The imperiled Preble’s meadow jumping mouse lives in streamside habitats along the foothills of the Front Range of Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. It is one of twelve distinct subspecies of meadow jumping mice. Urban sprawl, domestic livestock grazing, and irrigation diversions have all degraded or destroyed streamside habitats, threatening the Preble’s with extinction. Because of declining populations, habitat loss, and a lack of adequate protection measures, it was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1998. Although listing the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse has led to improved protection and encouraged conservation of streamside habitats, this rare mouse and its habitat remain threatened.

While the Fish and Wildlife Service has found the best available scientific information supports keeping the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse listed under the Endangered Species Act, opponents continue to attack this imperiled animal. Also on December 14, the State of Wyoming – a long-standing opponent of protecting the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse under the Endangered Species Act – filed a new petition to remove the Preble’s from the endangered species list. Claiming the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse subspecies is not genetically distinct from another meadow jumping mouse subspecies, Wyoming believes the Preble’s is more widespread and abundant than previously thought.

Unfortunately, the State of Wyoming’s petition overlooks many key conservation concerns. While the greatest news would be that the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse is more abundant and can be removed from the list of endangered species, studies so far have overwhelmingly found the Preble’s to be a truly one of a kind creature that is in danger of extinction. In addition, the Fish and Wildlife Service reports the mouse and its habitat remain threatened. As the Fish and Wildlife Service has already found, the best available scientific information supports protecting the Preble's meadow jumping mouse under the Endangered Species Act. For more information on the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, visit our website.

Called the Fanny timber sale, the logging would have impacted nearly 5,000 acres -- or 8 square miles -- in the southwestern Black Hills National Forest, along the Wyoming-South Dakota border region. The timber sale would have logged 4,800,000 board feet of timber and built around 85 miles of roads. In their environmental analysis, the Forest Service admitted the timber sale would destroy dense, mature forest habitat, which is crucial to many rare and declining species in the Black Hills. The Forest Service also disclosed that detrimental soil erosion and soil compaction would occur. Despite these findings, the Forest Service claimed that wildlife populations, wildlife habitat, soils, and forest health would actually improve. Charging that the Forest Service failed to protect wildlife and soils, BCA filed an administrative appeal -- and won.

While an important victory for the health of the Black Hills, the withdrawal of the Fanny timber sale is but a drop in the bucket. This past year alone, the Black Hills National Forest has pushed ahead with dozens of timber sales, many of which were authorized by a legislative rider pushed by South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle. This "rider" exempted thousands of acres of logging from environmental protection and other laws in the northeastern Black Hills National Forest. Couched as necessary to reduce "fire risk," the rider promised nothing new or different. The entire Black Hills has been logged at least twice in the past 100 years, with most areas logged over three to four times. If logging could address any "fire risk" in the Black Hills, there would be no risk today.

Despite clear indications that the health of the Black Hills is suffering because of extensive logging, the Forest Service continues to push ahead with more timber sales, managing the forest as if it were nothing more than a tree farm. This magnificent project however, is not a tree farm, and BCA will continue to hold the Forest Service accountable to protecting this amazing and diverse place.

The sage grouse is a striking and charismatic bird that inhabits sagebrush ecosystems in nine western states, including Wyoming. Historically, sage grouse were abundant throughout the “Sagebrush Sea,” covering parts of 16 western states and three Canadian provinces. Since 1900 the distribution of sage grouse has been greatly reduced. The bird has disappeared altogether from Arizona, British Columbia, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The species has suffered declines of 45 percent to 80 percent over the past 20 years due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Today, the total sage grouse population is estimated at 140,000 individuals, representing only about 8 percent of historic numbers.

Sage grouse populations have declined in the past decades as a result of domestic livestock grazing, conversion of sagebrush habitat to croplands and urban areas, application of herbicides and pesticides, altered fire regimes, oil and gas development, mining, and off-road vehicle use. Roads and fences have also fragmented, degraded and eliminated sage grouse habitat throughout its range. The introduction and spread of noxious weeds, like cheatgrass, have also taken a significant toll on sagebrush habitat. New threats such as drastically increased energy development and persistent drought threaten to reduce sage grouse populations even further. Compounding these threats, governmental and private entities have thus fair failed to prevent declines of sagebrush habitat and the sage grouse. The Bureau of Land Management, which manages much of the sage grouse's habitat, has thus fair prioritized harmful energy developments at the expense of sage grouse protection (visit our website for example).

