Fossil fuels extraction is threatening one of North America's rarest mammals and other at-risk wildlife in the West and across the nation. A new report, Fueling Extinction: How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink, released today by the Endangered Species Coalition, highlights ten species that are highly vulnerable to impacts from oil, gas and coal. The nationwide list has special significance in Wyoming, where Wyoming pocket gopher habitat is increasingly fragmented by oil and gas development in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, it's only known range.

The report highlights endangered animals, plants, birds and fish at risk of extinction due to the pursuit, development, storage and transportation of fossil fuels. It reveals how wildlife is displaced, loses habitat and faces threats of extinction. Coalition members nominated imperiled species they considered worthy of the top ten list. Nominations were then reviewed, judged, and voted on by a panel of scientists. The report identifies the home range, conservation status, remaining population and specific threats facing each of the ten finalists.

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Rocky Mountain Wild (formerly Center for Native Ecosystems) petitioned U.S. Fish and Wildlife in 2007 to protect the Wyoming pocket gopher under the Endangered Act. Odds of survival for the unique Wyoming pocket gopher decreased dramatically when in 2010 the Service denied protection under the Endangered Species Act for this furry, palm-sized mammal. Interestingly, the Service's own 12-Month Finding states, "...the Wyoming pocket gopher is Wyoming's species with the highest potential risk for energy-related effects based on its proximity to existing wells, the proportion of lands leased for oil and gas within its range, and the density of wells within that range."

Wyoming is home to four species of pocket gophers but only the Wyoming pocket gopher (Thomomys clusius) is exceedingly rare. The Wyoming pocket gopher is the only mammal found exclusively in Wyoming.

and gas wells are slated to occupy much of the Wyoming pocket gopher's documented range. An estimated 30 to 40 years of habitat destruction could seriously jeopardize the tiny mammal's survival."

Short added, "New roads, pipelines, compressor stations, and other oil field infrastructure have already destroyed much of the Wyoming pocket gopher's habitat. In our view, the Service has thrown caution to the wind and the gopher under the bus or in this case, under the oilfield trucks."

The report offers other examples of at-risk wildlife found throughout the nation including another iconic Wyoming species—the greater sage grouse. Wyoming is one of only a few states to have two wildlife species to make the unenviable top ten list.

In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that greater sage-grouse met the definition of a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act but declined to add it to the federal list, claiming the protection of other species is a higher priority. Since then, state governments and federal land management agencies appear to be stepping up efforts to conserve sage-grouse and their sagebrush habitats.

"Sage-grouse are an icon of the Western landscape," said Josh Pollock, Conservation Director at Rocky Mountain Wild. "If they are in trouble, it means we should be very concerned about what's happening to our wide-open western landscapes and the sagebrush country that supports dozens of other wildlife species, like pronghorn, elk, golden eagles, swift fox and, yes, the tiny Wyoming pocket gopher."

Fueling Extinction: How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink calls for a commitment to a clean, safe and sustainable energy future, and urges lawmakers to honor the intent of the Endangered Species Act while reducing the country's dependence on dirty fossil fuels.

For more information visit Biodiversity Conservation Alliance website at http://www.voiceforthewild.org/general/newsletter.html. See Summer 2007 Newsletter - The Wyoming Pocket Gopher: Out of Sight, but not Out of Mind

For more information and to view the full report, go to: http://fuelingextinction.org.

Top 10 List of Wildlife Threatened by Development, Storage and Transportation of Fossil Fuels

Bowhead Whale: The remainder of the endangered bowhead whale population is threatened by contaminants, noise from off shore oil drilling, and deadly collisions with ships. An oil spill could easily wipe out this small population, which lives solely in icy Arctic waters.

Dunes Sagebrush Lizard: The dunes sagebrush lizard is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act due to impacts from oil and gas drilling on the Permian Basin in western Texas. Disturbance from well pads, leaking pipelines, and high concentrations of toxic gas emitted from wells contribute to the decline of the lizard's population, which exists on a tiny range within the Basin's vast oil reserves.

Graham's Penstemon (Flower): This delicate flower lives only on oil shale reserves targeted for mining in Utah. Oil shale mining takes massive amounts of water, putting the flowers at risk of either being starved of water or drowned under new reservoirs. Oil shale soils are very unstable, and any development can bury or uproot the few remaining plants.

Greater Sage-Grouse: Energy development has caused habitat loss and fragmentation due to roads, pipelines, power lines, and human and vehicle-related disturbance, resulting in marked declines in sage-grouse numbers. Coalbed methane gas development in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming has coincided with a 79 percent decline in the greater sage-grouse population.

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle: According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kemp's ridley is the most seriously endangered of all sea turtles, due to lingering impacts of the Deepwater oil disaster on Gulf waters - the sole breeding ground of the turtle. In the immediate aftermath of the oil spill, 156 sea turtle deaths were recorded; most of the turtles were Kemp's ridleys.

Kentucky Arrow Darter (Fish): Toxic waste pushed into streams from mountaintop coal mining is smothering the rare Kentucky arrow darter fish and poisoning the drinking water of downstream communities. The arrow darter has already been wiped out from more than half of its range.

Spectacled Eider (Bird): Oil and gas development, along with climate change, have drastically reduced the frigid habitat range of the threatened spectacled eider. As a result, the western Alaskan population dropped by 96 percent between 1957 and 1992. Aircraft and vessel traffic and seismic survey acoustic activities can all negatively impact the bird's habitat and cause death.

Tan Riffleshell (Mussel): This endangered mollusk plays a critical role in the health of Appalachian river habitats by filtering pollutants and restoring nutrients to the water. Acid mine drainage, sedimentation from coal mining, and coal ash landfills are contaminating the mussel's habitat and breeding areas, further threatening this most endangered member of the mussel family.

Whooping Crane: The endangered whooping crane overcame near extinction in the 1940s, but the existing wild flock of 437 cranes now faces a new battle for survival. The proposed Keystone Pipeline would run alongside the crane's entire migratory path from Canada to Texas, and the inevitable toxic waste ponds, collisions and electrocutions from power lines, along with potential oil spills, would decimate the vulnerable remaining population.

Wyoming Pocket Gopher: It is estimated that fewer than 40 pocket gophers exist today in their sole range in Wyoming's Sweetwater and Carbon Counties. Truck and vehicle traffic associated with increasing oil and gas activities result in habitat loss and fragmentation, cutting off potential mating opportunities and endangering the survival of this rare animal.

Polar Bear: The polar bears' survival is completely dependent upon sea ice, which is rapidly melting. They are further threatened by the risk of an oil spill, and activities like seismic testing, icebreaking, and vessel movement also negatively impact polar bears and their food sources.