Wyoming lawmakers are co-sponsoring a congressional bill aimed at leaving protection of the sage grouse to the states.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) pushed the bill in the U.S Senate, and Wyoming Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso are co-sponsoring the bill. The bill would block federal authorities from protecting the sage grouse, leaving enforcement of protections to the states.
The current listing of the sage grouse is “warranted but precluded” from Endangered Species Act protections, leaving the ability to regulate the bird’s population up in the air. Sage grouse protection is a cause of concern for many who wish to expand energy production in the state, as the bird’s habitat can coincide with potential drilling and mining areas.
This bill comes as the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is working to rule by September on whether to fully list the bird as part of the Endangered Species Act.
An article by the Western Energy Alliance said enhanced protections for the animal could result in a loss of “31,055 jobs with $1.6 billion in earnings and $5.6 billion in annual economic output.”
Wyoming passed the Greater Sage Grouse Core Area Protection Policy in 2008, which invested authority in the state specifically to enhance the bird’s habitats and balance business interests in the process.
In November 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife said in a statement that, “This long term, science-based vision for the conservation of greater sage-grouse has set the stage for similar conservation efforts across the species range.”
Chris Merrill, associate director of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, said his organization supports the model for sage grouse protection already enacted by the state. Merrill said Wyoming has a special role when it comes to determining the future of the Sage Grouse.
“State and federal agencies, conservation groups, the energy industry, they all understand that what we do in Wyoming really matters,” Merrill said. “It might seem as if we’re obsessing over this bird, but Wyoming has to get this right, and we all know it.”