Protecting and recovering sage grouse, an indicator species for the Sagebrush Sea ecosystem, and restoring sagebrush habitat would not only halt its extinction and set in motion the process of recovery, but it would benefit a host of other declining wildlife species that depend on sagebrush such as the sagebrush vole, sage sparrow, sagebrush lizard and pygmy rabbit.

First authorized last fall, the Collins Creek timber sale called for clearcutting over 200 acres of the Bow and building nearly 10 miles of roads. After reviewing the proposal, BCA found that the Medicine Bow National Forest had failed to analyze the impacts of the timber sale to several indicator species, including northern goshawk, pine marten, and wood frog. Indicator species are plants or animals that reflect the health of the environment and whose population trends reflect the environmental impacts of "management" activities, such as logging. According to federal laws and regulations, the Forest Service is not only required to analyze the impacts of logging to indicator species, but is required to analyze the impacts of logging to populations of indicator species.

After we raised these concerns in an administrative appeal, the Deputy Regional Forester found the Medicine Bow National Forest had indeed failed to analyze the impacts of logging to several indicator species and had failed to analyze the impacts of the Collins Creek timber sale to populations of indicator species. However, in a bizarre twist, the decision authorizing the Collins Creek timber sale was upheld, while the Medicine Bow was simply instructed to complete "additional analysis."

In a classic example of padding the record, the Collins Creek timber sale exposes how the Forest Service justifies illegal decisions after they have already been made. Needless to say, BCA will continue to monitor the Collins Creek timber sale to ensure the Medicine Bow National Forest protects wildlife as it claims.

Concerned that cattle grazing was polluting streams in the Crow Creek watershed near Vedauwoo, one of the most popular and beautiful recreation areas on the Medicine Bow National Forest, BCA and volunteers with the Medicine Bow Group of the Sierra Club spurred the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to monitor water quality last summer. The results of their monitoring found that fecal coliform and E. coli in the North Branch of North Fork of Crow Creek and Middle Crow Creek was exceeding the legal limits. The polluting culprit was found to be domestic livestock grazing authorized by the Forest Service. The DEQ wrote, "Field observations made of stream channel and riparian conditions at each station throughout the season indicated that the primary source of bacteria is from livestock." In addition to posing serious human health hazards, this pollution also poses threats to fish and wildlife populations that depend upon clean water in and around Vedauwoo.

These monitoring results are a huge step toward ensuring clean water in Vedauwoo. Now that a water quality problem has been verified, the State of Wyoming is obligated under the Clean Water Act to develop and implement a plan to eliminate this pollution. And, because the pollution is directly linked to cattle grazing authorized by the Forest Service, the agency will have to make serious changes in the way it allows grazing in Vedauwoo. BCA and Sierra Club volunteers will be continuing their efforts to ensure clean water in Vedauwoo and make a difference for human health, fish, and wildlife.

Please consider joining Biodiversity Conservation Alliance today. If you're already a member, thanks for all you do! Since 1989, BCA has been tackling the tough job of holding the Forest Service and BLM accountable—making sure they obey the laws designed to protect wildlands and wildlife in Wyoming and the surrounding region. With the help of supporters like you, our work has safeguarded many amazing places, including Rock Creek Canyo, the Snowy Range, and Sand Creek. Our efforts have also helped provide safe havens for pine marten, ferruginous hawks, burrowing owls, black bear, and other sensitive animals. In many cases, the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance is the only Wyoming group working to protect these creatures. But we also need your support. Imagine how much we can achieve by working together!

Please print out the reply card below and send it with your donation. Your tax-deductible membership of $25 or more will help defend the rivers, awe-inspiring peaks, virgin forest, and wide-open deserts you love.

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