Habitat preservation partnerships (HPP) have become increasingly important. Environmental impacts don't respect boundaries. Groups working to preserve potentially threatened or endangered species' homes have grown beyond environmental organizations and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). State, county, and local governments; ranchers and other landowners; and businesses such as oil, gas, and mining actively participate too.
When an unprecedented collaboration led FWS to announce on Sept. 22 that it was not necessary to list the greater sage grouse as threatened or endangered, Wild Earth Guardians, which had sued to get the bird considered, was not pleased.
"The sage grouse planning effort began with great ideas and sound science, but what came out the other end of the sausage grinder is a weak collection of compromises that will not and cannot conserve the species," said Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist for the group.
Oil and gas producers weren't pleased with the US Bureau of Land Management's new master leasing plans. But they also recognized the plans were preferable to more dramatic consequences if the bird had been listed.
Most Rocky Mountain governors joined US Interior Sec. Sally Jewell in hailing the outcome-and quickly adding that many more such collaborations will be necessary. Several came to Washington the following week to tell Congress why the process worked, and where improvements are needed.
The need for HPP was obvious in states where the federal government owns and administers much of the land. They're also needed increasingly in states like South Dakota, where 80% of the land is privately owned.
"Agriculture is our No. 1 industry, employing more than 115,000 South Dakotans," Gov. Dennis Dauguaard (R) told the House Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 30. "In South Dakota, we have several initiatives in progress to address a suite of environmental concerns. One of them is wildlife habitat."
'Habitat Pays' launched
On Oct. 2, the state launched Habitat Pays, a campaign led by its Agriculture and Game, Fish & Parks departments that connects farmers and ranchers with tools to help them develop and maintain wildlife habitat on their land.
None of this means states are satisfied with how the Endangered Species Act is administered. "I've had considerable experience concerning the grey wolf, which has fully recovered, but a court threw out the agreement we reached with FWS and local interests after a year-and-a-half," Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) told the House committee.
Neither was Dauguaard, but for a different reason. "Our state was never designated as an important area for the gray wolf's recovery, yet after countless efforts to have South Dakota removed, we remain a state where wolves are listed as endangered," he said.
