1. science
2. biology
3. zoology
4. endangered species

October 9, 2014
National Water Resources Association
Daily Report
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In This Issue
ENDANGERED SPECIES...U.S., states huddle behind closed doors on sage
grouse strategies
Drought a 'slow-motion disaster' for Western states
SA's Texas Water Exchange is first of its kind in Western Hemisphere
U.S. Department of the Interior and Western municipal water suppliers developing
water conservation projects as part of a landmark collaborative agreement
Clock ticking on sage grouse listing decision
ENDANGERED SPECIES
U.S., states huddle behind closed doors on sage grouse strategies
Scott Streater, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Leadership Forum January 13-14, 2015,
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Federal Water Issues
Conference - April 13-15,
2015, Washington Court
Hotel, Washington, DC
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Water Summit, Utah
Valley Convention
Center, Provo, UT
October 28-30, Montana
Water Resources
Association & Upper
Missouri Water
Association - Joint
The Obama administration is holding closed-door meetings in Denver this week
with state wildlife agencies to review and discuss state plans to protect the greater
sage grouse, one of the final steps in an effort across the West to keep the bird off
the endangered species list.
The meetings this week are part of a two-phase effort started last summer with
internal interagency meetings in Portland, Ore., that involved Bureau of Land
Management, Forest Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service officials reviewing
proposed amendments to 98 BLM resource management plans (RMPs) and
Forest Service land-use plans aimed at boosting grouse protection (Greenwire,
Aug. 21).
The goal of the "roll-up meeting" in Portland, and a second meeting last month in
Denver, was to allow federal officials to carefully vet the final RMP and land-use
plan amendments that are the centerpiece of the Obama administration's National
Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy.
This week's meetings in Denver, however, are designed for state fish and game
officials to present their plans to conserve sage grouse on state and private lands,
and to get feedback on the plans from BLM and Fish and Wildlife officials to
ensure that they adequately address habitat fragmentation, energy development,
wildfire risks and other threats to the grouse.
BLM Director Neil Kornze and other officials are scheduled to meet, or conference
online, with state regulators across the sage grouse's 11-state range. Part of the
meeting set today will focus on grouse plans in the Great Basin states -- including
Oregon, Idaho and Nevada -- and part will be devoted to plans finalized or being
developed in the Rocky Mountain states, Jessica Kershaw, an Interior Department
spokeswoman, said in an email to Greenwire.
"That will be followed by one-on-one meetings for those states that want them" at a
later date, Kershaw said.
Kershaw said federal officials met yesterday in Denver with members of a federalstate Sage Grouse Task Force formed in 2011 by then-Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R).
The task force, which has been meeting regularly the past three years and is
chaired by Hickenlooper and Mead, is designed to help states and federal
regulators coordinate grouse conservation efforts.
Fish and Wildlife is under a court-mandated deadline to determine whether to list
the bird for protection under the Endangered Species Act by September 2015.
Leaders across the West fear that such a listing would damage, if not cripple, the
region's economy, including its vital ranching, agricultural and energy sectors.
"The meetings in Denver are part of an ongoing dialogue with states and other
federal partners that's happening before any final decisions are made," Kershaw
said in her email. "This week's meeting is not a court-mandated meeting like the
decision next year but rather an internal process the Department is working
through with regard to the respective states' conservation planning process."
She added, "This is all part of the ongoing dialogue in advance of next year's FWS
decision."
Governors fault feds on communication
But the meetings with state regulators come as BLM and the Forest Service have
been criticized by some Western leaders for not communicating with them on the
massive effort to protect the greater sage grouse across its 11-state range.
The Western Governors' Association sent a two-page letter last week to top BLM
and Forest Service officials expressing concerns that the two agencies only
recently began making arrangements to sit down with state leaders in Denver this
week to discuss the coordinated federal and state action to address the myriad
threats to sage grouse (Greenwire, Sept. 30).
"As Governors, we feel that federal coordination with the states in this planning
process is being ineffectually approached and treated more as an afterthought by
BLM and [the Forest Service] at the D.C. level," reads the WGA letter, signed by
Hickenlooper and Mead, whose state is home to nearly half the remaining grouse
population.
