Praising the historic collaboration in 11 western states to save the habitat of the Greater Sage Grouse, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the interests of hunters, energy firms and transmission line installers are being considered in a bid to find “common ground” on the fate of the bird.
Discussing the pending decision on whether to declare the chicken-sized bird endangered or not, Jewell took care to point out the interests of those who don’t want to see the bird listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor
What’s more, in calling the cooperation between conservationists, governments, and industry to repair and restore some 165 million acres of sage brush used by the skittish bird as “epic,” Jewell said she was hopeful a listing would not be warranted.
“I have remained optimistic that the a not warranted is possible,” she told reporters at a media briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “I remain optimistic.”
The effort has been ongoing for 13 years, and a court has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide on the bird by the end of this month.
At issue is the drop in population of the bird to some 424,000 and the reduction of about half its habitat areas.
In explaining why she believes an endangered listing might not be warranted, Jewell said:
“What has happened in this collaborative work is really the way I think the Endangered Species Act should work, which is people recognizing that it’s about habitat and if we work together and collaborate, we can find common ground that will protect these landscapes for the things that the residents of the landscape, the businesses of the landscape, the hunters and the fishermen enjoy as well has having thoughtful development, whether it’s energy, human expansion, roads, transmission lines, mines, all of the above.”
She cited as a model and example the government’s recent decision to not list the New England Cottontail rabbit after a similar habitat restoration project.
And Jewell told reporters that she hopes Congress will back efforts to help continue habitat restoration for the Greater Sage Grouse on federal lands. “We have to do the job that people expect us to do,” she said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
