Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Sage grouse

BREAKING: Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management to update land-use plans with sage grouse protections

WASHINGTON—The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service will update their land-use plans, which outline areas open to development and those that should be protected, to include conservation measures for imperiled sage grouse, the Interior Department announced today.

The federal agencies plan to take a comprehensive approach in responding to the multiple threats to the sage grouse across the western U.S., looking for ways to conserve the species and coordinate habitat conservation across large swaths of land spanning both agencies’ boundaries.

RELATED: Read more about this announcement on Defenders’ experts blog, dotWild.

The greater sage grouse has disappeared from almost half of its former range, and the population has declined by more than half since the late 1960s. Habitat loss is the main threat to the sage grouse’s survival, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Conserving the sage grouse and the habitat it depends on is of critical importance to the western way of life. – Peter Nelson

Defenders of Wildlife is encouraged by the Obama administration’s broad scale approach to sage grouse conservation, says Defenders’ federal lands program director Peter Nelson, and will work with the agencies, states and other stakeholders to ensure that it results in a science-based, comprehensive plan to protect the species from extinction.

“Conserving the sage grouse and the habitat it depends on is of critical importance to the western way of life,” he says. “We’re encouraged by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service’s plan to put in place essential protections for sage grouse and to coordinate their conservation measures across the region. We’re counting on the Obama administration to put forward a smart, scientifically-sound and coordinated strategy for conserving the species and its habitat – one that allows for responsible land use and development while protecting wildlife and public lands for future generations of Americans.”

DESERT TORTOISE, (C) Jeff Aardahl/Defenders of Wildlife

NEWS: Conservation groups urge Interior Department to move the Calico Solar Project to less sensitive lands

A coalition of conservation groups made a last-ditch appeal to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today, urging the Bureau of Land Management to move the Calico Solar Project from vital desert habitat to degraded lands that could produce the same amount of energy, but pose less risk to imperiled wildlife and the environment.

Kim Delfino, Defenders' California program director.

“The conservation community wants to see clean energy projects succeed, but development has to be done smart from the start, where projects are designed up front to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on wildlife and the environment. The Calico Solar Project is a glaring example of the wrong way to pursue solar energy projects,” said Kim Delfino, California Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife.

“The harm to imperiled wildlife, plants and fragile desert habitat caused by this project if it is built in this location seriously outweighs any benefits. And while we’ve worked successfully with a number of large-scale solar project developers to reduce their project’s impacts on the environment and supported other projects with no changes, the impacts of this project are too great in its present location. As we have done successfully with other solar developers, we hope we can find a way to modify this project to reduce its impacts and permit it to proceed.”

Related: Read Defenders’ fact sheet explaining why Calico is an example of solar development done wrong.

The groups have notified the Interior Department of their intention to file a lawsuit against BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approving the 4,613-acre solar power facility, which will impact seven imperiled species in the fragile Mojave Desert landscape, including desert tortoise, burrowing owls and bighorn sheep.

The Calico Solar Project is a glaring example of the wrong way to pursue solar energy projects. – Kim Delfino

But the groups hope to work out an agreement with the project’s developer, K-Road Power, and BLM outside the courts if the developer is willing to move the project to less sensitive lands. The groups have pointed out that the project could work well on mostly private lands — including some degraded agricultural lands and former industrial sites, called brownfields, that are close to the current site, but outside of the sensitive Pisgah Valley.

The Calico project will use solar dishes like thisone and solar panels to capture sunlight and create electricity. (C) NERL

The California Energy Commission found that these alternative sites would be a good option for the project and would likely result in fewer impacts on wildlife and the environment. But BLM and the project developer at the time, Tessera Solar, rejected these locations.

Together, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have worked out agreements with developers to resolve concerns over four projects on public lands, resulting in the permitting of some 2,595 megawatts — nearly 90 percent of the solar energy to be built on BLM lands in California. Despite the groups’ strong track record of working with developers to reduce impacts on wildlife and natural resources, K-Road Power has been unwilling to consider a less environmentally damaging alternative.

