Sage Grouse Offers Opportunity for Compromise in Wyoming’s Land Use Battles

By Michael Pearlman, 6-07-09

I consider myself pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to contemplating energy-development issues in Wyoming. I’m certain that some of my fellow citizens would refer to me as one of those “enviros,” a label I willingly accept. However, I’m not naive enough to expect that the energy industry will ever view Wyoming’s sagebrush flats as anything more than an all-you-can-eat buffet. With an encouraging nod from the party once in power, these companies have been fattening their coffers and extracting at will over the past eight years.

I acknowledge that oil and gas companies pad Wyoming’s bottom line; it is no coincidence that the state’s budget remains in the black while the economies of other states continue to crater. When revenues are down, local governments are quick to feel the effects and jobs can disappear as quickly as they appear. Since arriving in the mid 1990s, I’ve seen the pace of natural gas and coal-bed methane development in Wyoming catch fire. I’m sure a Pinedale resident can spin you an entertaining tale of how their community changed in front of their eyes.

Slowly and surely, Wyoming’s residents are also getting a chance to see firsthand that energy revenues don’t come without a cost to wildlife habitat. There’s no animal that currently exemplifies these impacts as vividly as the Greater Sage Grouse, which experts say could land on the Endangered Species list in less than a year. That possibility doesn’t make environmentalists or energy company executives very happy.

On Friday night, I sat across the dinner table from Brian Rutledge, Executive Director of Audobon Wyoming. Rutledge was a member of the Sage Grouse Implementation Task Force, assembled by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal to address the problem of declining numbers of the birds throughout the state. Rutledge says that there is no longer a scientific debate about whether energy development has affected sage grouse populations. Sage grouse are particular attached to their breeding grounds (known as leks) and the birds stop breeding when the leks are disturbed, though the effect is not immediately apparent. To Rutledge, the logical next step is to begin initiating policies that would place the least pressure on the areas that are most critical for sage grouse survival.

The governor’s task force produced a series of recommendations, including a map that would guide energy development away from the most sensitive areas. The problem, according to Rutledge, lies with the Bureau of Land Management, which has basically ignored the task force’s recommendations. Instead, he says, the BLM remains overly eager to sell leases on its parcels, paying only cursory attention to other uses and the potential habitat impacts.

Federal agencies are among the first to draw vitriol from Westerners when residents disagree with their policies, and its easy to blame far away bureaucrats in Washington for just about anything. The blame game takes place on both sides of the fence, from pro and anti-energy development parties. Right now, a series of wind projects are in various states of development in Wyoming, as energy companies look to diversify their portfolios. Anyone who’s driven I-80 recognizes that parts of Wyoming offer perfect conditions to harness this power source. Transmission lines would also have to be built and the industry would create jobs in the state, but widespread wind energy development also threatens the sage grouse. The critical decisions come with where oil, gas and wind developments occur, and how dense the projects are. 

As the price at the pump once again begins creeping upwards, it’s past time for both Wyoming and the federal government to show some foresight and begin thinking about the long-term future of the energy industry and its effects on Wyoming’s lands. Is Wyoming going to look back at this period as a missed opportunity for parties to come together in an effort to intelligently diversify our state’s economy? Will sage grouse wind up an endangered species, leaving energy companies to spend more money on legal battles and environmental studies in order to continue operations? Will Wyoming watch from the sidelines as green energy projects head for other locations?

The real solution will come when all interested parties recognize the need for mutual cooperation, then sit down at the table to try to work out an acceptable solution that will provide the most help, not harm, to the people, landscapes and wildlife of Wyoming. The debate doesn’t have to include only the “Drill baby Drill” crowd on one side and tree-sitters on the other. We all drive cars, want clean air and hope to figure out a path that leads to a healthy, sustainable future, instead of a dead-end road leading to a barren landscape.

Bookmark Michael Pearlman’s New West Blog at www.newwest.net/generationrecreation

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