12/30/2002~Service Determines Mono Basin Area Sage = Grouse Does Not Warrant Emergency Protection of ESA

U.S.=20 Fish & Wildlife Service

3D"U.S. News
Release =
December = 30,=20 2002

Service = Determines=20 Mono Basin Area Sage Grouse Does Not Warrant Emergency = Protection of=20 ESA

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Randi Thompson 775-861-6319

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) = concluded that=20 a petition requesting emergency Endangered Species Act = protection for the Mono Basin population of greater = sage=20 grouse does not present substantial scientific or = commercial=20 information to warrant such protection.

"We are concerned about the sage grouse in Mono = Basin.=20 However, given the available information, the status = of the=20 population is uncertain at this time," said Bob = Williams, U.S.=20 Fish & Wildlife Service Supervisor for Nevada.=20 "Conservation plans are being developed to address = ways to=20 protect the species and its habitat while we continue = to=20 research if this species is unique and if the range = extends=20 into other areas of California and Nevada as = believed."

In its petition to list greater sage grouse in the = Mono=20 Basin area under the emergency provisions of the = Endangered=20 Species Act, the Institute for Wildlife Protection = asked the=20 Service to recognize populations of birds in Long = Valley and=20 Bodie Hills in Mono County, California and in the = Desert Creek=20 area of Lyon County, Nevada as distinct from other = forms of=20 greater sage grouse. The group stated that these two=20 populations, collectively known as Mono Basin sage = grouse, are=20 genetically unique and isolated from other greater = sage grouse=20 (Centrocercus urophasianus phaios) and should = be=20 considered a distinct population segment (DPS) under = Service=20 policy, making them eligible for protection as a = separate=20 species. The petition also states that invasion of = cheat grass=20 into sage grouse foraging areas, the spread of juniper = trees,=20 disease, grazing, development and other human-caused = threats=20 will likely cause the Mono Basin area sage grouse to = become=20 extinct in the foreseeable future.

"We agree with the findings of the USFWS in regards = to this=20 petition," said Terry Crawforth, Administrator for the = Nevada=20 Division of Wildlife. "This decision will allow the = State of=20 Nevada to continue with its proactive sage grouse = conservation=20 planning process. This important work is being carried = out by=20 the Governor's Sage Grouse Planning Team and the Local = Area=20 Planning groups. These teams have been working hard to = arrive=20 at creative solutions to the difficult challenges of = managing=20 the sage grouse in Nevada."

After analyzing the petition, the Service = determined that=20 it does not present sufficient evidence that emergency = listing=20 is warranted, or that the Mono Basin population should = be=20 designated as a DPS.

The Endangered Species Act gives the Service the = authority=20 to list as endangered or threatened not only species = as=20 recognized in formal taxonomic terms, but also = subspecies, and=20 for vertebrates, distinct population segments of a = species=20 whose total population and range would otherwise make = it=20 ineligible for Endangered Species Act protection. The = Service=20 has defined a DPS as one that is separated from other=20 populations of the species by physical, physiological, = genetic, ecological, or behavioral factors; has = biological and=20 ecological significance; and, if it were treated as a = separate=20 species, would be considered as threatened or = endangered.

Listing, delisting, or reclassifying distinct = vertebrate=20 population segments may allow the Services to protect = and=20 conserve species and the ecosystems upon which they = depend=20 before large-scale decline occurs that would = necessitate=20 listing a species or subspecies throughout its entire = range.=20 This may allow protection and recovery of declining = organisms=20 in a more timely and less costly manner, and on a = smaller=20 scale than the more costly and extensive efforts that = might be=20 needed to recover an entire species or subspecies. =

The Nevada Division of Wildlife and the California=20 Department of Fish and Game have identified other = populations=20 of greater sage grouse near those identified in the = petition.=20 Those sage grouse have yet to be genetically analyzed = to=20 determine how they relate to the Mono Basin birds.

"We will also continue to assist the states and = counties in=20 developing conservation plans that will protect the = species=20 and its habitat," said Williams.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal = federal=20 agency responsible for conserving, protecting and = enhancing=20 fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the=20 continuing benefit of the American people. The Service = manages=20 the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System = which=20 encompasses more than 540 national wildlife refuges, = thousands=20 of small wetlands and other special management areas. = It also=20 operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery = resource=20 offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The = agency=20 enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the = Endangered=20 Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, = restores=20 nationally significant fisheries, conserves and = restores=20 wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign=20 governments with their conservation efforts. It also = oversees=20 the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of = millions=20 of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting = equipment to=20 state fish and wildlife agencies.

View the Service=E2=80=99s finding on our website, = http://nevadafwo.fws.gov/

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