** Scientists race to count, save the sage-grouse
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Greater sage-grouse | Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
Populations of the sage-grouse, an iconic Western bird, have plummeted 80% ([link removed]) since 1965, with half of that decline coming in the last two decades. That's the finding of a new report ([link removed]) by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, who described it as "the most comprehensive, most quantitative summarization of sage-grouse population trends that’s ever been done."
The report examines a range of threats facing the bird, including energy development, wildfires, and invasive species, estimating that as many ([link removed]) as 45% of the sage-grouse's breeding locations, called leks, could disappear within the next 20 years. Notably, the report lays the groundwork for a proactive system to monitor sage-grouse populations and alert federal and state land managers of critical population declines, allowing time to enact stricter protections.
At the federal level, the Biden administration is expected to reverse ([link removed]) actions taken by the Trump administration to weaken landmark sage-grouse conservation plans by allowing more drilling, mining, and development within critical habitat. The Trump rollbacks, enacted by former oil lobbyist Interior Secretary Bernhardt, have faced a string of legal defeats, opening the door for new revisions. Just last month a federal judge in Idaho overturned a decision ([link removed]) to allow mining and development across 10 million acres of sage-grouse habitat in the West.
Quick hits
** Fracking bringing pollution, not wealth to Navajo lands in New Mexico
------------------------------------------------------------
Capital and Main ([link removed])
** Colorado gave communities more power to regulate drilling. Now some are using it.
------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** State outdoor recreation directors ask Congress to loosen rules on Land and Water Conservation Act funding
------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Whistleblowers say Colorado regulators forced to falsify data, approve air quality permits for drilling
------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Utah oil drillers set to benefit from new law directing royalty payments
------------------------------------------------------------
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** BLM to review western Colorado land use plan to consider climate impacts of drilling
------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
** New Mexico saw record oil production in 2020, despite pandemic
------------------------------------------------------------
Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
** Mining company eyes new open pit copper mine in Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains
------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])
Quote of the day
They don’t tell us, you know, ‘There’s a big oil boom right here and you’re sitting on some riches so you better be sure you have your own lawyers at the negotiating table.'”
—Mario Atencio ([link removed]) , Navajo Nation Council legislative district assistant
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Cedar Breaks National Monument sits at over 10,000 feet and looks down into a 1/2 mile deep geologic amphitheater. The bristlecone pines that live here, some of which are over 1000 years old, thrive in this high elevation. Pic by Jessica Fridrich.
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
