Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Will Lutz, Senior Director of Communications 

It may be small in stature, but the dunes sagebrush lizard could have a big say in how this country protects endangered species. That’s because this little lizard finds itself at the epicenter of a key fight over how to best to enlist states and private parties as partners in species conservation.

It all comes down to one question: how can you say a creature will be protected if you don’t know what measures will be taken to protect it?

Dune sagebrush lizard (©Mark L. Watson)

You see, in late 2010, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concluded that the dunes sagebrush lizard warranted listing as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since the lizard makes its home in oil-rich counties in Texas and neighboring New Mexico, locals immediately feared that listing the lizard would interfere with drilling operations. So these two states quickly started talking to stakeholders with an eye toward finding ways to avoid listing the lizard. Texas, for example, helped craft what’s known as a “candidate conservation agreement with assurances” (CCAA) that would enlist landowners in conservation efforts and possibly preclude the need to formally list the lizard. And when they were done, they basically said, “we got this covered, no need to list the lizard.”

Problem is, Texas won’t share any details from those landowner agreements so FWS doesn’t know exactly how they intend to protect the lizard. FWS won’t even be allowed to monitor the lizard’s progress. But it gets even weirder. Even after having the door shut in their face, FWS said, “Ok, that’s good enough for us,” and declared the lizard didn’t to be listed as endangered after all.

Huh? Texas won’t tell you how the lizard will be protected and yet you turn around and say Texas’ protections are enough? Seemed strange to us too, so Defenders dug deeper.

In a March report [PDF], Defenders describes in painstaking detail the serious problems with the FWS relying on the Texas agreement to support its decision. We also recommend eight specific improvements to ESA policy to address these and other problems, so they are not repeated in future listing decisions for candidate species. Some of these improvements can be implemented before FWS decides whether to list a candidate species, while others can be done as part of the actual listing decision for maximum flexibility. Defenders has also turned to the courts for help in holding FWS accountable for this disastrous decision, filing an early-March notice of our intent to sue if FWS’ decision stands.

Agreements between states and private landowners can be extremely valuable when it comes to protecting at-risk species, but what the FWS has agreed to here just doesn’t fit the bill. And with listing decisions for several high-profile species around the corner, the fate of the little dunes sagebrush lizard could well determine the fate of many others critters on the brink.

Building solar “smart from the start” just makes sense

The U.S. Department of the Interior finalized new plans for solar energy development on public lands in the west on Tuesday after a prolonged joint effort among stakeholders and government officials to create environmentally responsible and economically beneficial renewable energy development guidelines.The large-scale plan, known as the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement or SPEIS, will now set the stage for the next generation of renewable energy development in the West. And it will do so in a way that protects wildlife and habitat.

Proponents of solar energy have long sought guidelines for responsible development that would protect the interests of vulnerable wildlife/wildlands while also providing economic incentives for continued growth. With the announcement of this plan, the Interior has clearly emphasized that kind of “smart from the start” mindset, making it clear that protecting the environment will need to be a strong factor in future endeavors involving solar energy in the western U.S.

Because the release of the statement is so fresh, analysis will soon begin on the part of numerous organizations involved, including Defenders, to assess its various components. Keeping a close eye on this ongoing project is a necessary element to ensure we continue to develop renewable energy “smart from the start.” For now, however, the Interior’s announced plans show that long-term changes are on the way that could impact the environmental footprint of solar energy development for the better.

To read more about the solar plan, click on http://www.defenders.org/press-release/interior-unveils-first-ever-national-solar-energy-plan-public-lands

Climate change will mean more frequent and intense droughts and forest fires. Photo courtesy USDA

Preserving and rebuilding natural defenses is one of the most cost-effective, practical and sustainable ways to protect American communities and natural resources from natural disasters, according to a new report released by Defenders of Wildlife. The new report demonstrates that by strengthening natural defenses like floodplains, wetlands, and forests — which help with erosion protection, flood control and water filtration, we can “harness nature” to help protect us from extreme events.

The report comes on the tail of a year of record-breaking natural disasters. No fewer than 14 weather disasters caused damages exceeding one billion dollars each in the United States in 2011, breaking the previous record of nine in 2008. Already, 2012 has seen unusually frequent and fierce weather patterns, such as the “weekend of 100 tornadoes.” With the recent announcement that the past 12 months were the warmest on record, more years like 2011 are undoubtedly to come.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, had this to say as she marked the report’s release:

“The weather changes occurring across the country are not like a bad storm that will eventually blow over. As climate change continues unabated, these events will intensify in years to come. Tornados, floods and wildfires can destroy entire communities and will continue to do so unless we take steps to prepare ourselves and protect our communities in a changing world. Fortunately, one of our best allies against increasingly devastating natural disasters is nature itself.

“Already, communities across the country are taking advantages of the defenses nature provides. In New York, they are protecting the watershed to maintain a safe drinking water supply. In Missouri, they are restoring wetlands to protect farms and communities from flooding. And these are just a few examples. Our report shows that viable and cost-effective solutions to climate-change risks can help America better prepare for the challenges ahead.”

Links: http://www.defenders.org/publications/harnessing-nature.pdf

Read more about Defenders’ work to help the country prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Alaska’s Chukchi sea is teeming with an incredible array of wildlife and is home to imperiled creatures such as polar bears, bowhead whales and spectacled eiders. Despite the importance and fragility of this region, the Obama administration agreed to let the Shell Oil Company drill there this summer. If a spill occurs in these waters, it could be far more difficult and costly to clean up than even the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Defenders’ staffers Lauren and Kaitlyn participated in the White House event organized by Alaska Wilderness League in cooperation with several other conservation groups including Sierra Club, 350.org, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Credo Action.

