BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007 12:00 am
In calling for this week's Sage Grouse Summit in Casper, Governor Dave Freudenthal said the consequences of ignoring sage grouse issues would be "dire for both the bird and all interested parties," including the agriculture and oil and gas industries.
"We have a narrow window of opportunity to protect the grouse and prevent it from being listed as an endangered species," Freudenthal said.
Yet the only conservation organization invited to participate in the summit is one that resists an Endangered Species Act listing for the embattled bird n the National Wildlife Federation. In addition to state and federal officials, the summit features three representatives of the energy industry, one rancher, a former wildlife agency executive and members of the state's eight sage grouse working groups.
The conference will take place Wednesday and Thursday at the Krampert Theatre at Casper College.
The summit coincides with ongoing efforts in federal court in Idaho to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend Endangered Species Act protection to the grouse, an action that could cripple energy development in Wyoming and the West.
Sage grouse occupy about 44 percent of their native habitat in the 11-state region of the West where they were originally found.
The grouse, which require enormous amounts of land to thrive, are found largely in areas that coincide with booming energy development.
Some seasonal restrictions on drilling are already imposed to help protect the bird during mating season.
"My hope is we can formulate a more unified plan that will balance protection with reasonable energy exploration, grazing and other activities that have and will continue to take place in sage grouse habitat," said Freudenthal, who will be joined at the meeting by Wyoming Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Bennett and Assistant Secretary of the Interior C. Stephen Allred.
BLM Director Bennett said the governor is on the right track - bringing together a broad spectrum of people and interests together, to focus on how to avoid having the sage-grouse come under protection of the Endangered Species Act."I'm hoping people will bring good ideas and share them," he said, and that some sort of consensus can be reached by summit participants.
In a previous interview, Rick Robitaille of Anadarko Petroleum said he welcomes an opportunity to discuss ways to protect the bird while meeting the nation's energy needs.
Mark Salvo, director of the Sagebrush Sea Campaign, said this concept of "balance" might not be possible, given the realities of habitat.
"This is another conference to balance the many uses of public lands," he said, "when the science says we cannot manage for every use on every piece of federal land."
Salvo said this summit wouldn't even be held without the fear of an ESA listing, so why not talk to conservationists who believe it may ultimately be necessary to list the bird?
Erik Molvar, executive director of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, predicted that unless the energy industry starts doing things "significantly different" from how things are done now, an ESA listing for the sage grouse is inevitable.
"The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, over and over, and expect something different to happen," said Molvar. He noted that although Powder River Basin sage grouse studies have found that eight wells per square mile always leads to the elimination of sage grouse, the BLM has approved the same well-density for 2,000 coal-bed methane wells in the Atlantic Rim country n which also happens to be a sage grouse breeding ground.
The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance this past week challenged the BLM's decision to allow a drilling proposal to move forward.
Salvo, Molvar and Steve Torbit, a wildlife biologist with National Wildlife Federation, all agree that they have yet to see a meaningful industry initiative or a governmental regulation protects sage grouse habitat, and thus the birds themselves.
Torbit said the West got a "second chance" when the ESA listing for sage grouse was rejected a few years ago. "We may not get a third chance," he said, saying that everyone must sacrifice or see the bird listed under the ESA.
Frustrated by the lack of action over the years, Torbit said he's optimistic that this summit might be the catalyst for real change.
Wednesday, Freudenthal and Bennett will open the conference at 1 p.m. with remarks and a question and answer session. Later that day, speakers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will discuss the biological outlook for the bird. Allred, who oversees land and minerals management agencies at Interior, will close the first day's session.
Thursday, the conference will focus on laying the groundwork for action in Wyoming's Powder River Basin and elsewhere in the state. Bob Budd, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, will open the morning session at 9 a.m. with a discussion on opportunities and challenges for landowners. Later, industry representatives (Thunder Basin Coal, British Petroleum and Williams Energy) will speak on potential outcomes and industry best management practices.
Landowners, wildlife groups and the eight Sage Grouse Working Groups will also comment on their views of the state of sage grouse conservation.
Freudenthal and Allred will offer capstone remarks and host a question and answer session to close the conference.