Walden cheers, senators slam BLM’s sage grouse moves

(Update: Adding Walden, senators statements)

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Interior Department said Thursday it is withdrawing protections for 10 million acres of federal lands used by the threatened sage grouse to open it up for potential energy development.
 
The plan would allow mining and other development in areas where it now is prohibited in six Western states: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
 
The Bureau of Land Management, an Interior agency, said a recent analysis showed that mining would not pose a significant threat to sage grouse habitat. The proposal would affect less than one-tenth of 1 percent of sage-grouse-occupied range across 11 states from California to the Dakotas.
 
The change comes as the Trump administration moves to reconsider an Obama-era plan to protect the ground-dwelling sage grouse, which has suffered dramatic population decline in recent decades.

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Rep. Greg Walden news release:

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) today released the following statement applauding the reopening of the comment period for sage grouse plans in Oregon:

“I am pleased that Secretary Zinke has reopened the comment period for sage grouse plans in Oregon and across the West. Oregon’s ranchers and landowners have done great cooperative work to improve sage grouse habitat, and this is a chance for their firsthand knowledge to be incorporated into the planning process.

“Lifting the overreaching sage grouse mineral withdrawal is also welcome news in Lake County, where I’ve heard strong concerns about how the withdrawal would impact sunstone tourism in the area. The BLM’s decision is a step in the right direction towards working with our rural communities in these planning processes, rather than just burdening them with rules from Washington, D.C. I am confident Secretary Zinke will use their input as he develops a better path forward for Oregon and the West.”

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Sen. Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley release:

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley slammed a decision by the Interior Department to cancel parts of federal sage grouse plans created by local communities to prevent an Endangered Species Act listing of the Greater Sage-grouse.

This week, the administration officially withdrew its application to prevent surface mining on areas with habitat of critical importance to the Greater Sage-grouse. The withdrawal upends years of local collaboration between farmers, ranchers, and state, local and federal officials to establish local land management plans to keep the sage grouse off the endangered species list.

“Secretary Zinke’s ill-conceived scheme endangers the livelihoods of local communities that rely on the multiple uses of public lands and blatantly ignores the sound science the Bureau of Land Management used to create the sage grouse plans. Throwing these plans in the trash can undoes years of successful collaboration between local residents and will almost certainly lead to a listing of the sage grouse, locking up federal lands for years to come,” Wyden said. “This is a clear signal from the Secretary of the Interior just how willing he is to put mining companies above the needs and wishes of Oregonians, westerners, and the farmers and ranchers he claims to support. I will keep working with the Oregon communities who rely on access to public lands to fight this spiteful effort to endanger their livelihoods.”

“This decision is an affront to the Oregon ranchers and farmers who have worked collaboratively for years to avoid a sage grouse listing,” said Merkley. “There is no excuse for throwing out their extensive work–and endangering family farms and ranches in the process–just to pad the profits of mining companies.”

Farmers, ranchers, environmentalists, and industry stakeholders spent years developing the current federal sage grouse habitat management plans to prevent an Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of the Greater Sage-grouse. Opening up this land to oil and gas development will almost certainly lead to an ESA listing of this species. A listing would do irrevocable harm to ranchers, conservationists, sportsmen and industry stakeholders in Oregon and the West by creating both uncertainty and potential regulatory actions over the management of local public lands.

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BLM news releases:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Based on a recent analysis and review of data available that showed that future mining is not a significant threat to sage grouse habitat, the Bureau of Land Management has canceled its Sagebrush Focal Area withdrawal application and the Department’s proposed withdrawal of 10 million acres of federal lands from location and entry under the mining law in Greater Sage-grouse habitat in six Western States. The BLM also terminated the associated environmental analysis process. The notice of cancellation can be found on the BLM website here: https://on.doi.gov/2hOpRxn.

The BLM determined the proposal to withdraw 10 million acres was unreasonable in light of the data that showed that mining affected less than .1 percent of sage-grouse-occupied range.
“The proposal to withdraw 10 million acres to prevent 10,000 from potential mineral development was a complete overreach,” said Acting BLM Director Mike Nedd. “Secretary Zinke has said from the beginning that by working closely with the states, who are on the front lines and a valued partner in protecting the health of these lands, we can be successful in conserving greater sage grouse habitat without stifling economic development and job growth. And that’s what we intend to do–protect important habitat while also being a good neighbor to states and local communities.”

The recommendation to withdraw nearly 10 million acres from location and entry under the mining law was one of many land use restrictions proposed for a new management area designated as the Sagebrush Focal Area (SFA). However, that recommendation was unreasonable in light of the data available. In particular, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2005 “Not Warranted” decision, the 2010 “Warranted But Precluded” Decision and the 2015 “Not Warranted” decision all showed that mining–including locatable mining–was not a significant threat to sage-grouse.

The lands will continue to be managed in accordance with existing plans, programs, policies and regulations in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. They had been temporarily segregated, or closed to new mining claims for 2 years when the Department originally proposed the lands for withdrawal in 2015, while the agency studied whether locatable mineral exploration and mining projects would adversely affect habitat important to the greater sage grouse. That temporary segregation period expired September 24, 2017.

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Federal Register to publish notice soon

WASHINGTON — Given a finding by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that the Bureau of Land Management’s designation of Sagebrush Focal Areas in its 2015 greater sage-grouse plan amendment for Nevada was illegal, the Bureau today offered the public an opportunity to comment and share issues for its consideration as it explores potential amendments to greater sage-grouse land use plans, to help improve sage-grouse conservation, and to strengthen communication and collaboration between states and the federal government. The plans, which were adopted in 2014 and 2015, provide guidance and direction about the management of public lands in 10 Western states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Montana.

“The BLM is committed to being a good neighbor and cooperating with its partners at all levels of government, including states, as well as tribal leaders, industry and conservation groups, ranchers, and other stakeholders throughout the amendment process,” said BLM Acting Director Mike Nedd. “During this process, we are particularly interested in hearing from the many governors whose states put hard work and time into collaborative efforts to develop the existing plans. We welcome their input.”

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada ruled in March 2017 that the BLM failed to adequately evaluate the designation of Sagebrush Focal Areas in its 2015 greater sage-grouse plan amendment for Nevada. In order to comply with the court’s order and to address issues raised by various interested parties, and to consider recommendations in the August 4, 2017 report prepared by the Department of the Interior’s Greater Sage-Grouse Review Team in Response to Secretary’s Order 3353 (SO 3353), the BLM intends to consider amending these plans.

The BLM will soon publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to announce the beginning of a scoping process to solicit public comments on greater sage-grouse land management issues that could warrant land use plan amendments. The BLM also wants to receive input on whether that planning effort should occur through state-by-state amendment processes, and in particular looks forward to receiving comments from the Governors of each state. The notice has been sent to the Federal Register and is awaiting publication. Publication of the notice initiates a process that could eventually result in some changes, significant changes or no changes at all. The notice can be read on the BLM website: https://on.doi.gov/2fNuFPt.

“The federal agencies and states involved in developing the Report in Response to Secretarial Order 3353 remain committed to an approach that balances durable, long-term conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse without adversely affecting economic development in local communities across the West,” added Nedd.”

The Notice of Intent is posted on the BLM website here and is awaiting publication. The public can provide comments for 45 days from the date the notice appears in the Federal Register using this webpage: http://bit.ly/GRSGplanning. The BLM will announce any public meetings it plans to hold through local media in each state.