Speaking from a ranch in Wyoming – where the largest population of grouse is located – Interior Secretary Sally Jewell pointed to “targeted protection” efforts. The plan would affect Colorado and nine other Western states, representing the largest conservation effort in the department’s history.
“It is the heart of the conservation effort that will redefine how we look at and oversee our landscape collectively for generations to come,” Jewell said.
The effort has strong Colorado roots, beginning in 2011 with then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former Colorado U.S. senator, who worked with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to develop a cooperative approach to conserve the flamboyant bird across the West.
In an effort to avoid an endangered listing – which could extend restrictions to 165 million acres of public land across 11 states – Hickenlooper recently issued an executive order directing state agencies to take conservation measures.
“We continue to believe state-led efforts are the best approach to protecting the greater sage-grouse. The federal agencies rely heavily on regulatory mandates, but Colorado has found that incentive-based approaches in combination with regulation are the most effective,” Hickenlooper said in a statement, adding that his office is reviewing the lengthy plan.
Much of the chicken-sized bird’s habitat is on federal land. Officials must still decide by Sept. 30 whether to offer an endangered listing to the bird, though observers believe the announcement Thursday deflates that notion.
The birds rely on sagebrush leaves for their diet. But development on grouse habitat, including gas and oil exploration, has limited their territory, making it difficult for the birds to mate and nest. At one time, the greater sage-grouse population likely numbered in the millions but is estimated to have dwindled to 200,000 to 500,000 birds range-wide. Colorado represents about 4 percent of the grouse population, which is in the northwestern part of the state and considered a priority for conservation.
The federal plan announced Thursday now heads into a 60-day review and 30-day protest period. It has three key elements, including a strategy to fight range wildfires, which also threatens the bird’s habitat, as well as conservation orders and actions on federal, state and private lands.
The plan for Colorado seeks to limit or eliminate new surface disturbances on priority areas where additional loss of habitat would reduce populations. It also would minimize disturbance on less important habitat areas.
Some of the focus now turns to Congress, where several lawmakers have announced plans to delay actions by the federal government on grouse protection, including Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Yuma.
“The federal plans are a top-down approach that ignores the work states have already done,” Gardner said in a statement. “These federal plans would have major negative economic impacts on states, communities and jobs.”
Interior officials say their plan honors existing property and mineral rights, including those for energy development. They add that the vast majority of grouse habitat is on land that is not attractive for development.
Conservationists and sportsmen are optimistic.
“We get it: Conserving these important landscapes promotes healthy habitats that support huntable wildlife and Colorado’s vibrant outdoor-reliant economy,” said Dan Parkinson, regional director for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
But oil and gas interests are worried about the plan.
“That (conservation) goal is best achieved at the state level, not with a one-size-fits-all federal approach,” said Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at Western Energy Alliance. “Western Energy Alliance will protest all land-use plan amendments that fail to conform with state plans and will continue to support actions by Congress to delay these land-use plans and a final listing decision.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com