A Greater Sage Grouse near Burns, Oregon. Photo from BLM.
Faced with a difficult decision about protecting – or not protecting – the Greater sage-grouse, Interior says it’s going to split the difference.
Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday morning that the sage-grouse deserves to be listed by the Endangered Species Act, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. The official label is that listing is “warranted, but precluded.”
So it becomes a candidate species. The bird’s status will be reviewed yearly. But Interior says it can’t protect every species that deserves it, and it has to set priorities. The sage-grouse falls into the bottom third of the candidate list.
Like the bird, Interior is in a tight spot.
Listing the sage-grouse as threatened or endangered could throw a monkey wrench into plans for energy development across the West, including renewable energy such as wind, geothermal and solar, and transmission projects such as power lines and pipelines. Farmers and ranchers would also be affected. The potential for a political backlash was enormous.
But there is also the science showing the greater sage-grouse is in serious decline. Salazar says that the bird’s population has fallen 90% over the past 100 years. There’s about 160 million acres of habitat left. And while that may sound like a lot, it’s about half of what it once was.
Thanks to efforts in states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, the numbers of sage-grouse have stabilized over the past decade. Oregon is an exception, numbers here fell 50% from 2003 to 2008. Salazar says the scientists tell him the, “long term prognosis is not good.” But Assistant Secretary Tom Stickland adds that for now, there’s enough birds and they’re still widely distributed. He says, “The immediate threat of extinction is relatively low.”
Here’s what happens next.
Interior will work with states, local governments and tribes to map out areas that are important to the bird’s survival. The Bureau of Land Management oversees about two-thirds of sage brush habitat. Salazar says BLM will expand its efforts to make sure energy development, recreational access and grazing are done in ways that minimize impacts on the sage-grouse, and to keep these projects away from core habitat. But the primary responsibility for protecting the bird will remain with the states.
Salazar didn’t directly answer a reporter’s question if today’s announcement is a “warning” to state and local governments, and developers that if they better work harder to protect sage-grouse – or else. What he did say is, “This gives us a window of several years to make sure we have the plans. The twin goals here are to make sure the sage-grouse is protected and doesn’t have to be put on the Endangered Species list, and it doesn’t go extinct.”
