HOME	MEMBERSHIP	OFFICERS & STAFF	POLICY	SAGE SIGNALS	CALENDAR	COFFEE SHOP
	JOIN NCA	LEGISLATURE	CONVENTION	BULL SALE	RAFFLE	LINKS

May 2010

Workshops Held to Discuss Sage Grouse
Management and Conservation

 

by Meghan Brown

For several months the livestock industry has been waiting for the listing announcement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service on sage grouse. On March 5th that announcement came and with that came more questions about how private land owners and ranchers could protect their property from regulation under ESA. In late March an announcement was made that funds were available from the NRCS for projects on public and private land for the conservation of habitat for sage grouse. The USDA made available $16 million dollars for projects.

Funding enhances the opportunity for USDA to strengthen its conservation commitment with state agencies responsible for managing sage-grouse populations. USDA will also work with the Department of Interior to provide certainty to landowners who enroll in NRCS programs to benefit sage grouse. This will protect landowners from increased regulation should the bird be listed under the Endangered Species Act in the future.

USDA’s sage-grouse initiative also will help the 11 western states respond proactively to the recent announcement that the greater sage-grouse warrants protection under the ESA. Because of the DOI decision not to list the sage-grouse, landowners will have additional time to be responsive by taking specific actions to protect the species.

NCA staff, along with Kasey Gillette from Senator Reid’s office and members of the Nevada State NRCS office worked together to put on three workshops across the state to inform private land owners about the funds, what other states had done to address sage grouse conservation, and how Nevada is planning on addressing sage grouse conservation.

Ginger Murphy, Associate Chief of the NRCS, traveled from the Washington office to speak with producers about the partnership agreement that was signed between the NRCA and the US Fish and Wildlife service. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service announced the partnership agreement on the Gunnison sage grouse and the Greater sage grouse. The agreement aims to increase cooperation between the agencies and with stakeholders to enhance grouse habitat across the west. The following five objectives are included in the agreement:

Ensure that NRCS programs and conservation practices will help ameliorate threats and produce significant conservation benefits to sage grouse and its habitat at the local and landscape scale;

Provide certainty that cooperators who voluntarily implement NRCS-sponsored conservation practices that favor sage grouse will be in full compliance with the Endangered Species Act in the event that sage grouse are ultimately listed as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA;

Explore innovative approaches to conservation, restoration, enhancement, and management at all applicable scales;

Promote voluntary, proactive, incentive-based approaches to systematically and strategically focus resources of both agencies to achieve our goal; and

Expedite conservation on the ground to produce goal-oriented outcomes.

NCA believes this is the first of many steps that federal agencies can take in helping to take a cooperative step forward for management of species and landscapes. The next partnerships we would like to see regarding sage grouse habitat conservation would be between the BLM and NRCS. The association is working to strengthening communication at both a state and national level so as we move forward we can help enhance ranching operations and habitat.

Tim Griffiths from NRCS in MT spoke about how his state has approached landscape scale projects with ranchers to impact the greatest density of birds and help producers achieve goals that will impact their production in a positive way. We learned during the three day tour that what’s good for sage grouse is good for cattle. In anticipation of this listing many producers did not feel this was the case as many environmental groups are hoping that a listing of the sage grouse would get cattle off public lands. Tim’s presentation spring boarded the discussion about the possible direction Nevada producers could go in anticipation working to ensure the sage grouse does not get listed.

Some of the possible projects that could be implemented include: removing encroached pinyon and juniper trees, planting native species in burned areas, removing or retrofitting fences to make them more visible and wildlife-friendly, installing wildlife escape ramps in existing watering facilities, and installing solar pumps on tanks.

With continued communication between federal land agencies and producers we hope to bring meaningful change to the landscapes and increase production for producers. To learn more about what activities NCA has been participating in please see the adjacent column “What has NCA Done For you”

 

 

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

 

What Has NCA Done for You

• President Ron Cerri traveled to Washington DC to attend The Public Land Council meetings and met with Congressmen Heller, Congresswoman Berkley’s staff, Senator Ensign and Senator Reid while in DC. Topics of discussion: EAJA reform, UNR College of Agriculture, estate taxes, wild horses, monument designations, and sage grouse.
• NCA Board Member Dave Baker attended a state legislative hearing on water. Dave testified regarding the current Supreme Court case regarding SNWA.
• NCA Member Annalyn Settelmeyer attended a meeting with like-minded groups concerned about the animal rights movement in the upcoming legislative session. The purpose of the meeting was to lay the ground work for communication and coordination between organizations.
• President Ron Cerri attended a meeting at UNR where we discussed the on-going research as well as future proposed projects at the Gund Ranch.
• President Ron Cerri, President Elect JJ Goicoechea, and staff Meghan Brown attended a special meeting of the Board of Agriculture where we discussed reinstatement of the State Veterinarian.
• President Ron Cerri, President Elect JJ Goicoechea, and staff Meghan Brown met with the Governor’s Chief of Staff and other staffers and the Attorney General to discuss the elimination of the State Veterinarian position.
• NCA coordinated with members for the state NRCS office and Senator Reid’s staff for three rural meetings regarding funding available for projects on private and public lands for sage grouse.
• NCA promoted Earth Day through media contacts and by encouraging Ag producer families to join a team effort to educate the general public about food and fiber production and possibly dispel a few of the myths surrounding agriculture and western rangeland grazing.
• NCA continues to be involved in the Hope on the Range effort, an educational display trailer designed to assist the efforts to educate the general public about food and fiber production and possibly dispel a few of the myths surrounding agriculture and western rangeland grazing.
• The Department of Agriculture committee on Brands met with continued progress towards the future of the Brand Department. President Ron Cerri and President Elect JJ Goicoechea have participated in these meetings representing NCA.
• Staff Meghan Brown participated in the Mule Deer Subcommittee of the Nevada Wildlife Commission.
• Staff Meghan Brown presented and participated in several Elko Country commission meetings regarding CABNR and local Forest Service Travel Management Plans.
• Letters:
  • RAC nominations for the North East Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Council.
  • NCA sent letters in support of legislation regarding monument designations in both the House and Senate. The legislation, H.R. 4675 and S. 3041, introduced by Congressman Heller and Senator Ensign would prohibit the further extension or establishment of national monuments in Nevada except by express authorization of Congress.
  • NCA sent letters to the President, Provost, and Board of Regents regarding the potential CABNR closure at UNR.

 

 

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE