Reno Gazete Journal Mar 6 2010

Sage grouse don't get federal protection

Working more closely with federal land managers, Nevada will continue efforts to protect its sage grouse population following Friday's announcement by the U.S. Department of Interior that it won't list the bird as an endangered or threatened species.

The government concluded that listing the chicken-sized brown bird as threatened or endangered is warranted but precluded by higher priorities "' other species considered in greater danger. The decision opens the way for continued development of energy across the West, including often-touted renewable energy opportunities in Nevada.

Also Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a subspecies of grouse found in Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Mineral counties and nearby areas qualifies as a "distinct population" that could be eligible for federal protection ahead of the broader sage grouse population.

Ken Mayer, director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said that while the government determined listing will not occur yet, its findings also show "the bird is in trouble across its range."

"This may be the wake up call that is needed to put the measures in place that are needed to keep the bird from being listed," Mayer said.

The federal Bureau of Land Management, which owns most of the bird's habitat in Nevada, should now play a greater role in helping enhance grouse habitat, said Chris Healy, NDOW spokesman.

"That's good news for us," Healy said. "That can make our efforts work or at least have more of a chance. We can't do it without increased commitment from BLM."

For nearly a decade NDOW has worked to carefully chart where sage grouse are found and in what numbers, information that will aid in future conservation efforts, Healy said.

Friday's decision will allow continued hunting of sage grouse on a limited basis where bird populations are healthy, Healy said.

Bob Abbey, BLM's director and the bureau's former Nevada chief, said he will make "doing the right thing on the ground" a top priority. BLM will expand the use of new science and mapping technologies to improve land-use planning and develop additional measures to conserve sage-grouse habitat, Abbey said.

"I'm confident we're up to this challenge," he said.

Sage grouse have experienced a 90 percent decline in their numbers and a 50 percent decline in their sagebrush habitat from a century ago, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

In Nevada, the birds are challenged by an invasive species, cheatgrass, which is prone to frequent wildfires that burn up native sagebrush. But the bird populations have been relatively stable over the last decade thanks to efforts by states, Salazar said.

"Frankly, it is the states in the Western part of the United States that have developed the right kind of strategies to confront this challenge," Salazar said.

Sage grouse inhabit large portions of Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Idaho, and smaller areas of Colorado, Utah, California, Washington, South Dakota, North Dakota and western Canada.

Some environmentalists were critical of the Interior Department's decision.

The finding shows the government is willing to protect sage grouse but not willing to do what's necessary, said Jon Marvel, executive director of the Hailey, Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project.

"None of the actions proposed to date are mandatory, and that undermines the commitment for improving conditions for sage grouse," Marvel said.

Friday's announcement results from a lawsuit that Western Watersheds filed in 2006. A federal judge in Boise, Idaho, ruled the following year that political pressure tainted an earlier decision not to list the sage grouse. The finding effectively ends the group's lawsuit, Marvel said.