The Sage Grouse is the latest excuse for government control over private land. Ready for the new spotted owl? Share the facts at CFACT.org: cfact.org/2014/12/01/western-states-scramble-to-avoid-esa-listing-for-greater-sage-grouse/ A ground-dwelling, chicken-sized bird, best known for its elaborate mating rituals, is front and center in a conflict pitting the economic viability of broad swaths of the rural West against the strict land-use controls of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). By September 2015, the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is to decide whether to list the bird as “threatened” or “endangered” under the ESA. Recognizing the ESA’s “critical habitat” designation, with its often severe land-use restrictions, could impose serious hardships on ranchers, farmers, energy developers, home builders, construction companies, and other segments of the West’s rural economy, state and local officials are joining forces with residents of the affected area to stave off an ESA listing. The spotted owl fiasco is a grim reminder of how much destructive power the feds can wield under the ESA. In early November, the FWS listed as “threatened” the Gunnison sage-grouse of Utah and Colorado, a move that prompted Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to say he would challenge the decision in court. There are an estimated 5,000 Gunnison sage-grouse, so the land-use restrictions mandated to protect its habitat pale in comparison with those expected to be imposed to protect the habitat of hundreds of thousands of greater sage-grouse. Environmentalists traditionally support rigid enforcement of the ESA, and the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity is demanding that the FWS raise the ESA designation for the Gunnison sage-grouse from “threatened: to “endangered.” But Greens who are backers of renewable energy may not be happy with the measures adopted to protect the far more numerous and widespread greater sage-grouse. In addition to oil and gas drilling, giant wind farms and solar panel arrays may also have to make way for the bird’s habitat.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 22:49:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015