State, federal officials allow more than 400 wolves to be killed in first year of state management

WASHINGTON (April 30, 2012) – On May 5, 2011, Congress used a budget rider to remove the Northern Rockies wolf from the list of endangered species.  For the past year, Idaho and Montana have been in charge of managing wolves in their states. Idaho in particular has pursued very aggressive strategies, including allowing very liberal hunting and trapping seasons during which more than 375 wolves have been killed so far. Dozens more wolves have been killed in Idaho as a result of targeted removals in response to livestock losses and to artificially boost elk herds in select areas.

The following is a statement from Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife:

“For years, Idaho’s leaders repeatedly said that they would manage wolves responsibly. Idaho wildlife biologists even wrote a plan to maintain 518-732 wolves. But Idaho Governor Otter rescinded the biologists’ plan, and state officials indicate they have no plans to manage for more than 150 wolves. It seems when finally given the chance to manage their own wolves responsibly, Idaho has shown itself quite unwilling to do so.

“In the past year, state officials have pursued some of the exact same short-sighted, predator control strategies from the 1800s that put wolves on the endangered species list in the first place. They’re treating wolves like vermin instead of managing them like valuable native wildlife. That’s not how Idaho manages other species like black bears and mountain lions, and it’s not a responsible way to manage wolves either.

Idaho's hostility to wolves is more evident now than ever.

“Meanwhile, the federal government is sitting idly by as Idaho almost singlehandedly unravels one of our nation’s greatest wildlife conservation success stories. This is totally unheard of—never before has a species climbed its way back from near extinction only to be quickly decimated once again. Americans deserve a better return on their investment after helping to restore wolves in the Northern Rockies.

“The Obama administration and members of Congress who supported the wolf rider share the blame for stripping vital protections without adequate safeguards in place, and now it’s their job to hold Idaho accountable. The question is: How low will Idaho have to go before those responsible for the wolf’s premature delisting do something?”

The following is a statement from Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife:

“The concerns of Idahoans who care about wolves are being completed ignored by our state officials.  At last month’s Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting, wolf supporters outnumbered opponents more than three to one yet not one of our concerns about more than doubling the number of wolves that hunters and trappers can kill in the upcoming season were addressed.  The state pledged to manage wolves like they do other wildlife, but mountain lions and black bears are not managed this aggressively.  Idaho maintains approximately 3,000 mountain lions and 20,000 black bears and less than 600 wolves are left today.  We need a responsible wildlife management plan for Idaho before the population is decimated.”

Background:

Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies were officially delisted on May 5, 2011, as the result of a budget rider introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). The provision was the first in the 40-year history of the Endangered Species Act to strip federal protections for an individual species by legislative fiat.

Read more about wolves on Defenders blog

Learn more about what Defenders is doing to protect wolves in the Northern Rockies

See Idaho Fish and Game’s wolf hunting and trapping website

These days it isn’t often that you see Democrats and Republicans doing anything together, let alone raising a glass in celebration. But that’s exactly what happened last week as Defenders and other conservation groups gathered at a local Washington, DC watering hole to pay tribute lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for their role in last summer’s defeat of the “extinction rider.”

Rewind to last July. The House leadership had attached to the bill funding the Department of the Interior numerous anti-conservation riders — unpopular policy changes that get tacked onto funding bills. Among the host of bad riders on this bill was a particularly nasty one that would have blocked any and all new species from being added to the endangered species list. Oh, species could still come off, but no new listings could happen, a longstanding goal of Big Oil, Big Developers and other special interests.

Wildife champion Rep. Norm Dicks

Passage of this crazy rider seemed almost assured. Almost. Because our longtime champion Rep. Norm Dicks had other ideas. He came to Defenders and other conservation groups and said, “I think we can do this! I think we can get defeat this thing!” And thus followed a vigorous push to yank the rider when it came to the House floor, with Rep. Dicks working the channels in Congress while conservation groups lobbied individual members and activated the grassroots.

Now, Rep. Dicks fighting the good fight for conservation is nothing new. Nor is it unusual for conservation groups to rally against a bad bill. But this time we had help from the other side of the aisle. Because part of the push in Congress involved outreach to moderate Republicans that we knew took their environmental stewardship responsibilities seriously. And that outreach was successful because in the end, 37 Republicans broke from their own leadership to support an amendment killing the species listing rider. Conservation groups, pro-environment Democrats and moderate Republicans had teamed up to stop the extinction rider. And we won.

So to reward those friends on the Hill who had worked so hard on behalf of endangered species, Defenders on other conservation groups gathered and presented to four key members plaques commemorating their principled stand.

Rep. Mike Thompson

First was Rep. Dicks, our long-time champion, who was recognized for volunteering to lead the fight and teeing up the battle in Congress. Then came Rep Thompson who stepped up and was crucial in bringing along moderate and conservative Democrats and Rep. Fitzpatrick who courageously broke party ranks and brought 36 other Republicans with him. And last but not least was Rep. Hanabusa, who eagerly stepped into the fray, even though she was only a freshman.

GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick receives his award

These days, conservation successes in the House seem few and far between so it was nice to finally win one. And it was even nicer to be able to recognize with friends from both sides of the aisle as important to the effort because I think we can all agree that protecting our natural heritage for future generations shouldn’t be a partisan issue.