"We are displeased regarding how states are being consulted with respect to an
issue of such overriding importance," the letter says. "Contacting the states for
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planning coordination at such a late stage does not reflect an objective to work in
authentic partnership to address [greater sage grouse] conservation."
It's important that this process is finally taking place, said Ross Lane, director of
the government watchdog group Western Values Project.
"Open communication with stakeholders is something our government could
certainly improve upon, so it's a positive sign that federal agencies are still willing
to come to the table and work in cooperation with state leaders despite a stern
letter from the WGA last week," Lane said. "Quite frankly, any other course of
action would be a disservice not only to the bird, but to Western communities, as
well."
Federal and state regulators need to be on the same page if the bird and its
habitat are to be restored, said Brian Rutledge, a National Audubon Society vice
president based in Fort Collins, Colo.
"This is a place for the states to test their plans and try to understand what the feds
are wanting from them," said Rutledge, who was part of a governor's task force in
Wyoming that developed the state's groundbreaking core sage grouse area
strategy. "This is really a chance to give the states that are seeking feedback some
input and for the feds to get some feedback from the states."
Despite some communication concerns, he said, "What we have right now is 11
states, all of the BLM offices and the Fish and Wildlife Service, everybody working
together for the grouse and its ecosystem."
That will "disappear" if the greater sage grouse is formally listed for protection
under ESA, he said.
"We would have 11 states, 400,000 [sage grouse] and 197 million acres [of grouse
habitat] for the Fish and Wildlife Service to manage," he said. "How would they do
it?"
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Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing,
LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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Drought a 'slow-motion disaster' for Western states
Brenna Goth, The Republicazcentral.com
2:46 p.m. MST October 8, 2014
People were hesitant to use the term early on. But the "D-word," which is affecting much of the western U.S., was
clearly the focus of a forum Tuesday for government, policy and industry representatives.
Drought.
States must plan for this "slow-motion disaster," Executive Director James Ogsbury said at the Western Governors'
Association Drought Forum in Tempe.
The forum is the second of four workshops being held this year by the organization, a bipartisan group representing
19 states. The first drought forum, held last month in Oklahoma, featured drought's impact on the energy sector.
Tuesday's workshop focused on effects on mining, manufacturing and industry.
Presenters gave insight into how Arizona deals with this uncertainty to attendees from water authorities and other
agencies of several states.
Read entire article HERE.
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SA's Texas Water Exchange is first of its kind in Western Hemisphere
Texas Water Exchange sets market for water
POSTED YESTERDAY, 4:41 PM
UPDATED YESTERDAY, 6:41 PM
By Justin Horne
Weather Authority Meteorologist/Reporter
SAN ANTONIO - "There's money to be made off water," said Anastasia Valdes, CEO of the Texas Water
Exchange.
In some cases, there is a lot of money to be made off of the resource. As a result, Texans are starting to lease and
sell the commodity in large quantities.
"The market for water and for those who hold ownership for groundwater has never been hotter than it is right
now," said Valdes.
It is from that marketplace that the Texas Water Exchange was born right here in San Antonio. It is the first of its
kind in the Western Hemisphere.
Only Australia, which shares similar water issues, has anything like it in the world.
Read entire article HERE.
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Lower Colorado Region
Boulder City, Nev.
