their concerns with the NTT Report for sage-grouse management, stating the NTT report would be a “setback to sage-grouse conservation.”
Black Pine Snake Protections Proposed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a proposal Tuesday to protect over 300,000 acres of critical habitat in counties across Alabama and Mississippi for the Black pine snake. The decision follows the agency’s October 2014 proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
“The black pine snake is an important part of the longleaf pine ecosystem in southern Alabama and Mississippi,” FWS Southeast regional director Cindy Dohner said in E&E News (sub req’d). “Identifying critical habitat will highlight areas important to the pine snake, complementing the proposed listing and enhancing some of the conservation efforts that are also already underway for other wildlife.”
As a result of the proposed critical habitat designation of 338,100 total acres, 70 percent of which is federally owned property, federal agencies will be obligated to coordinate with FWS on any projects funded or authorized within that area to ensure the conservation of the Black pine snake. According to the Service, the habitat designation is expected to cost $190,000 during the first year with lower costs in subsequent years.
On Wednesday, the Service opened the comment period on the habitat designation as well as reopened the comment period on the decision to list the snake as threatened under the ESA. Both comment periods stay open until May 11, and the Service will issue final decisions this fall.
In the News
Pending Govt. Designation Could Threaten Areas of NE Shale Development. Oil & Gas 360. In April the agency will rule, under the Endangered Species Act, as to whether the Northern Long-Eared Bat will be classified as threatened or endangered, which could turn the 3 ½ inch long flying mammal into 2015’s spotted owl—potentially removing portions of its habitat zones from the possibility of prospective shale, other oil and gas, wind energy and similar development activities.
Scientist to watch Texas’ endangered species. Houston Chronicle. A high-profile new employee in Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s office won’t focus on revenue estimates or tax collection. Robert Gulley will, however, be looking at monarch butterfly migration patterns and the decline of freshwater mussels like the Louisiana pigtoe and the Texas fatmucket — rare animals that could be next on the federal government’s list of protected species. “Right now, the Endangered Species Act is the law of the land. And that’s the reality we’re working in,” Gulley said.
County commissioners pen intent to sue over Sage Grouse. KJCT. The Mesa County commissioners signed an important document Monday morning regarding a controversial species of grouse. County Attorney Patrick Coleman wrote a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over their designation of the Gunnison Sage Grouse as an endangered species.
Miami Port Expansion Still Raises Environmental Concerns. Maritime Executive. Despite all of the precautionary measures to protect they aquatic marine life, the dredging project continues to raises concerns from activists and environmentalists. A major concern is now for the well-being of staghorn coral, which is a listed in the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, the corps has relocated about 924 other coral varieties, but after the initial survey by contractors in 2010, the staghorn is in danger and divers have recently found dead or dying stretches of the coral buried under layers of sediment.
Lawmakers hand another $2M to consultant to fight sage grouse listing. E&E News (sub req’d). In an effort to keep the greater sage grouse off the endangered species list, Utah lawmakers are planning to pay another $2 million to a consultant responsible for fighting the protection status. The state Department of Natural Resources hired attorney Ryan Benson last July to lead the fight against listing the sage grouse under the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Benson, an anti-wolf activist who is associated with Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, is being paid $2 million in consulting fees.