Sage Grouse Listing Decision And The Themes Of The Day
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
Yesterday’s announcement of the listing decision for the Sage Grouse carried a variety of themes. I had the chance to listen in on the media teleconference where Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar made the announcement that this time around the bird was found to warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, but would be precluded from a full listing because of its risk ranking. This puts the bird on the candidate species list with on-going management and conservation efforts a priority for those who would like to keep the bird off the full list. Using the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service’s 1-12 ranking system, Sage Grouse drew an 8 however, another population of the species, located in the Mono Basin area (along the border between Nevada and California) was given a 3 ranking. This distinct population group’s rating means it will be even more critically in need of conservation attention.
One of the themes pointed out in Salazar’s announcement and carried through with the others who were on hand to participate (acting head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bob Abby, national director of the Bureau of Land Management) dealt with renewable energy development. It is very clear that the tightrope being walked pits the political correctness of the green energy zeal being pursued by the guy in the White House and his fellow true believers while at the same time trying to keep federally managed lands from being managed in a way that the Sage Grouse is put at further risk. While the actual science isn’t all the way researched out on the impact of renewable energy development, there is enough indications that getting where alternative energy folks want to go is not going to be an easy trek to make…tippy-toeing around and away from core Sage Grouse habitats.
This carefulness requirement triggered another theme of how “smart” development efforts were going to be, evaluating plans and avoiding the core areas so we’d be able to have our cake and eat it too. The core area idea seems to have become a new theme that has taken shape in the BLM approach to their land management work on Sage Grouse.
Having been involved with Nevada’s Sage Grouse Conservation since then Governor Kenny Guinn assembled a group of interested citizens in 2000, the idea for management that emerged from that working team was Population Management Units (PMU’s – since everything related to government stuff has to be considered as an acronym). These areas made up significant habitat areas that combined leks (where male birds strut during the breeding season to lure in interested females), nearby nesting areas as well as brood-rearing and young raising tracks of land. From this idea the next generation of management emphasis seems to be figuring out the specific places on the ground that are really, really important to keep in place and working – the core areas.
Those who consider the Sage Grouse at risk are primarily focused on habitat and controlling land management activities. The bird is a landscape species, meaning it covers a lot of ground and needs lots of adjoined habitat for its survival – a perfect combination for those who would like to control what happens (or more precisely, what doesn’t happen) on extremely large areas of land.
Taking a historical perspective, which those who want the world to look like it did before white settlers showed up and ruined everything, the sage brush community (Sage Grouse require sage brush to live since it not only makes up their home – it is also almost their complete diet) has shrunk by more than 50 percent. We’ve taken out sage brush to build roads, to build fields, to build cities and other human-required habitat things. There have also been natural issues like extremely large wildfires with total acres destroyed measured in 100,000 acre blocks. Other impacts by Mother Nature herself have included expansions of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands, invading huge tracts of land and taking over (and wiping out) sage brush areas. In some cases the sage brush areas have gotten old and over-matured and became less productive for Sage Grouse well-being.
All in all there are lots of things that need attention to protect the good stuff and enhance the quality of habitat where it needs to be better. The listing decision, to do what was decided, gives people the opportunity to continue and expand on the work that’s been going on over the past decade.
In all likelihood the decision will also have additional themes still to be played out, using the leverage as the next new thing to litigate about in order to force viewpoints forward in the never-ending mission of forcing us to become what others want our world to be all about. In the final analysis the Endangered Species Act isn’t about the animals, plants or other species in question – it is about gaining control of people’s lives and how they interact with their natural resources. That’s a theme that will continue to be the primary purpose for everything else that takes place from here on out…
Yesterday’s announcement of the listing decision for the Sage Grouse carried a variety of themes. I had the chance to listen in on the media teleconference where Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar made the announcement that this time around the bird was found to warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, but would be precluded from a full listing because of its risk ranking. This puts the bird on the candidate species list with on-going management and conservation efforts a priority for those who would like to keep the bird off the full list. Using the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service’s 1-12 ranking system, Sage Grouse drew an 8 however, another population of the species, located in the Mono Basin area (along the border between Nevada and California) was given a 3 ranking. This distinct population group’s rating means it will be even more critically in need of conservation attention.
One of the themes pointed out in Salazar’s announcement and carried through with the others who were on hand to participate (acting head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bob Abby, national director of the Bureau of Land Management) dealt with renewable energy development. It is very clear that the tightrope being walked pits the political correctness of the green energy zeal being pursued by the guy in the White House and his fellow true believers while at the same time trying to keep federally managed lands from being managed in a way that the Sage Grouse is put at further risk. While the actual science isn’t all the way researched out on the impact of renewable energy development, there is enough indications that getting where alternative energy folks want to go is not going to be an easy trek to make…tippy-toeing around and away from core Sage Grouse habitats.
This carefulness requirement triggered another theme of how “smart” development efforts were going to be, evaluating plans and avoiding the core areas so we’d be able to have our cake and eat it too. The core area idea seems to have become a new theme that has taken shape in the BLM approach to their land management work on Sage Grouse.
Having been involved with Nevada’s Sage Grouse Conservation since then Governor Kenny Guinn assembled a group of interested citizens in 2000, the idea for management that emerged from that working team was Population Management Units (PMU’s – since everything related to government stuff has to be considered as an acronym). These areas made up significant habitat areas that combined leks (where male birds strut during the breeding season to lure in interested females), nearby nesting areas as well as brood-rearing and young raising tracks of land. From this idea the next generation of management emphasis seems to be figuring out the specific places on the ground that are really, really important to keep in place and working – the core areas.
Those who consider the Sage Grouse at risk are primarily focused on habitat and controlling land management activities. The bird is a landscape species, meaning it covers a lot of ground and needs lots of adjoined habitat for its survival – a perfect combination for those who would like to control what happens (or more precisely, what doesn’t happen) on extremely large areas of land.
Taking a historical perspective, which those who want the world to look like it did before white settlers showed up and ruined everything, the sage brush community (Sage Grouse require sage brush to live since it not only makes up their home – it is also almost their complete diet) has shrunk by more than 50 percent. We’ve taken out sage brush to build roads, to build fields, to build cities and other human-required habitat things. There have also been natural issues like extremely large wildfires with total acres destroyed measured in 100,000 acre blocks. Other impacts by Mother Nature herself have included expansions of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands, invading huge tracts of land and taking over (and wiping out) sage brush areas. In some cases the sage brush areas have gotten old and over-matured and became less productive for Sage Grouse well-being.
All in all there are lots of things that need attention to protect the good stuff and enhance the quality of habitat where it needs to be better. The listing decision, to do what was decided, gives people the opportunity to continue and expand on the work that’s been going on over the past decade.
In all likelihood the decision will also have additional themes still to be played out, using the leverage as the next new thing to litigate about in order to force viewpoints forward in the never-ending mission of forcing us to become what others want our world to be all about. In the final analysis the Endangered Species Act isn’t about the animals, plants or other species in question – it is about gaining control of people’s lives and how they interact with their natural resources. That’s a theme that will continue to be the primary purpose for everything else that takes place from here on out…
Posted by Doug Busselman at 3/6/2010 4:21 AM 
Categories: Sage Grouse
Tags: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sage Grouse Nevada BLM Endangered Species Act
Categories: Sage Grouse
Tags: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sage Grouse Nevada BLM Endangered Species Act
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