03.24.15

Ranking Member Grijalva, Natural Resources Democrats Call on Appropriators to Fund Sage-Grouse Conservation to Avoid ESA Listing

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva and 20 other House Democrats, including 15 Committee members, sent a letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday urging full funding of the Obama administration’s efforts to conserve the greater sage-grouse. The Interior Department must determine by September 30 whether the bird warrants a listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The funding, which would support collaborative state-federal efforts to protect the species and avoid a listing, would go to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of their already authorized work to conserve species and habitats. Providing less than the fully requested amount to either agency would increase the likelihood of an ESA listing, especially if federal officials cannot implement needed conservation efforts.

“We often hear from the other side of the aisle that the Fish and Wildlife Service should use cooperative, on-the-ground conservation programs to recover threatened or endangered species and avoid listing those at less risk,” Grijalva said. “That’s exactly the type of work FWS and BLM are trying to do with the sage-grouse. At some point, you have to put your money where your mouth is.”

BLM has requested $60 million – an increase of $45 million from the previous fiscal year – for sage-grouse conservation. FWS has requested an additional $4 million for its endangered species budget to be devoted specifically to sage-grouse conservation.

More than 60 percent of core sage-grouse habitat is on BLM land. A conservation funding shortfall this year will make it nearly impossible for the Interior Department to avoid a determination that the bird warrants an ESA listing.

The letter is available at http://1.usa.gov/1N2CPwo.