Dec. 03, 2004 - 20:11 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Kind Of Wild

On November 11th the Rocky Mountain News had a three page spread by Gary Gerhardt of that paper, in part:

"Clash on high plains."

Protecting sage grouse habitat could put brakes on drilling for oil, gas in several Western states

"The greater sage grouse, a dusky chicken sized bird that puffs up like a balloon during mating season, is threatening to limit the production of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of natural gas in the sagebrush country of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana."

"Biologists say the number of greater sage grouse in the West has dropped from 2 million in the mid 19th century to fewer than 200,000 today."

"The current upswing in natuaral gas production where the birds range is seen as the "last straw" by environmental groups that have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the bird by putting it on the endangered species list."

"Since 1900, the grouse has disappeared from Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma in the United States and British Columbia in Canada."

"If the sage grouse is listed, it will light the fuse on a wildlife protection battle that some predict will dwarf the fights over the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, northern spotted owl and endangered Colorado fish combined."

"Some say the grouse could become the 'spotted owl' of the Intermountain West," said Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. "But the sage grouse occupies nearly 12 times as much land as the northern spotted owl."

"Protection of the spotted owl created a controversy in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s that eventually limited the timber harvest on public lands and cost thousands of timber-related jobs."

"Norton told the Rocky Mountain News that to keep the grouse off the endangered species list, the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the land where most of the natural gas and sage grouse are found, must minimize the impacts of mineral extraction, power line corridors, livestock and farming."" we recognize how sensitive areas like trapper's Point near Pinedale, Wyo., are, and the BLM removed a number of acres from consideration for gas leases so they wouldn't block the antelope and deer from migrating through that area," Norton said.

"She said, "best management practices" recognize that energy exploration and production are temporary uses of public lands and that resources such as wildlife, water, clean air and vegtation must be maintained for the future."

"In pre-settlement times, a "sagebush sea" spanned from California to Nebraska and Canada to Mexico"

"At the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the sagebrush spanned an estimated 170 million acres in the high plateaus, mountain ranges, wetlands and volcanic rock formations of the West."

"It was a mosaic of shrubs, trees, grasses and wildflowers that provided food and shelter for more than 350 species of wildlife."

"Today that sea has shrunk to about 150 million highly fragmented acres in 11 western states, the result of livestock grazing, agricultural conversion, urban developent, mining, herbicides, reservoirs, fires, invasive plants, wild horses, off-road vehicles, utility corridors, roads , fencing, drought and, most recently, natural gas exploration."

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Then in the Rocky Mountain news this morning there is an article from The New York Times -- in full:

Interior biologists say sage grouse doesn't need federal protection

WASHINGTON -- "Amid an intense lobbying effort by energy,and ranching interests in the west a team of Interior Department biologists has recommended that the sage grouse, a bird whose sagebrush territory has been vastly reduced by farming and development, is not threatened with extinction and does not, for the moment need to be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

"Craig Manson, the assistant Interior secretary in charge of the Fish and wildlife Service, gave word of the recommendation on Thursday to Rep. Richard W. Pombo, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Committee on Resources and a fierce critic of the Endangered Species Act, Pombo's press secretary, Brian Kennedy, said."

"Steve Williams, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, must make the final decision about whether to put the bird on the endangered list by December 29."

"Not since the spotted owl achieved protected status, prompting a 1991 court ruling that vastly curtailed logging in Northwestern forests, has a proposed listing had as much potential economic impact. The petition to have the government protect the sage grouse has provoked energetic lobbying and legal maneuvering."

"The recommendation, to be announced at the Western Governor's Association meeting in San Diego today, followed recommendations of the governors' group, the oil and gas industry, and cattlemens groups."

"While Kennedy said the agency was likely to accept the recommedation, he added that the fight was likely to continue in court."

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In the first article there is an aerial phto of the Jonah Field, in the upper Green River Valley near Pinedale, Wyoming. Between the oil rigs splatted across the countryside and the various roads to the sites as well as normal roads it is hard to see how self respecting grouse can exist, let alone do any mating, to my way of thinking. Caption below the photo says, quote, "The Jonah Field in the Upper Green River Valley near Pinedale, Wyo. has a large concentration of greater sage grouse -- and more than $1 trillion of natural gas. The valley, cradled between the Wind River, Wyoming and Gros Ventre mountain ranges, is ground zero for one of the most contentious wildlife-human conflicts in the West."

And I wonder why the environmental people haven't pushed to save the entire eco-system in the West, plants, animals and other critters ? ? ?

In a full page the article lists the Sage Country Menagerie - quote:

"Kit fox - live in sagebrush areas, hunting rabbits, rats, birds and reptiles living in the brush.

Loggerhead Shrikes - nest in the canopy of sagebrush and other shrubs.

Lark sparrows - thrive in areas with a mixture of sagebrush and bunch grass.

Bighorn sheep - also feed on sagebrush and grass in winter, Grasses are the major component of their diet but shrubs such as sagebrush are an important part of their diet.

Jack rabbits and Cotton tails - feed on grasses and forbs that grow with sagebrush.

Deer mice - At least 27 other species of rodents live in sagebrush, eating seeds and finding cover from the animals that feed on them.

At least nine bat species - Hunt bugs and insects in sagebrush.

Western rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, leopard lizards, horned lizards and other reptiles - find food and shelter in sagebrush habitat.

In addition to more than 21 varieties of sagebrush - the high desert is vegetated with numerous other plants, including rabbitbrush, greasewood, hopsage, bitterbrush, and buckwheat, that grow in communities with grasses such as bluebunch, wheatgrass and Sandberg's bluegrass.

Of course listed are Pronghorn Antelope and Mule Deer and Elk as living in that environment."

One more short thing that caught my eye, quote: "Where tourist RV's once clogged highways, there are now caravans of red and white Halliburton drilling and support rigs."

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First article shown November 11, 2004, the article of today pretty well says what our administration is going to do - - - - or ignore, to the pleasure of the oil industry. I can imagine Richard Pombo Chairman of the House Committee on Resources doing a victorious rain dance or whatever celebratory step he does. At least that is what it all looks like to me.

It appears to me that special interests will continue to lobby, elbow and buy their way into whatever area they want to be, regardless of the impact on the country wherein they want to do their thing. Sure money is flowing to the states, counties and so forth. But will the whole west sagebrush area eventually become a criss-cross of roads and oil patch scabs. Maybe just clearing the way for more towns, parking lots, malls and Wal-marts and eventually blowing sand when the water runs out. The West is still very, very wild, only now its messier and a different Kind Of Wild . . . . . . . .

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