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BCA PROTESTS SAVE ADDITIONAL 41,344 ACRES OF SENSITIVE PUBLIC LANDS
Hot on the heels of the removal of 85,587 acres of oil and gas drilling leases in sage grouse habitat and wilderness by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in response to BCA protests, the BLM has now issued a new decision on its review of another lease sale. As a result of protests by BCA and others, the BLM will not issue 41,344 acres of oil and gas leases that sold at auction. Almost 11,000 acres of leases were pulled because they are inside unleased sage grouse Core Areas. More than 10,000 acres of the Bobcat Draw citizens' proposed wilderness will now be pulled back. The BLM pulled some 1,342 acres of big game crucial winter ranges and migration corridors, and an additional 19,000 acres of lands where Resource Management Plan revisions are presently underway.
BCA's protest was cited by the BLM as a deciding factor in every acre that was not issued. Signed on to the protest were Clark Resource Council, Western Watersheds Project, Wyoming Outdoor Council, and the Wyoming Wilderness Association. Seven other groups filed protests of their own. Congratulations all around!
THUNDER BASIN PRAIRIE DOG RELOCATION A HUGE SUCCESS
Staff of the Forest Service, BCA, Humane Society of the United States, World Wildlife Fund, and the Prairie Dog Coalition gather for a photo and laughs during initial relocation efforts in the Thunder Basin. BCA's Duane Short is in front on the left.
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Due to BCA's partnership with agencies, conservation groups and ranchers, 550 black-tailed prairie dogs have been spared poisoning and now have a new home! A rancher had demanded that the Forest Service poison prairie dogs that established a colony in the Thunder Basin National Grassland next to his private land. So the partners joined efforts to move the critters to an area where prairie dogs are needed to build populations for a future black-footed ferret reintroduction. Once ferret reintroduction begins, BCA's role in this historic effort will expand due to substantial funds (almost $30K) secured in a lawsuit and earmarked for black-footed ferrets several years ago.
View a short video about the project. (Video footage by Duane Short, BCA's Wild Species Program Director.)
Partners included the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming Game and Fish, ranchers, Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States and the World Wildlife Fund. Great work, everyone!
GOV'S SAGE GROUSE ORDER WEAKENS PROTECTIONS
Wyoming Governor
Dave Freudenthal
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In an Executive Order signed on August 13, 2010, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal rewrote his sage grouse Core Area policy, adding some clarity and strength in some areas while weakening protections in others. Overall, there was a substantial net increase in Core Area acreages. A substantial number of smaller sage grouse leks were added to Core Areas to compensate for the Governor's removal of some of the highest-population breeding habitats to accommodate oil and gas drilling, uranium leaching, and coal-to-liquids plants inside Core Areas without restrictions.
Now, even the sage grouse breeding in areas still within Core Areas aren't necessarily safe! With one stroke of the pen, the Governor opened up a huge new loophole in which any lands currently inside an oil and gas "unit" or a project area boundary can be industrialized without any of the Core Area protections. BCA is currently analyzing how many new acres of designated Core Areas will lose protections. Protecting large-scale Core Areas is the right strategy for long-term sage grouse conservation, but the Governor's policy failed to protect all the areas most important to grouse. This further weakening of Core Area protections could cripple efforts to recover dwindling sage grouse populations and increases the likelihood of Endangered Species listing.
RATTLESNAKE LOGGING AND ATVs IN THE BLACK HILLS
In August, 2010, the Forest Service released decisions denying nearly every claim in BCA's appeals of the Black Hills National Forest Travel Management Plan and the Rattlesnake logging project. BCA staff are now considering legal options to stop these projects.
Adding motorized insult to injury
The Black Hills is criss-crossed by over 10,000 miles of roads, nearly the same distance as between New York City and Melbourne, Australia. Yet, Forest Supervisor Craig Bobzien dramatically increased the number of official motorized trails in the Black Hills from 36 to over 700 miles, and indicated that an undefined number of ATV trails will soon be added. The Forest Service also used loopholes in its own flawed Forest Plan to justify failing to close routes seasonally to protect known goshawk nest sites.
Fortunately, the appeal officer's response to BCA instructed Supervisor Bobzien to protect sensitive plants along certain routes. However, as a whole, we are disappointed that the Forest Service is encouraging further disruption of ecosystems by vehicle.
Saving the forest by cutting it down
BCA appealed the Rattlesnake Project decision in Northeastern Wyoming because it authorizes the harvest of 47 million board feet from just 14,996 acres. The Forest Service claims such drastic logging will prevent wildfires and mountain pine beetle attacks, when science shows the actual probability of a wildfire erupting is low, and logging does not successfully combat beetles. In essence, the Forest Service contends it can protect the Forest by cutting it down.
Furthermore, the Rattlesnake Project area encompasses the sensitive Sand Creek Roadless Area, and a future decision (made without further public comment) is expected soon on "treatment activities" within this special place. These threats underline the dire need for increased protection of Sand Creek, one of only two roadless areas left in the Black Hills.
The BCA staff knows you care about the Black Hills, and despite these illogical threats to the Black Hills' natural character, BCA will not write off the Black Hills as a sacrifice area to ecologically unsound industrial uses. Your support is very much appreciated in this difficult effort to protect a unique forested island on a sea of plains.
WYOMING WOLF POLICY SAVES WOLVES IN MT, ID
Gray wolf — photo by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
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As a result of actions of the Wyoming state government, wolves are now protected again under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in both Montana and Idaho. The State of Wyoming's policy has been to classify the wolf as a "predatory animal" outside Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding wilderness areas; this status allows any wolf to be shot on sight at any time, with no seasonal limitations, no limit on how many can be killed, nor even the requirement of a hunting license. Under the Bush administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service sensibly refused to remove the wolf from the Endangered Species list in Wyoming while such draconian measures were in place, but the agency did remove the wolf from ESA protection in Montana and Idaho. Now a federal judge has ruled that an animal cannot be removed from the Endangered Species list in one state if still endangered in a neighboring state, so the wolves in Montana and Idaho are now back to full protection. Thanks to Wyoming politicians, the wolf now has much-needed protection in all three states.
BID ON EXCITING SILENT AUCTION ITEMS AT THE BADGER BALL
This year's Badger Ball at the Trading Post in Centennial on September 25th has some outstanding silent auction items to bid on. Join us for the music of Jalan Crossland Band and J Shogren Shanghai'd, and bid on any of the following, plus so much more:
- A copy of Al Gore's book, Our Choice — A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, signed by former Vice President Gore.
- An original Linda Lillegraven painting, plus framed photographs from some of the region's most outstanding professional photographers, as well as a circa 1930s photograph of Silver Lake in the Snowy Range.
Purchase your tickets in advance at Cross Country Connection in downtown Laramie or online. Tickets are limited this year, so don't delay!
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073
(307) 742-7978 - sarah@voiceforthewild.org
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