Issues
Study: Sage grouse DNA report maps crucial mating grounds. In early May, the United States Forest Service (USFS) released an extensive report detailing the mating site habits of the sage-grouse. Appearing first in a science journal, the nineteen-page report based its findings on nearly 6,000 sage-grouse samples collected over a 10-year period and maps of approximately 1,200 mating sites across 10 western states.
“To have this snapshot and to have this massive sample that allows a much finer resolution than we’ve ever had before has powerful potential applications for managers,” said Todd Cross, a research biologist with the USFS and one of the report’s authors.
While each of the western states that were studied were found to have at least one major mating hub, notable sites for genetic diversity included the C.J. Strike Reservoir in Idaho and in Wyoming at the Bighorn Lake watershed. The report also found that most sage-grouse restricted themselves to one lek, but some visited multiple, including one bird that covered 120 miles in a spring season. By identifying these major mating grounds, scientists hope that land managers will be better equipped to make decisions about the sage-grouse habitat.
The mating sites were grouped by proximity into 458 clusters, some of which were deemed more important because of their accessibility to other leks. Other clusters served as a meeting hub for dispersed populations. At the conclusion of the study, the researchers deemed 20 clusters to be crucial for maintaining sage-grouse genetic diversity.
Interior-EPA bill complete with endangered species riders is approved in House. Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $35 billion spending bill for the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of the Interior and other related agencies by a vote of 25-20. Included in the legislation were rider policies concerning the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
One of the riders within the bill would prevent the Greater-sage grouse from being listed under the ESA, and was adamantly supported by Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson whose state – along with many others – devised a plan at the behest of former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to save the sage-grouse and prevent the need for its listing. The bill also aims to remove federal protections for gray wolves as endangered and threatened wildlife in all of the United States except Alaska and Hawaii. Concurrently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the gray wolf’s status under the ESA and according to spokeswoman Georgia Parham, the agency is working closely with the necessary partners to assess scientific data related to the wolf’s historic range, population and recovery.
If the legislation is brought up swiftly on the House floor, a vote could take place before the week’s end.
In the News
Data Suggests Wolf Population Could Be Stabilizing. Wisconsin Public Radio. New data suggests Wisconsin’s wolf population may be stabilizing. After decades of growth the animal’s numbers were reportedly down by 2 percent last winter. Volunteer trackers reported a minimum wolf count of between 905 and 944 animals, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. That’s a slight decline compared to numbers from the winter before. But DNR large carnivore ecologist Scott Walter says people shouldn’t draw conclusions from this latest count. “It’s a sign that wolves may be stabilizing in the state, but given the nature of the data it’s really going to take additional years to fully understand whether or not this was an annual blip or if this is actually an indication that wolves are stabilizing in Wisconsin,” Walter said. Walter said two or three more years worth of data are needed to confirm the population has stabilized.
Endangered listing proposed for rare San Juan Island butterfly. The Spokesman-Review. The southern end of San Juan Island is home to a species more imperiled than the polar bears of the Arctic and the tigers of Asia. This species is also harder to spot than those large, iconic animals. It flits by unsuspecting islanders and tourists alike in a matter of seconds, a blur of white. It’s the island marble butterfly, an increasingly rare species that may soon become the 10th endangered species — and the second butterfly with that protection — in Washington state. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposes listing the island marble butterfly as endangered and designating 812 acres on the island as critical habitat for the species.
Peregrines back from brink of extinction. Boulder City Review. Peregrine falcons can be found on every continent except Antarctica, but in North America and parts of Europe they were nearly wiped out by the advent of DDT and similar pesticides in the 1950s. The same environmental contaminant also pushed the bald eagle to the brink. By the time researchers figured out the cause, peregrines were gone from the eastern U.S. and their numbers elsewhere had declined by 95 percent. “It was pretty dire. It really was,” said Barnes, who also studies eagles and other birds of prey. The peregrine was added to the endangered species list in 1970, but its numbers didn’t begin to rebound until after DDT was banned two years later. By 1999, the population was healthy enough to be removed from the endangered list.
Committee set to vote on 6 bills in ‘Utah week markup.’ E&E News (Sub req’d). The House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday will vote on four public lands bills sponsored by the all-Republican Utah congressional delegation. The panel, led by Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop, will mark up legislation that would affect the habitat of the desert tortoise, provide access to internet service in rural areas and create a national historical park. The bills are sponsored by Reps. Chris Stewart, John Curtis and Bishop, respectively
Theory suggests trout themselves sparked ecological disaster. E&E News (Sub req’d). When nonnative trout showed up in Yellowstone Lake in 1994, it was an ecological catastrophe. Former Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Bob Barbee once called it “an appalling act of environmental vandalism,” but the park’s chief fisheries biologist now thinks the fish may have swum there themselves. The long-standing theory is that a “bucket biologist” took the trout from nearby Lewis Lake and moved them to Yellowstone Lake. The theory is supported by some data. But the new theory from biologist Todd Koel is that the fish are swimming there themselves. Some of the lake trout that flow out of Jackson Dam in Grand Teton National Park could be swimming 40 miles up the Pacific Creek; then they could drain into the Atlantic Creek, which empties in the Yellowstone River.
Wildfire prevention to take center stage in dual hearings. E&E News (Sub req’d). Two congressional committees this week will explore the Forest Service’s next steps to prevent catastrophic wildfires, now that the agency can stop dipping into non-fire-related accounts to pay for fire suppression. Forest Service interim Chief Vicki Christiansen is scheduled to testify to the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on her agency’s preparations for the 2018 wildfire season, as well as on how the Forest Service will use the additional flexibility Congress recently granted it for faster, bigger forest management projects. Christiansen has said the Forest Service expects another bigger-than-average wildfire season, with parts of Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico seeing some of the most activity in June; the risk shifts to parts of Oregon, Washington and Montana by August.
Group threatens lawsuit over habitat protection for orcas. Associated Press. A conservation group wants the federal government to move forward with protecting offshore areas along the U.S. West Coast to help endangered killer whales. The Center for Biological Diversity told the National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday that it plans to take legal action if the agency keeps delaying a designation for offshore habitat where the Puget Sound orcas would be protected. The fish-eating whales typically spend summers in inland waters of Washington state and winters foraging along the coast. They have struggled with food shortages, pollution, and noise and disturbances from boats. There are now just 76 of the animals, a 30-year low.
