Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Sage-grouse populations struggle across the West
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Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
Time is running out for the greater sage-grouse, which is rapidly losing habitat across the West. E&E News reports that population numbers are especially bad in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, due to a combination of drought, wildfires, and invasive plants that can overwhelm the sagebrush ecosystem.
A multi-state agreement to protect the grouse in 2015 was largely ignored by the Trump administration ([link removed]) , and now the bird's core remaining habitat of 26 million acres is disappearing at a rate of 1.3 million acres a year. The plummeting numbers have raised concerns that the 2015 decision to not list the grouse under the Endangered Species Act could be reversed—a move that would have massive implications for ranchers, oil and gas companies, and wildlife managers across the West.
Ed Arnett, a biologist and CEO of the Wildlife Society, told E&E ([link removed]) , "The trends are going in the wrong direction for us to say we can somehow scientifically and legitimately support that 'not warranted' decision."
Scientists are currently counting male grouse at breeding grounds, or leks, across the West. In Wyoming, which has the largest remaining grouse population, lek attendance fell 13 percent in 2021.
While 2022 numbers are still several months away, early reports are not encouraging. "It's looking pretty ugly out there so far this spring from what I hear," Arnett said.
Quick hits
** BLM director Stone-Manning vows to 'fight back' on megafires
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Idaho Statesman ([link removed])
** Private lands are the next battleground in conservation policy
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Opinion: Here are the questions Biden must answer for ‘America the Beautiful’ to succeed
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Sierra Magazine ([link removed])
** Two Southwest tribes raise red flags over uranium storage
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High Country News ([link removed])
** Arizona scores low marks on land conservation over last decade
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Arizona Public Media ([link removed])
** Colorado warns of ‘final opportunity’ for oil company to clean up its sites and avoid millions in fines
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CPR News ([link removed])
** After ‘not guilty’ verdict, what's next for corner crossers?
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Outdoor Life ([link removed]) | Cowboy State Daily ([link removed])
** Opinion: Let’s rally together to protect Castner Range
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El Paso Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” We’re always gonna have fire. The question is, are we going to have megafires that fundamentally change the ecosystem? And that’s what we’re fighting back against, and that’s why Congress is investing so much money and the president has asked for it.”
—Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning
Idaho Statesman ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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The beautiful white-faced ibis with its colorful purple, crimson, teal and gold feathers is sure to brighten your Monday morning!
Photo at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah courtesy of Leslie Scopes Anderson
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