Interior Secretary Sally Jewell revealed plans Thursday to preserve habitat in 10 Western states for an imperiled ground-dwelling bird, the federal government’s biggest land-planning effort to date for conservation of a single species.
The proposal would affect energy development. The regulations would require oil and gas wells to be clustered in groups of a half-dozen or more to avoid scattering them across habitat of the greater sage grouse. Drilling near breeding areas would be prohibited during mating season, and power lines would be moved away from prime habitat to avoid serving as perches for raptors that eat sage grouse. “There is no future for our economy if we don’t take care of the sage grouse,” said Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, a Republican who took part in the announcement. “That’s a fact. Some like it, some don’t.” The U.S. Bureau of Land Management expects to adopt the new measures by late summer. They would apply to federal lands in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming...
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In what some environmentalists view as an accommodation to industry, the
rules would not seek to block development across sage grouse habitat.
The government still intends to honor valid and existing rights to
develop resources on that land, the Interior Department said.
No, that is an accommodation to their budget. Any valid existing right is recognized as property and the owner would have to be compensated. It's also a concession to the court-ordered deadline. If they chose to not list they will need these reg's finalized to justify or support their decision.
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