At first blush, the sage grouse seems like an odd policy priority.
It’s a bird, that apparently has a flamboyant mating dance, that lives in the sage brush of the desert of 11 western states. You’ve probably driven by the birds hundreds of times on road trips.
But the sage grouse is not simply a bird, it’s a proxy.
It’s a proxy for environmental groups who say that keeping the sage grouse thriving will protect the sage brush that it lives in which in turn will protect hundreds of other species that live in the desert that will in turn preserve the entire southwest.
On the other hand, it’s a proxy for mining and energy and ranching groups who say federal land-use plans are just an excuse for keeping industry off federal lands.
Nevada Senator Dean Heller put out a statement Tuesday in which he called the threat of an endangered species listing a ruse designed to allow the federal government “to tighten its grip [on federal lands] at the expense of rural America’s future.”
So, the decision Tuesday to not put the sage grouse on the Endangered Species List does not end the proxy war. It just shifts it in a different direction.
Kathleen Sgamma, the vice president of government and public affairs for the Western Energy Alliance, praised the decision not to list the bird.
However, she is still not happy with some of the land-use rules the Department of Interior is putting into place.
"The federal agencies have pointed the finger at energy development, and mining and they have exaggerated the threat to sage grouse and as a result they are putting in place measures that severely restrict those activates," Sgamma said.
Sgamma said energy companies, ranchers and the mining industry are all trying to protect the bird but the regulations keep coming.
"We are part of the solution," she said. "We are successfully co-existing with sage grouse."
She said despite their efforts federal regulators are still pointing the finger at those industries for the sage grouses' decline and that finger pointing has led to more stringent land-use plans, which she said could be worse than actually putting the animal on the Endangered Species List.
"I think it is a way to control land to reduce development in the guise of protecting the sage grouse and ignoring significant amounts of work that companies have done on the ground to conserve sage grouse," she said.
Liz Munn is the sagebrush ecosystem program director for the Nature Conservancy.
She also praised the decision because it shows what can happen when all sides work together.
"We think all the work that everyone has put in, proactive conservation efforts, has certainly paid off," Munn said, but she was quick to point out there is a lot work left to do to protect the birds' habitat.
There are some conservation groups who oppose the decision and think efforts between industry and environmental groups are not going far enough.
Munn understands their concerns but says there needs to be a balance.
"The Nature Conservancy has long held the belief that economic development is important to our country as well as having wildlife for our children and our children's children to enjoy," she said.
She said ranching, mining and energy development are going to continue in the West, but its is about being "mindful in those actions of how to pursue economic development in a way that also helps conserve these important landscapes."
From NPR: Sage Grouse Bird Does Not Need Protection, U.S. Decides
Kathleen Sgamma, Vice President of Government & Public Affairs, Western Energy Alliance; Liz Munn, Sagebrush Ecosystem Program Director, the Nature Conservancy
