- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,007
TRCP Protests Wyoming Energy Leases over Concerns for Sage Grouse, Big-game Habitat
5/21/08
"Core habitats" for sage grouse threatened by rush to lease
WASHINGTON - Potential impacts of oil and gas development on important wildlife habitat drove the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to protest the inclusion of more than 190,000 acres in the Bureau of Land Management's upcoming energy lease sale in Wyoming, the conservation group announced today. The areas offered for lease in the June 3 sale encompass designated big-game crucial winter range or migration routes or contain vital habitat for sage grouse, including lands singled out by the state as "core habitat" for the game bird.
The sportsmen's protest asserts that energy development in these areas could negatively affect habitat used by sage grouse, presently being considered for protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. Sage grouse also is listed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as a "species of special concern," meaning that its populations are declining and experiencing ongoing, significant loss of habitat. The BLM is required to pursue actions that will help conserve species of special concern and not to undertake activities that could contribute to their decline. Recent scientific studies link energy development and declining sage grouse populations.
"None of these areas should be leased until the BLM updates its environmental analyses and demonstrates coordination and compliance with Wyoming's goals for this sensitive species," said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe of Daniel, Wyo., a TRCP board member widely recognized as a wildlife and public lands policy expert. "Sportsmen have an enormous stake in maintaining healthy, viable populations of sage grouse. If the bird is listed under the Endangered Species Act, hunters will be among the first to feel the rippling effects."
More than 100,000 acres protested by the TRCP are identified as "core population areas" of sage grouse habitat by Wyoming's Sage Grouse Implementation Team. Convened by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, this panel is developing a long-term, science-based conservation plan for the species. The heart of the plan would establish areas where activities would be limited to those that would not negatively affect sage grouse or their habitats. These core population areas comprise Wyoming's most important sage grouse habitat. Multiple stakeholders have been working for months on the approach, which recently was endorsed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"For Wyoming's sage grouse conservation plan to be effective, the federal government must commit to working with the state toward its implementation," said Sparrowe. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stated definitively that federal cooperation with Wyoming's plan is key to the plan's success.
"Quite simply, the BLM's decision to lease areas so clearly important to survival of the species defies logic and the most recent research," continued Sparrow, "and it's a slap in the face to the state, which has worked in good faith with team members, including the BLM, on this strategy. Leasing out these core areas will have dire consequences for sage grouse in Wyoming."
Other recent research indicates that energy development significantly affects mule deer use of winter range and migration corridors. These habitats are identified by Wyoming Game and Fish Department policy as "vital" to the survival and sustainability of big game. The decision by the BLM to offer for lease the protested areas for development was based on resource management plans, or "RMPs," some of which were developed decades ago and before conservation of migration routes became the top management concern for agencies that it is today.
"The BLM is required to use the most current, best available science to guide its management and take a 'hard look' at new information concerning the consequences of its actions," said Steve Belinda, TRCP energy policy manager and a former BLM biologist. "Yet the agency is ignoring this new information and basing its leasing decisions on outdated management plans and pressure from industry.
"In recent years, science has confirmed the critical role migration routes and winter range play in big-game populations, a conclusion seconded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department," said Belinda. "The BLM is currently updating many of its plans for Wyoming. Why not wait until these are complete?
"The TRCP supports responsible energy development," Belinda concluded. "Yet more than 13 million acres of federal public lands in Wyoming already have been leased for drilling. Waiting a few months for these updated plans won't hurt energy production. This is a failure of the multiple-use mandate BLM must follow in overseeing our public lands."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife.
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.
Media Contact:
Steve Belinda, 307-231-3128, sbelinda@trcp.org
5/21/08
"Core habitats" for sage grouse threatened by rush to lease
WASHINGTON - Potential impacts of oil and gas development on important wildlife habitat drove the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to protest the inclusion of more than 190,000 acres in the Bureau of Land Management's upcoming energy lease sale in Wyoming, the conservation group announced today. The areas offered for lease in the June 3 sale encompass designated big-game crucial winter range or migration routes or contain vital habitat for sage grouse, including lands singled out by the state as "core habitat" for the game bird.
The sportsmen's protest asserts that energy development in these areas could negatively affect habitat used by sage grouse, presently being considered for protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. Sage grouse also is listed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as a "species of special concern," meaning that its populations are declining and experiencing ongoing, significant loss of habitat. The BLM is required to pursue actions that will help conserve species of special concern and not to undertake activities that could contribute to their decline. Recent scientific studies link energy development and declining sage grouse populations.
"None of these areas should be leased until the BLM updates its environmental analyses and demonstrates coordination and compliance with Wyoming's goals for this sensitive species," said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe of Daniel, Wyo., a TRCP board member widely recognized as a wildlife and public lands policy expert. "Sportsmen have an enormous stake in maintaining healthy, viable populations of sage grouse. If the bird is listed under the Endangered Species Act, hunters will be among the first to feel the rippling effects."
More than 100,000 acres protested by the TRCP are identified as "core population areas" of sage grouse habitat by Wyoming's Sage Grouse Implementation Team. Convened by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, this panel is developing a long-term, science-based conservation plan for the species. The heart of the plan would establish areas where activities would be limited to those that would not negatively affect sage grouse or their habitats. These core population areas comprise Wyoming's most important sage grouse habitat. Multiple stakeholders have been working for months on the approach, which recently was endorsed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"For Wyoming's sage grouse conservation plan to be effective, the federal government must commit to working with the state toward its implementation," said Sparrowe. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stated definitively that federal cooperation with Wyoming's plan is key to the plan's success.
"Quite simply, the BLM's decision to lease areas so clearly important to survival of the species defies logic and the most recent research," continued Sparrow, "and it's a slap in the face to the state, which has worked in good faith with team members, including the BLM, on this strategy. Leasing out these core areas will have dire consequences for sage grouse in Wyoming."
Other recent research indicates that energy development significantly affects mule deer use of winter range and migration corridors. These habitats are identified by Wyoming Game and Fish Department policy as "vital" to the survival and sustainability of big game. The decision by the BLM to offer for lease the protested areas for development was based on resource management plans, or "RMPs," some of which were developed decades ago and before conservation of migration routes became the top management concern for agencies that it is today.
"The BLM is required to use the most current, best available science to guide its management and take a 'hard look' at new information concerning the consequences of its actions," said Steve Belinda, TRCP energy policy manager and a former BLM biologist. "Yet the agency is ignoring this new information and basing its leasing decisions on outdated management plans and pressure from industry.
"In recent years, science has confirmed the critical role migration routes and winter range play in big-game populations, a conclusion seconded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department," said Belinda. "The BLM is currently updating many of its plans for Wyoming. Why not wait until these are complete?
"The TRCP supports responsible energy development," Belinda concluded. "Yet more than 13 million acres of federal public lands in Wyoming already have been leased for drilling. Waiting a few months for these updated plans won't hurt energy production. This is a failure of the multiple-use mandate BLM must follow in overseeing our public lands."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife.
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.
Media Contact:
Steve Belinda, 307-231-3128, sbelinda@trcp.org
