ISSUE BRIEF: Oppose listing the Gunnison sage grouse under ESA
Don’t let radical environmentalists push their radical anti-development agenda with another needless ESA listing!
The Issue:
The Endangered Species Act has become a program that checks species in for protection, conservation, and recovery, but never checks them out. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), there are currently 1265 species in the United States that are listed under the ESA as threatened or endangered. An additional 39 species were listed and de-listed over the last thirty-years, for a grand total of 1304 species in the Act’s history.
Most Americans are surprised to learn that only 10 of these 1304 species have been recovered in the Act's history, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s data on de-listed species. That is an abysmal, less than 1 percent rate of species recovery. The FWS's statistics show that only 30 percent of species are "stable" and only 9 percent are "improving."
Currently the Fish and Wildlife Service has re-undertaken analysis as to whether or not the Gunnison sage grouse should be listed as a threatened species. This listing will result in a multitude of hardships for anyone in the species’ affected region. Listing the Gunnison sage grouse will mean a lengthy mitigation process with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any project that requires federal permits. Additionally, any project already on land deemed Gunnison sage grouse habitat, is open to be sued by environmentalists under the Endangered Species Act.
Impacts on the West:
Gunnison sage grouse are not endangered or even threatened. The Gunnison sage grouse thrives in sagebrush habitat, and sagebrush is the most widespread vegetation in the intermountain lowlands in the Western United States. Sagebrush habitat is predominantly federal land protected by far-reaching federal laws. Additionally, the USFWS declined to the list the greater sage grouse based upon already existing and extensive regulatory mechanisms, the range of the species on vast expanses of federal land, and unprecedented state, local, and federal sagebrush conservation measures. Listing the Gunnison sage grouse will add nothing to protecting the species and only slightly obscures the real agenda of environmentalists.
In reality, this petition spearheaded by environmental groups has very little to do with the Gunnison sage grouse at all. It only serves as an attempt to further wall-off the West from development using the Endangered Species Act as a façade. The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list the Gunnison sage grouse as a threatened species three years ago due to substantial scientific evidence showcasing the health and vitality of sage grouse populations throughout their range (as noted above).
Should the USFWS ultimately reverse their decision, the results would be calamitous for Western business. Grazing rights, energy production, and any other development taking place in the Gunnison sage grouse’s habitat would slow down and virtually grind to a halt thanks to the onerous and protracted mitigation process of ESA approval.
Solutions:
- Don’t let environmentalists cordon off the West from development! The Gunnison sage grouse continues to thrive in its habitat while responsible development takes place all around it. Don’t let environmentalists further their radical anti-development agenda.
- Take 60 seconds to make a difference in the development of the West! Let the Fish and Wildlife Service know that you oppose listing the Gunnison sage grouse under ESA! Western business is counting on you!
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