Western Watersheds Project (WWP) in turn announced Monday that it is suing the agency for not actually listing sage grouse.

Sage grouse will be placed on the FWS candidate list, meaning the species will not receive protection under the act for now. State fish and wildlife agencies will continue to be responsible for managing the birds.

The WWP lawsuit charges that the federal government violated the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The Obama administration rightfully concluded that the greater sage-grouse fully qualify for the protections of the Endangered Species Act,” said Jon Marvel, WWP executive director in a news release. “Unfortunately, the administration has violated the law in not listing the sage-grouse at the same time.”

The Sagebrush Sea Campaign petitioned Fish and Wildlife Service to list sage grouse several years ago. WWP and more than 20 other environmental groups joined the effort. WWP filed a lawsuit after the Bush administration determined in 2005 that listing the birds was not warranted. That lawsuit forced Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to do a species status review.

“The ever-growing effects of development of the sagebrush sea will doom sage-grouse without the mandatory protection provided by listing the species under the protections of the Endangered Species Act,” said Laird Lucas, executive director of Advocates for the West, the Boise-based legal advocacy firm representing WWP in the lawsuit.

“The only way sage-grouse will survive is if large areas of the sagebrush sea are left undeveloped and chronic disturbances like livestock grazing are removed from those areas,” said Katie Fite, biodiversity director for WWP. “This sad delay will make it much more difficult to effectively conserve this magnificent bird.”

Status

The Fish and Wildlife Service has assigned the greater sage grouse a candidate priority of eight on a scale of 1-12, with one being the highest. The agency says the population as a whole remains large enough and is

distributed across such a large portion of the western U.S. that the immediate risk of extinction is low.

The agency gives higher priority to species that face a greater, more immediate threat of extinction due to isolation and other factors.

It’s difficult to determine the total population of sage grouse across an 11-state area that includes Idaho and two Canadian provinces, FWS says. WWP cites studies estimating the birds have declined 69-99 percent from historic levels. FWS estimates a 45-80 percent drop.

The latest data show numerous threats to sage grouse and habitat that FWS says were not well understood in the past.

Threats include loss and fragmentation of sagebrush habitat caused by wildfires, invasive plants, energy exploration and development, urban sprawl, conversion of land to agricultural uses and development like fences and power lines, which provide perches for raptors that prey on sage grouse.

The agency expects extirpation or local extinctions of sage grouse within the next 30-100 years in areas affected by energy development and increased wildfire frequency. Alternative energy such as wind turbine farms poses a threat to sage grouse and their leks, as does traditional oil and gas development, according to FWS.

As the most extensive land use across the range of sage grouse, FWS also lists livestock grazing as a threat but adds, “Grazing can be managed appropriately to be compatible with conservation of the sage-grouse.” However, removal of sagebrush to promote the growth of grass and other forage is not compatible and should be avoided, FWS says.

WWP, which has long sought to end cattle and sheep grazing on federal allotments, puts livestock grazing first on its list of threats and includes mining and off-road vehicle use as well as the threats that FWS cites.

Reaction

In not listing sage grouse at this time, “USFWS has reinforced our position that management of the species is best done at the local level,” the Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) said in a news release.

Idaho ranchers have been a driving force behind a voluntary, collaborative process to conserve both sage grouse and their habitat and multiple use of public lands, according to ICA.

“While there are some activist groups who will continue to seek to use this species as a tool to remove livestock from the range, we remain hopeful that common sense and sound science will prevail,” ICA said. “In identifying the list of threats to sage grouse, USFWS recognized that well-managed livestock grazing is not a primary threat to the species and that grazing decisions are best made at the local level. Land management decisions made out on the range are much more beneficial to Idaho’s wildlife and citizens than those forced out of a courtroom.”

Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch agree.

“For the past eight years groups around the state have been working voluntarily and in good faith to preserve Idaho’s sage grouse habitat,” the senators said. “The listing of the sage grouse as a candidate species does not add any additional resources, other than federal oversight. While we do not believe greater oversight is necessary, the state, conservation groups, permittees and recreationists will continue to find ways to reverse the decline of sage grouse habitat.”

American Bird Conser-vancy said the FWS decision was disappointing but hopeful.

“FWS got the science right but passed on the opportunity to fully protect this bird today,” ABC President George Fenwick said. “We are hopeful that FWS will now use this decision to bring all parties and agencies together to create effective management decisions that will balance development needs while halting sage-grouse population declines.

“Here is a bird that has seen its range reduced to about half of its historic expanse, with an overall population decline of 50 percent or more over the past 50 years, extirpation in several states and 30 percent declines even in the states where populations are deemed ‘secure.’

“The Greater Sage Grouse needs a comprehensive national conservation plan and a strong and binding commitment to no net loss of its sagebrush habitat range-wide. Seventy percent of the species’ habitat is on public lands, yet less than 1 percent is legally protected from activities that might be detrimental to grouse.”

More details about the decision can be found on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s website.