State group explains process behind proposed sage-grouse protections

GILLETTE — The process to revise what areas of the state are designated as core areas for the protection of sage-grouse is very much a work in progress, and a lot of work is yet to be done.

That was the message the sage-grouse Implementation Team tried to get across during a meeting in Lander last week.

When the proposed revisions to the sage-grouse core areas were released to the public, many ranchers were upset because of the perceived lack of transparency and communication on a decision that would potentially affect their future revenues.

There are restrictions on what can be done on properties within core areas. This can make a company shy away from drilling an oil well on a ranch that’s in that designation. For many ranchers, the revenue from leases they have with energy companies supplements their income.

The proposed revisions included labeling thousands of acres in Campbell County as core areas, including ranches west of Highway 50 and also on both sides of Interstate 90 in the western part of Campbell County, near the Johnson County line.

This upset many local ranchers who weren’t alerted that their land was in a proposed core area.

“We didn’t do a good job, I’ll accept that,” said Bob Budd, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust and chairman of SGIT.

He pointed out that a lot of work remains to be done before a final decision is reached.

“We’re not anywhere near a decision,” he said.

He said that the group believes existing leases that ranchers have should be honored, whether they’re for oil and gas or renewable energy. Any changes that are coming would not be retroactive, he added, because “it’s not fair to tell the landowner, you have a lease but you can’t act on it.”

“If you have a lease now, that would be grandfathered in,” he said. “You’d have the right to develop renewables based on that lease. That may or may not make the core go away.”

Budd reiterated that the energy industry and ranchers have been good partners in this, and the goal not to try to protect every sage-grouse, Bruce said. Instead, the focus is on protecting the areas that have the highest densities of sage-grouse, as well as maintaining Wyoming’s economy.

The state is going through this process to try to get ahead of changes that could be coming from the federal government.

The Bureau of Land Management is considering changing its resource management plan “to account for new scientific information and changing conditions accelerated by the effects of climate change and address continued declines in sage-grouse populations and loss of habitat,” according to its website.

As part of this change, BLM is updating its sage-grouse habitat map. In the past, BLM was part of Wyoming’s mapping process and incorporated the state’s sage-grouse core area map into its plan.

Because of limitations set by the National Environmental Policy Act, the BLM is not accepting public comment or stakeholder input at this time.

The worry is there will be a push to get the sage-grouse listed as an endangered species.

Angi Bruce, deputy director of Wyoming Game and Fish and a member of SGIT, said if it seems the process has been moving very quickly, that’s because it has.

“We had a very abbreviated time frame to get this done,” she said. “We set up a plan, jumped into it as fast as we could. We’re fortunate the BLM is slow on their end.”

Gov. Mark Gordon extended the public comment period to seek additional comment on the core area map revisions proposed by the Sage-grouse Implementation Team, or SGIT, to 5 p.m. July 28. The old deadline had been June 28.

There will be additional informational meetings to talk to landowners and stakeholders before the public comment period closes. When the final map is completed and presented, the governor will make a final decision.

The state’s going through this process to avoid overreach by the federal government, Bruce said.

“That’s why we’re here today,” she said. “So the state can remain in control.”

If Wyoming does nothing, the worry is that the sage-grouse will be listed as an endangered species. If that happens, it would apply to the historic range of the sage-grouse, which includes all 23 counties in Wyoming, as well as anywhere the sage-grouse has been known to live, Budd said.

“The unprecedented scale is what’s daunting, it’s the entire West,” Budd said.

In 1998, there were petitions to list the sage-grouse as an endangered species. In 1999, the state created a management plan for sage-grouse. In 2005, it was determined that the sage-grouse was not warranted to be listed as an endangered species.

“In 2007, the drums were beating again,” Budd said.

Then-Gov. Dave Freudenthal had a summit in Casper to figure out how to deal with the issue. In 2008, the sage-grouse Implementation Team was formed. Since then, governors have issued executive orders and maps have been redrawn.

Now, with the federal government potentially trying to take over conservation efforts of sage-grouse in Wyoming, the state is trying to get ahead.

Budd said a subgroup of SGIT was appointed to evaluate core areas in Wyoming and make adjustments where needed, based on biological data. A map was drafted, and it went out to local working groups across the state for revisions.

And now, the people are getting involved.

“Even though the process may not be perfect, we’re trying to have that involvement and trying to incorporate everyone,” Bruce said.