“The area where the Calico project is currently planned is simply not appropriate for renewable energy development,” said Barb Boyle, Senior Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.  “If built in this location, the Calico project will unnecessarily sacrifice important and irreplaceable wildlife, plants and habitat.  Especially when there are ample disturbed and/or degraded sites throughout California that are appropriate for renewable energy development, selecting this specific land for the project has created a preventable conflict between the project’s developers and Californians who want to preserve our state’s native wildlife and landscapes.  There is still time to get this right and we hope to work with K-Road Power to find an alternative location that has far fewer impacts on wildlife and desert ecosystems.”

Related: Read our letter to Interior Secretary Salazar.

Grizzly bears are just one species that could be impacted by the so-called riders.

The vitality of America’s wild landscapes, such as those found in the majestic 20-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, depends on budgets passed by Congress.

But the U.S. House of Representatives’ funding proposal contains dozens of non-spending related, anti-environmental policy provisions that could bankrupt citizens of their right to weigh in on decisions that affect public lands and wildlife.

Two of these so-called “riders” aim to make it difficult for concerned citizens and member-based conservation groups, like Defenders, to be involved in critical public lands decisions that affect wildlife and wild lands.

These riders would severely limit the public’s ability to have a say on how national forest lands, which belong to the American people, are managed.

One provision (in section 118) impacts Bureau of Land Management lands — some 253 million acres throughout the West, including millions in the Greater Yellowstone area such as the Bighorn Basin. It would require the public to engage in time consuming bureaucratic reviews before having the opportunity to get a fair court hearing on environmentally damaging actions.

Public lands offer world-class mountain biking.

The legislation would let the BLM move forward with harmful oil and gas drilling in places such as the Bighorn Basin without the benefit of reasonable pubic and judicial oversight.

The other (in section 437) targets the National Forest System — 193 million acres in 155 forests across the country, including seven national forests within the Greater Yellowstone region. This provision would block the public from legally challenging potentially harmful Forest Service activities such as logging and road-building. And instead of having 45 days to object to a final decision on a harmful project, the public would be forced to protest prior to a final decision. But even then the agency would have the power to ignore public concerns and exempt some projects from any appeal.

These riders would severely limit the public’s ability to have a say on how national forest lands, which belong to the American people, are managed. In a Democracy, it is critical that the public be allowed to participate in decision-making regarding the future of public lands.

Do these proposals blocking the people from having a say in the management of their own public lands sound American to you?

Contact your Representative today and tell them to put people ahead of special interests — vote against this bad bill!

Two drilling projects in Wyoming threaten imperiled sage grouse and lands proposed for wilderness protection.

There’s something rotten in Wyoming: the federal Bureau of Land Management is giving oil and gas interests the green light to drill in imperiled sage grouse habitat and on lands that local residents want protected as Wilderness.

What’s worse is that the BLM acknowledged in 2002 that these public lands, bordering the Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area, were themselves worthy of a Wilderness designation, the highest level of protection for public lands.

But now that Samson Resources, an oil company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is eying the area for exploratory drilling, the BLM has suddenly flipped its position, finding that industrial oil and gas development would have “no significant impact” on the Adobe Town region.

We’re not buying it.

The breakneck buildup of oil and gas drilling on western public lands over the past decade has hit the sage grouse hard. Oil and gas wells have tripled in sage grouse habitat in the last 20 years and development pressure from dirty energy continues, despite the fact that the oil and gas industry is sitting on 6,500 gas drilling permits in the West – with more than half in Wyoming.

Oil infrastructure, like this crisscrossing the Beartooth Absaroka Front in Wyoming, can devastate sage grouse habitat.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that sage grouse – gone from nearly half their former range – warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but would have to take a backseat to other priorities.

If more drilling is approved in sage grouse habitat, however, these ground-dwelling birds may find roost on the top of the list. The Fish and Wildlife Service flags oil and gas development as particularly harmful to these funky fowl. In addition to the well pads, roads, pipelines, power lines and an increased human presence can cause populations to decline.

