WASHINGTON, D.C. — A medium-sized brown bird with a white chest and large pointed tail feathers, the sage-grouse was the focus of years of conservation efforts before the USDA recently decided it was not necessary to put the bird on the list of federal Endangered Species.
The Farm Foundation hosted a forum to discuss recent conservation activity, focusing on the Endangered Species Act, or ESA. It offers protection to hundreds of animals – but can cause fear in landowners.
And once an animal is on the list, it is difficult to get it off of there, said David Willms, policy advisor to Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead.
About 10 years ago, the Wyoming government started working on conservation efforts for the sage-grouse. A few years after the effort began, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal, state and local government entities started working with farmers and ranchers on possible conservation efforts to save the sage-grouse before the population decreased to a point for it was placed on the Endangered Species list.
In September, the ESA announced the conservation efforts were successful and the bird would not be added to the list, said Michael Bean, principal deputy assistant secretary for Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Department of the Interior.
"We don’t have to choose between wildlife and economic development ... The Endangered Species Act is working," Willms said.
The sage-grouse cost Wyoming alone – through voluntary efforts – $1 billion, 5,500 jobs and a $56.3 million decrease in state and local revenue, Willms said. But if the bird had been added to the ESA list, it would have cost the state $5.4 billion annually, 24,000 jobs and $287 million a year in state and local revenue.
While it has benefited the sage-grouse and other animals, he said animals remain on the list long after they have reached the point they are no longer considered endangered. About 30 wolves were reintroduced to Wyoming in 1995-96. There are now more than 300 wolves in the state, well over recovery goals, but they remain on the list.
Grizzly bears have a population of more than 700 in the state, Willms said. "We should be able to tout the success," but the bear remains on the list. Avoiding extinction should not be the only objective. Getting the animal off the list should be a measure."
While animals remain on the list, their conservation efforts remain in place, making things difficult for farmers, ranchers and local governments.
Jason Weller, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, said the sage-grouse initiative was one of seven in the country focused on conservation efforts for specific species. To get farmers and ranchers involved, they were promised that if they followed the conservation guidelines, regardless of the outcome, they would not have to worry about the ESA listing for sage-grouse.
With the success of the sage-grouse and similar programs, the USDA is discussing creating guidelines for ecosystem development and maintenance, Weller said. "If we take it one species at a time, we’ll never get there," he said.
If the program is put in place, there is a possibility that farmers, ranchers and other private landowners involved in the conservation program would receive the same ESA protection for up to 80 species.
Alex Echols, of the Sand County Foundation, said the Department of Defense (DOD) is the second-largest landowner in the United States and some of the land it owns is vital for wildlife. Instead of the military being told they could not drive on certain sections of property because the lupine flower grew best in that area and the Karner blue butterfly needed the flower, the DOD worked with conservation efforts.
Echols’ organization is not just working with the DOD – private land, tribal lands and federal lands are important for conservation efforts. "We’re going to try to support each other in the conservation practices," he said.
