It’s going to take a village to determine and implement best management practices to protect sage grouse residing in Wyoming’s resource production basins, and the stakes are high for the energy industry as well as the bird. This was the theme of discussion at Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s Sage Grouse Summit held late last month in Casper.

To the casual observer, convening a high-level meeting over a chicken-like bird with peacock aspirations that inhabits the sagebrush landscape of the West may seem like overkill. But “the seriousness of the summit reflects the risks that confront Wyoming and other western states if we do not continue to work to sustain the population of the sage grouse and avoid its being listed as an endangered species,” said Freudenthal.

So far, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has refrained from adding the bird to the endangered species list, but that could change. Rather than let the very rigorous federal endangered species rules take over, Freudenthal convened the summit to develop a consensus plan that would balance the environmental interests with those of industries that compete for use of the land. Listing the sage grouse as an endangered species also would put an end to hunting of the popular game bird.

Freudenthal said he was encouraged by the participation of federal agencies in the summit, which was attended by about 150 representatives of government, the oil, gas, coal and agriculture industries, environmental groups and sportsmen.

Bob Bennett, director of the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM), endorsed the cooperative approach, pointing out that “if the sage grouse were to be listed as a threatened or endangered species, a host of land uses would face restrictions that would affect the economies of Wyoming, Montana and other western states. The impact would be far greater than that experienced in the Pacific Northwest with the spotted owl, primarily because of our limited economic diversity and the limited ability we have to shift our economy.”

Bennett called for a strong commitment from all federal and state government representatives, from environmental groups and from industry to find a common ground on the issue of preservation of the sage grouse. Efforts should be directed toward a better understanding of “the scientific baseline information on sage grouse populations and their habitat,” along with “a realistic assessment” of the current status. “We need to begin thinking outside the box in joint partnership to build ideas and avoid a listing of the sage grouse.”

No one group can go it alone given the “checkerboard pattern of federal, state and private land ownership” in the western states, Bennett said. “In the Powder River Basin, for example, BLM-managed lands comprise only 11% of the surface land ownership and 64% of the mineral estate.”

Continuing the cooperative theme, Dave Brown of BP America said, “Industry needs to start communicating among ourselves when we are applying practices that are beneficial to sage grouse because we are all in this together.” Brown spoke on behalf of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW), which has compiled a list of recommended management practices for operations in sage grouse territory. The recommended practices will soon be posted on the group’s website at https://www.pawyo.org/best_management_practices.html.

Brown told NGI that while there are companies working aggressively on the environmental front, there still are some Wyoming producers who “are not aware of what’s at risk” with the sage grouse issue and the consequences if it is listed as an endangered species. The message has “got to be communicated to all companies, even if it means we have to work through different [industry] associations to get this accomplished.”

Brown stressed that Wyoming gas producers “need to get progress on the ground with practices and projects and to start applying what we’ve been studying and putting together the past few years in order to protect the grouse.” Best practices “can and probably will” evolve as companies find out what works for them in terms of conserving sage grouse populations.

Pam Dewell of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Wyoming told NGI that TNC is working with BP America to assess the biological assets of the Jonah Field and devise protocol for the selection of “good projects that would mitigate the disturbance created by Jonah.” Brown said TNC’s science and methodology “brings a lot of value and expertise” to choosing the best sites for offsite mitigation and he characterized the conservation organization as “results oriented.”

Bruce Hinchey, PAW president, said the process is building and he expects there will be more meetings of government and industry representatives aimed at working out an agreement on good management practices. Prior to the governor’s summit PAW held a meeting with various government and industry representatives last April. “There has been a good response from all involved to work together on this.”

Meanwhile, oral arguments begin July 9 in the Ninth Circuit Court in Idaho on a challenge to the Fish & Wildlife Service’s refusal in 2005 to list the sage grouse as an endangered species.

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