Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** How coalbed methane carved up Wyoming sage-grouse habitat
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Monday, January 8, 2024
Greater sage-grouse, Tom Koerner, USFWS ([link removed])
New research from Wyoming's Powder River Basin reveals how natural gas drilling operations disrupted sage-grouse habitat ([link removed]) as the bird's population plunged over the last few decades.
Ecologist Chris Kirol studied how sage-grouse hens were able to raise chicks despite the rapid expansion of coalbed methane operations in the early 2000s. His research, just published in the journal Wildlife Biology ([link removed]) , found that succesful hens avoided two infrastructure features in particular: overhead power lines and wasterwater reservoirs.
“What we call ‘functional habitat loss’—areas no longer used by these hens because of these large overhead lines—it’s about 27 percent of the area,” Kirol told WyoFile ([link removed]) .
Kirol's study area contained nearly 4,000 miles of overhead power lines, and he found hens with chicks generally wouldn't go within a third of a mile of those lines.
Kirol worked as a consultant during the coalbed methane boom and says the natural gas industry is often not cleaning up after itself.
“They said, ‘All this development is happening, but at the end of the life of these wells, all the power lines are going to be removed, all the wells are going to be removed, all the reservoirs are going to be removed, and habitat is going to be reclaimed and restored,’” Kirol told Wyofile ([link removed]) . “But twenty-some years down the road, a lot of times that is not happening.”
** Quick hits
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Uranium production begins at mine less than 10 miles from Grand Canyon rim
KNAU ([link removed])
Advisory group recommends Colorado coal plant convert to nuclear power
Denver Post ([link removed])
Colorado River states rush to agree on cuts while Biden remains in White House
New York Times ([link removed])
Report: In first three years, Biden administration sets conservation records
Boise State Public Radio ([link removed])
Ban on new oil and gas wells approaches for cherished Colorado landscape
Denver Post ([link removed])
Legal battle awaits in scar of New Mexico's largest wildfire
ProPublica ([link removed])
Gravel bike race faces angry ranchers near Steamboat Springs
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Video confirms new jaguar in Southern Arizona
Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The startup of Pinyon Plain Mine inside the new national monument and despite the decades of opposition from Tribes and the local community over concerns for irreplaceable cultural and environmental resources represents the work we have ahead of us to reform America's antiquated, colonialism-driven mining laws. If not for these outdated laws, Pinyon Plain Mine would most likely not be moving forward today.”
—Amber Reimondo, Grand Canyon Trust, KNAU ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@nationalparkservice ([link removed])
Ex-seal-lent parking job. Well, almost.
A little on the line there, bud. When you pull into a spot, aim straight for the middle. Pulling too far forward into a spot could result in taking up two spots unnecessarily. Skirting the line can also impact your neighbor being able to open their door or how hard they will “accidentally” bump your car. Awkward. Always a best parking lot practice: drive slow, stay alert, make eye contact with pedestrians (or seals) to acknowledge their presence, not in a creepy way, and expect the unexpected at all times (like seals).
Image: When visiting @pointreyesnps ([link removed]) in the winter, please remember that northern elephant seals can be found on many park beaches and sometimes even the parking lots. NPS Photo/K. Hernandez
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