Wyo, industry officials say they're optimistic bird won't be listed
BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Thursday, December 6, 2007 12:00 am
Although disappointed with Tuesday's court ruling that revives the question of whether to list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act, energy, agriculture and political leaders in Wyoming say they're optimistic it won't come to that.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Idaho ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ignored expert advice and allowed improper political interference when it decided to deny federal protection to the sage grouse and must reconsider its decision.
"Basically, the judge said that science must be allowed to speak," said Laird Lucas of Advocates for the West, who won the case for the Western Watersheds Project conservation group.
The judge found that Julie MacDonald, a former Interior Department official, used overt pressure and intimidation tactics and even edited scientific conclusions to keep the birds from being listed as endangered.
"The worst-case scenario would be a listing," said Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, "while the best case would be that they don't. There's a lot of new research and data out there to consider.
"If the (Fish and Wildlife Service) looks at everything, like efforts to improve habitat and BLM stipulations about when and where we can't drill, I think we can show everyone that we can protect the bird - that it has a good, viable population that does not warrant listing."
Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the ruling from Winmill. He said if the Fish and Wildlife Service is allowed to consider all the research and data that have been developed since the 2005 ruling against sage grouse listing, he's optimistic the bird will not be listed.
"I would be much less optimistic if the (Fish and Wildlife Service) was limited to the information that was before Judge Winmill," Magagna said.
Rob Hendry, a Natrona County commissioner and owner of the Clear Creek Ranch near Moneta, was also optimistic.
"I think we need the (Fish and Wildlife Service) to go back to the drawing board," because there is so much new information about the sage grouse in Wyoming, Hendry said.
"EnCana is doing research out at my place, which shows there are more birds out there than Game and Fish realized," he said.
Range conditions are better than originally thought, he added.
"What we're finding is that not everything is decadent sagebrush. By thirds, it is new, middle-aged and old," he said.
Hendry said he doesn't believe the condition of sage grouse and sagebrush habitat can be summed up in broad-brush statements about energy development or ranching.
Politics
Gov. Dave Freudenthal has long declared that listing of the sage grouse would have huge and painful consequences for Wyoming.
"It will be important going forward to show that we are working hard to protect and defend the state's populations of sage grouse in order to keep them from being listed," he said in a prepared statement. "A critical part of that is the funding I've recommended for the conservation measures developed by the Sage Grouse Implementation Team that will first focus on mapping and gathering data that we can then share with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
"This is very serious, because if you look at the map of sage grouse habitat in Wyoming, it covers a lot of the state. If the sage grouse is listed in Wyoming, it could have a very serious impact on the way we hunt and recreate, and how we develop the state's natural resources."
Indeed, a group of experts in the fields of wildlife management and mapping will convene today in Cheyenne to discuss establishing a set of standards for sage grouse mapping and habitat assessment in Wyoming. The meeting is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave.
It follows a concentrated effort this summer, including a two-day Sage Grouse Summit and regular meetings of the Sage Grouse Implementation Team, to ascertain risks to the native bird and develop a list of recommendations for conservation actions.
Members of the Wyoming congressional delegation also expressed concern.
"I am disappointed in the Idaho District Court ruling to reconsider listing sage grouse as endangered," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. "I believe the people of Wyoming and across the West have made significant efforts to protect the species. Our communities have come together to protect sagebrush habitats, which I believe is the best way to effect enduring conservation. I will continue to advocate Wyoming's interest in the sage grouse and its environment."
He'll be in an improved position to do so: Last month, he was named ranking member on the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, under the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
"The Fish and Wildlife Service had it right the first time," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. "The sage grouse and its habitat are already being protected by landowners and Wyoming. They acknowledge the bird's importance and have taken proactive steps to care for it without the federal government slapping them with the extensive and almost paralyzing restrictions of the Endangered Species Act.
"Protection, however, can be done without the expense of all grazing and oil and gas development in the state, which could happen if the sage grouse is listed as endangered."