More prime sage grouse habitat is open for drilling

The Trump administration will allow oil and gas leasing in key sagebrush lands.

 

The Trump administration has been making it easier for oil and gas companies to drill wells in prime habitat for greater sage grouse. At the end of the year, the Bureau of Land Management officially rewrote important guidance for field staff in charge of leasing parcels of federal land for future oil and gas drilling. But statistics show the staff had already gotten that message: Federal leasing in sage grouse habitat increased dramatically in Wyoming last year and likely will expand further this year.

The BLM plans to offer seven times more acres of sage grouse habitat in its first quarter lease sale in Wyoming this year than it did in its first quarter lease sale last year, according to BLM data analyzed by The Nature Conservancy and confirmed by the BLM. “Once the lands are leased, that limits options for protection of this habitat,” says Holly Copeland, the conservation scientist who analyzed the data. Although environmental groups filed protests in March and September last year against leasing in key sage grouse areas in Wyoming, the BLM rejected them, emphasizing President Donald Trump’s March executive order on energy and economic growth.

Sage grouse on a lek in breeding season in Fremont County, Wyoming.

As Trump pushes for greater energy production, his administration is altering the delicate balance between energy development and grouse protections that had been established as a result of an unprecedented 2015 agreement between Western states, conservation groups, industry and the federal government. That collaboration kept greater sage grouse from being listed as an endangered species, which would have required much more stringent protections.

Late last month, the BLM’s Obama-era instructions for oil and gas leasing in sage grouse habitat were rewritten. The original instructions prioritized leasing in areas that don’t offer good sage grouse habitat. As a result, since 2015, the BLM had refused to offer many leases requested by industry because of concerns for sage grouse. (For example, the first quarter 2017 lease sale, prepared under the Obama administration, withheld 46 parcels of federal land from future drilling.)

By contrast, the new version of the instructions emphasizes: “In effect, the BLM does not need to lease and develop outside of (greater sage grouse) habitat management areas before considering any leasing and development within (greater sage grouse) habitat.” Wyoming has the most and best sagebrush habitat of any state and nearly 40 percent of the remaining birds, but in its December lease sale, BLM Wyoming withheld only three parcels because of sage grouse. Thirty-eight of 41 parcels sold were in sage grouse habitat.

Under the old instructions, energy companies were often frustrated, says Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, an industry trade group. “What’s important is the previous instruction memorandum put leases and permits at the bottom of the pile if they were in priority habitat,” she says. “This does not.”

But advocates for the bird’s conservation accuse the Trump administration of ignoring the science that drove the 2015 sage grouse agreement. “That was the biggest landscape-scale conservation plan we’ve ever done,” says Brian Rutledge, a biologist with the National Audubon Society who has worked on sage grouse conservation for 14 years. Although changes should be expected, he says, “the changes need to be done with science in mind. The Department of Interior is trying to do as little as possible for the land and animals in their care, placing at risk the future of that landscape and that ecosystem.”

State officials, however, downplay the new guidance. “We didn’t have any issues with it,” says John Swartout, energy advisor to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat. “The change in guidance means little compared to any potential change in the plans.”

Oil and gas leases in key sage grouse habitat will still come with protective restrictions, notes Bob Budd, who chairs Wyoming Governor Mead’s sage grouse implementation team. For instance, permits prohibit companies from disturbing the ground on or near a lek, where sage grouse gather for mating displays. “We were leasing in core areas before this,” he says. “It’s how you do it, not where you do it.” Industry officials agree, saying there is no need to limit leasing because modern drilling techniques allow companies to reach oil and gas deposits from a mile or two away.

But scientists find many negative impacts on the birds’ survival even when companies follow rules such as building roads at least .6 miles away from leks and refraining from drilling during mating and nesting seasons. Several scientists assert in Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America, a 2011 book, “It has become apparent that sage-grouse conservation and energy development are incompatible in the same landscapes.”

Correspondent Elizabeth Shogren writes HCN’s DC Dispatches from Washington.

High Country News Classifieds
  • INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR - HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
    High Country News is hiring an Indigenous Affairs Editor to help guide the magazine's journalism and produce stories that are important to Indigenous communities and...
  • STAFF ATTORNEY
    Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
  • ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
    Northern Michigan University seeks an outstanding leader to serve as its next Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. With new NMU President Dr. Brock...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a...
  • GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT MANAGER
    Help uphold a groundbreaking legal agreement between a powerful mining corporation and the local communities impacted by the platinum and palladium mine in their backyard....
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Feather River Land Trust (FRLT) is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to advance our mission to "conserve the lands and waters of the...
  • COLORADO DIRECTOR
    COLORADO DIRECTOR Western Watersheds Project seeks a Colorado Director to continue and expand WWP's campaign to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in Colorado,...
  • DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: WYOMING, MONTANA AND UTAH
    Digital Media Specialist - WY, MT, UT OFFICE LOCATION Remote and hybrid options available. Preferred locations are MT, WY or UT, but applicants from anywhere...
  • GRANT WRITER (PART-TIME, FREELANCE CONTRACT) HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
    High Country News seeks an energetic, articulate and highly organized grant writer to support a growing foundations program. This position works closely with our Executive...
  • EXPERT COMPUTER & TECH HELP, PROVIDED REMOTELY
    From California, I provide expert tech help remotely to rural and urban clients. I charge only when I succeed. Available 7 days. Call for a...
  • ACCOUNTING AND OPERATIONS GENERALIST
    What We Can Achieve Together: The Accounting and Operations Generalist provides accounting and operations related services, including lease administration and compliance support, to the Arizona...
  • LANDSCAPE ECOLOGIST
    Landscape Ecologist, Arizona What We Can Achieve Together: The Landscape Ecologist provides technical and scientific support and leadership for conservation initiatives and strategies in landscape...
  • MULESHOE RANCH PRESERVE STEWARD
    What We Can Achieve Together: The Muleshoe Ranch Preserve Steward lives on site in housing provided by The Nature Conservancy and performs and coordinates construction...
  • ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY - INDIGENOUS HISTORIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEST
    Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
  • DAVE AND ME
    Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
  • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
    Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation (ABWF) seeks a new Executive Director. Founded in 2008, the ABWF is a respected nonprofit whose mission is to support...
  • CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE
    Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.
  • COMING TO TUCSON?
    Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS
    We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.