Studies: BLM Sage Grouse Policies a Failure

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance *Center for Native Ecosystems *
Forest Guardians

MISSOULA, MT – Three studies by University of Montana researchers showing that coalbed methane development is causing major impacts on sage grouse populations in the Powder River Basin have completed the peer-review process and have been accepted for publication in scientific journals. The studies show that sage grouse are disappearing in the coalbed methane fields of the Powder River Basin, and that current BLM sage grouse management policies, long criticized by conservation groups, are inadequate.

According to the studies, only 38 percent of sage grouse leks (traditional breeding sites) remained active in areas subjected to coalbed methane development, compared to 84 percent of leks remaining active in undeveloped landscapes. In addition, those leks that did survive inside developed areas had 46 percent fewer breeding males than those outside the zone of coalbed methane development, even though lek sizes were roughly equal prior to the onset of coalbed methane drilling.1

Seasonal limitations on construction and drilling activities, currently the mainstay of BLM’s sage grouse habitat management, were found to provide insufficient protection to allow sage grouse to survive: “Current lease stipulations that prohibit development within 0.4 km [1/4 mile] of sage-grouse leks on federal lands are inadequate to ensure lek persistence and may result in impacts to breeding populations over larger areas. Seasonal restrictions on drilling and construction do not address impacts caused by loss of sagebrush and incursion of infrastructure that can affect populations over long periods of time.” The researchers add, “Regulatory agencies may need to increase spatial restrictions on development, industry may need to rapidly implement more effective mitigation measures, or both, to reduce impacts of CBNG [coalbed natural gas] development on sage-grouse populations in the PRB.” These same seasonal measures were also found to be insufficient to prevent sage grouse from being pushed out of important wintering habitats.

The studies, having been peer-reviewed and accepted in the scientific annals of the Journal of Wildlife Management and Avian Diseases, are available online at http://www.forestry.umt.edu/personnel/faculty/dnaugle/publications.htm.

“Up to this point, the BLM has actively fought against the need to apply strong sage grouse conservation measures even as the agency is approving massive oil and gas projects in the last strongholds that the sage grouse has left,” remarked Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “The publication of these studies in the scientific literature underscores the seriousness of the impacts of oil and gas development on sage grouse, and sends a clear message that the BLM needs to pull its head out of the sand and institute major changes to the design of oil and gas projects so the sage grouse can survive in areas subjected to industrial use.”

A third study pointed out that sage grouse have shown a poor ability to develop immunity to West Nile virus, and point out that this has become a chronic source of sage grouse fatalities in area of the Powder River Basin developed for coalbed methane. CBM development was directly implicated in the West Nile problem: construction of ponds to hold coalbed methane wastewater increased by 75 percent the suitable habitat for West Nile–carrying mosquito larvae between 1999 and 2005.

"These results have important implications for oil and gas drilling throughout the range of the sage grouse," added Molvar.

The researchers recommended setting aside large blocks of intact sage grouse habitat and increasing the size of no-development zones surrounding lek sites. “It’s high time for the BLM to stop making excuses and start making these recommendations a standard requirement for all drilling projects,” concluded Molvar.