Media Contact:
Crystal Thompson, Central Arizona Project
(623) 869-2138
Travis Thompson, Denver Water
(303) 628-6700
Released On: October 08, 2014
U.S. Department of the Interior and Western municipal water suppliers developing water conservation
projects as part of a landmark collaborative agreement
Basin municipalities and federal government take action to protect the Colorado River
Faced with the increasing probability of shortage on the Colorado River, municipal water providers in Arizona,
California, Nevada and Colorado, and the Bureau of Reclamation are implementing a landmark Colorado River
System Conservation program. Beginning today, Reclamation is soliciting water conservation project proposals
from Colorado River entitlement holders in Arizona, California, and Nevada. At a later date, water users in the
Upper Basin will be invited to participate in this unique agreement. Central Arizona Project, Denver Water, the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Southern Nevada Water Authority and Reclamation are
providing up to $11 million to fund new Colorado River water conservation projects. The projects are intended to
demonstrate the viability of cooperative, voluntary projects to reduce demand for Colorado River water. The
program is soliciting project proposals from agriculture, and municipal and industrial Colorado River water
entitlement holders. "This partnership demonstrates our commitment to find solutions in meeting the future
challenges we face in water supply and demand," said Reclamation's Lower Colorado Regional Director Terry
Fulp. "Our goal is to put in place a suite of proactive, voluntary measures that will reduce our risk of reaching critical
reservoir levels. This pilot program is a good first step toward reaching that goal and, depending upon its success,
could be expanded in the future." For more than a decade, a severe drought unprecedented in the last 100 years
has gripped the Colorado River, reducing water levels in storage reservoirs throughout the Basin and increasing
the risk of falling to critically low water levels. In July, reservoir levels in Lake Mead dipped to the lowest level since
Hoover Dam was filled in 1937. "A decade ago, municipal and agricultural agencies in California came together to
help the state permanently reduce its use of Colorado River water. The goal of this latest effort is to develop new
basin-wide partnerships to expand conservation activities during this historic drought for the benefit of all Colorado
River water users," said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California. "With shortage looming on the Colorado River, CAP, with its partners, is taking immediate steps to
protect Arizona's Colorado River supply. The goal of this unique program is to develop new conservation programs
from municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users from across the seven states which share the river," said
Pam Pickard, Board President, Central Arizona Project. "The program saves water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell
for the benefit of all Colorado River water users and promotes a healthy river system." All water conserved under
this program will stay in the river system, helping to boost the declining reservoir levels and protecting the health of
the entire river system. The municipal agencies and the federal government agree that collaborative action is
needed now, to reduce the risk to water supplies, hydropower production, water quality, agricultural output, and
recreation and environmental resources across the entire Colorado River basin. The Colorado River and its
tributaries provide water to nearly 40 million people for municipal use, and the combined metropolitan areas served
by the Colorado River represent the world's 12th largest economy, generating more than $1.7 trillion in Gross
Metropolitan Product per year. This first call for proposals is for Lower Basin parties. Upper Basin proposals will be
requested in the future. "We are pleased to see the momentum established in the lower basin. We look forward to a
similar process starting soon in the upper basin with our partners along the Colorado River, including The Colorado
Cattlemen's Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado River District, Southwestern Water Conservation
District, The Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited. Together, we will identify and fund pilot programs that
demonstrate the viability of cooperative, voluntary compensated means to reduce water demand," said Jim
Lochhead, CEO Denver Water. Reclamation is currently requesting project proposals for 2015 and 2016 funding
allocations. The due date for the responses to the solicitation is November 17, 2014. Following the two-year period,
Reclamation and the municipal agencies will evaluate the effectiveness of the conservation projects funded by this
program and determine if the successful programs could be expanded or extended to provide even greater
protection for the Colorado River system. "Managing the Colorado River requires a cooperative and concerted
effort between diverse stakeholders, and this pilot program furthers that collaboration and provides another tool we
can use in response to the drought," said John Entsminger, General Manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority.
"This program is the mechanism for developing a wide array of adaptable and scalable conservation projects to
provide real benefit to the overall river system."
###
Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the
United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood
control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at www.usbr.gov.
Find the entire Press Release HERE.
Back to TOP
Clock ticking on sage grouse listing decision
Karl Puckett, [email protected]
10:09 p.m. MDT October 7, 2014
FORT BENTON - The clock is ticking on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision whether to protect sage grouse
using the Endangered Species Act, and it won't be an easy call, a Montana-based FWS official told a federal
advisory council Tuesday.
"The hardest part of the job is, 'How do you know if it is or isn't threatened?'" said Jodi Bush, field supervisor for the
FWS Montana office in Helena. "It's the analysis that tells us that, to the best of our ability."
The Bureau of Land Management's Central Montana Resource Advisory Council, which gives input to the BLM on
land-management issues, is conducting two days of meetings here this week.
And officials with FWS and the state of Montana were invited to speak to RAC members Tuesday on a potential
sage grouse listing and the process FWS is undertaking to make the decision.
Read entire article HERE.
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