Western voices are ignored in Zinke’s Interior Department

Just two years ago the Department of the Interior was joined by Republican and Democratic governors from Western states, representatives from the oil and gas industry, ranchers and sports groups, to make one of the most historic conservation announcements of the 21st century. The Fish and Wildlife Service had determined that the greater sage-grouse did not warrant a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to the finalization of the common sense, balanced and science-based Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land management plans.

During the years leading up to the announcement, no matter who you asked, Republican or Democrat, everyone agreed that no one would benefit from the loss of habitat or listing of the sage-grouse. Republicans, including Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, agreed that “such a listing would be devastating for our public lands,” and they were right. 

{mosads}That is why folks on the ground rolled up their sleeves and put politics aside in order to work together to create solutions for Western communities that balance natural resource development while preserving habitat. Their hard work resulted in the plans put forth by the BLM in 2015, and gave Fish and Wildlife Service the confidence to issue its non-listing decision a short time later.

The announcement that the sage-grouse would not be listed was the result of nearly a decade of hard work, done on the ground, by public servants who took the time to work with and listen to all stakeholders, instead of deferring to the opinions and demands of corporate lobbyists miles away in Washington, D.C.

However, on Oct. 5, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that his department and BLM would be opening up the sage-grouse plans to federal amendments. This came as a surprise to many Westerners, including governors, who made it clear to Zinke that the plans did not need a major overhaul. Unfortunately, Zinke and other politicians have other orders from special interests, and are now set on unraveling the sage-grouse land management plans, which could send the West right back down an uncertain path.

This misguided effort to rollback these common sense and bipartisan plans does not stop with Zinke. Wednesday, the House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Bishop, is hosting a hearing, “Empowering State Based Management Solutions for Greater Sage Grouse Recovery.” This hearing is nothing more than a political stunt orchestrated by Bishop to appease his corporate donors and special interests.

At this hearing, Bishop will put forth right-wing ideas that would be detrimental to the sage-grouse, the 350 other species living in healthy sagebrush habitat and the local outdoor recreation businesses that depend on healthy sagebrush ecosystems to drive over $1 billion in economic output annually. Bishop’s ideas are not even supported by all of the Western Republican governors.

To underscore what is at risk and how much industry would gain from undoing BLM’s sage-grouse plans, there are currently over 6.5 million acres of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitat designated for heightened protection under BLM’s plans. Many of those leases are owned by just a few companies, including the following: EOG Resources Inc. (588,265 acres leased), Anadarko (317,392 acres leased), Devon Energy (245,829 acres leased), QEP Resources Inc. (214,944 acres leased) and Exxon Mobile (185,115 acres leased). 

Instead of working to appease corporate donors and putting forth solutions that would benefit a few wealthy people, politicians in Washington should instead be working with folks on the ground to implement and build on the success of the 2015 sage-grouse plans.

Westerners are sick and tired of having Washington meddling in their business, instead Zinke and Bishop should support their efforts to make sure the sagebrush landscape works for everyone out West.

Jayson O’Neill is deputy director of the Western Values Project, a national conversation organization focused on public lands conservation and energy development policy. He previously worked for former two-term Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as a communication and policy advisor.