The new sage grouse breeding areas, or leks, were found just prior to approving the project. The discovery should have triggered BLM to postpone and conduct a thorough environmental study of how the project would affect sage grouse and the environment. But BLM has continued to press forward.

Defenders Takes Action

On Thursday, Defenders joined a team of local and national conservation groups in suing the BLM to block the wells.

“Sage grouse are already threatened with extinction, and we are very concerned that this kind of industrial development will have devastating effects on the local population,” said Pete Nelson, Defenders federal lands program director. “Given the fragile condition of sage grouse in Wyoming and throughout its range, protecting special places like Adobe Town is the key to sustaining the iconic species in throughout the West.”

Meanwhile, BLM has recently announced a plan for new sage grouse protections. The majority of remaining sage grouse populations relies on sagebrush habitat on BLM lands — the same lands being targeted by oil and gas developers.

Lynx could be impacted by undoing oil and gas reforms.

Public lands throughout the country, including more than 245 million acres overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, are some of the last best habitats for wildlife like sage grouse, lynx and more. But some of these special places could soon be the target of a renewed push for oil and gas drilling.

Although wildlife must compete with the habitat degrading activities that traditionally occur on these lands — like mining, grazing and wildfire suppression — we have been very successful at making sure that healthy, intact forests and grasslands on public lands still offer wildlife a safe place to live.

Throughout the West, however, oil and gas drilling stands out as one of the biggest threats to wildlife and wild places. Drilling operations can consume thousands of acres of healthy habitat. Fortunately, the Obama administration has put in place leasing reforms that take into account just how important these lands are for thousands of species. The improved oil and gas leasing process now ensures the conservation of key wildlife and habitat, encourages public input and participation, and reduces conflict among stakeholders.

And while current onshore drilling levels have reached a 20-year high, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming has introduced a bill that would reinstate the previous “Wild West” system of oil and gas leasing, which mostly ignored impacts on wildlife.

However, Congress is trying to turn back the clock and undo these commonsense reforms despite the risks and dire impacts of drilling in sensitive places. And while current onshore drilling levels have reached a 20-year high, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming has introduced a bill that would reinstate the previous “Wild West” system of oil and gas leasing, which mostly ignored impacts on wildlife.

The sage grouse is another species that could be put at risk.

What’s worse is that Big Oil is pushing for this bad bill to be tacked onto legislation aimed at improving drilling safety in the wake of BP’s devastating Gulf oil geyser last year.

Don’t let this rollback sneak past, contact your senators today and ask them to vote NO on S. 1027 and vote NO on any amendment to S. 917 (the “spill bill”) that reverses the great progress made by Obama’s oil and gas leasing reforms.

Take Action: Visit Defenders’ Action Center to learn how to get involved.

By Lori Abbott, Public News Service – CA

BLM says it will steer utility-scale solar power plants to public lands with least chance of harming wildlife.

A plan to create solar-energy zones in California and five other western states is getting a closer look.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management’s draft plans will include more information on how solar projects will affect wild lands, wildlife, water and other resources in proposed solar-energy zones.

Kim Delfino, program director for Defenders of Wildlife in California, thinks the “zone” approach offers the best chance for responsibly developing solar energy on public lands, and the goal is to encourage it as soon as possible.

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Listen to this story featuring Calif. program director, Kim Delfino, on Public News Service radio.

“In the right locations, which means that we’re putting them where you’re not going to have significant impacts on wildlife, habitat areas, important natural resources and cultural areas.”

When it comes to developing renewable-energy projects on public lands, Delfino says, using what they call a “smart from the start” approach will allow the process to move much faster.

Kim Delfino, Defenders' California program director.

“If you figure out ahead of time where the best, most low-cost places are to go and you have a consensus about that, when projects are proposed there, they can move forward quickly, efficiently and with minimal litigation – or no litigation is the goal.”

The federal government last week announced four new renewable-energy projects, which include two utility-scale solar developments and a transmission line in California as well as a wind-energy project in Oregon. Together, the four projects will provide a combined 550 megawatts of electricity, enough to power up to 380,000 homes and generate several million dollars of yearly tax revenue for local governments.