Weekly Newsletter – 3/20/15

[I]t would be irrational for FWS to prohibit incidental take from oil and gas activities; such a prohibition would not slow the spread of the disease known as White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), which FWS has identified as the real threat to the NLEB, or measurably aid in the recovery of the NLED, but it would impose unnecessary and costly burdens on the oil and gas industry and on FWS itself.”

The Service is due to make a final decision about whether to list the NLEB as endangered under the ESA by April 2, but as IPAA and API highlight FWS has already concluded that “habitat loss from oil and gas activities does not pose a population-level threat to the NLEB.” The joint comments also emphasize existing regulations in place to mitigate any potential impacts from oil and gas development, stating “there are already established regulatory regimes in place that minimize and mitigate the impacts of such development on forest habitat, and that insure the sustainability and long-term health of such habitat.”

Federal Lawmakers Call for Bat Listing Delay and Industry Exemptions. Over on Capitol Hill, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also continue to oppose a potential listing of the Northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Eleven Republican Senators, led by Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday to delay making a final decision on the Northern long-eared bat. According to E&E News (sub req’d), the lawmakers requested a delay of two months because the Service has not turned over any of the data, population models or analytical tools that House lawmakers previously requested in a letter earlier this month. According to the March 4th letter:

“[W]e urge you to protect the [northern long-eared bat] from population loss associated with [white nose syndrome], without unduly burdening impacted communities and citizens by driving up costs for farmers, foresters and families who ultimately will have to bear the burden of any unnecessarily onerous rules.”

Late last week, 16 members of the House also published a letter sent to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Service Director Dan Ashe suggesting that several industries, including the oil and natural gas industry, be exempt from the proposed 4(d) rule’s incidental take prohibition should FWS decide to list the bat. “The proposed rule does not provide the necessary exemptions for activities and industries that have not contributed to the species’ declining levels,” the letter explains.

Potential for Interim Rule for Bat. On Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicated it may develop a special rule for the Northern long-eared bat, despite previous indications that it planned to list the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in April.  According to comments from Service Director Dan Ashe featured in E&E News this week (sub req’d):

“I don’t even know that threatened is the most likely. What we have said in correspondence to the committee is that we would intend to publish an interim final 4(d) rule that would allow us to take additional comment because there is some concern that a 4(d) rule is too limited in scope and perhaps doesn’t provide coverage that’s necessary for reflecting some of the comment that we’ve received.”

IPAA’s ESA Watch team will continue to engage with the Service and monitor the listing decision process around the Northern long-eared bat. Read IPAA’s previous comments on the species on www.ESAWatch.com.

Wyoming Senators Introduce Bill To Amend ESA. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation this week to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bill would obligate the federal government to give affected states the data used in determining ESA listing decisions before they are made. The legislation also calls for ESA considerations to take data collected by local wildlife managers into account.

“When the federal government determines that a species is considered endangered or threatened, it is the states that suffer the consequences,” Enzi said in a press statement. “It is important that the states have access to the data before the listings occur and that the states’ own relevant material is not ignored by the federal government when making these important decisions.”

Sens. Pat Robers (R-Kan.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) also co-sponsored the bill.

In the News

Following 100K comments, FWS chief hints at interim rule for bat. E&E News (sub req’d). Among the diverse, big-name industry groups that weighed in during the latest comment period — which ended earlier this week — were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Homebuilders and the American Forest Foundation. Also out in force were energy industry groups such as the National Rural Electric Cooperative, National Mining Association, American Petroleum Institute and Independent Petroleum Association of America. Most of these trade associations opposed the listing because they said it would harm their industry members without addressing white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that is largely to blame for the bat’s precipitous decline.

 

Western states coalition disputes ‘biased’ federal science on sage grouse. Washington Times. A coalition of rural Western counties and business interests is contesting the science being used to decide whether to list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered or threatened, accusing the Obama administration of relying on “selective, false and biased” research. Denver attorney Kent Holsinger filed three Data Quality Act challenges Wednesday with the Department of the Interior on behalf of the coalition, which includes the Western Energy Alliance, ranchers, mining and drilling companies and 19 counties in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Utah.

Subpanel chairman warns of ‘Western revolt’ over endangered species. E&E News (sub req’d). Leaders of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration yesterday faced criticism from House Natural Resources Committee members over federal protections for imperiled species, fisheries management and several other issues. The nearly four-hour budget hearing got off to a rocky start when Federal Lands Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) warned, “There is another Western revolt brewing over Fish and Wildlife Service actions with regard to the greater sage grouse, northern long-eared bat, gray wolf and several other species.”

Mining group faults ‘horribly flawed’ federal restoration of grouse habitat. E&E News (sub req’d). A national mining group is blasting federal efforts to protect and restore sagebrush ecosystems that are critical to the survival of the greater sage grouse and other species in the Great Basin from threats posed by wildfires and invasive plant species. The American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA) today released a report conducted on its behalf by a consulting biologist that analyzed efforts by the Interior Department to protect low-elevation sagebrush from rangeland fires and invasive species, and to restore these areas after wildfires have scorched them.

Oregon expands sage grouse conservation agreements. Capital Press. Another 2.3 million acres of private rangeland is now included in voluntary agreements to conserve sage grouse habitat in Oregon. Oregon’s collaborative model of protecting sage grouse habitat expands this week as private landowners represented by five soil and water conservation districts sign on to agreements that cover more than 2.3 million acres.

Feds, Wyo. establish first sage grouse conservation bank. E&E News (sub req’d). The Obama administration and the state of Wyoming today announced the establishment of the nation’s first conservation bank for the greater sage grouse, a move that is designed both to encourage responsible development activity and help ward off the need to list the bird for federal protection. The conservation bank on a 235,000-acre ranch in central Wyoming will allow for oil and gas, mining, and other industries to buy credits within a sensitive state-designated “core sage grouse area” that could then be used to mitigate impacts elsewhere.

Experimental oyster reefs planned off south Reeds Beach. Shore News Today. A $60,000 project to build two experimental oyster reefs off the shores of Reeds Beach is set to get underway next month. The unique design of the reef is expected to protect beaches and the community, as well as allow horseshoe crabs access to the area’s shores. The crabs’ access is critical to the red knot, a migratory shorebird listed as threatened by the federal government under the Endangered Species Act, and listed as endangered by the state.