Western Watersheds Project ESSENGER...Sharon and Bruce Benson Jonathan Berman Robert L. Beschta &...

MESSENGERWestern Watersheds Project

Vol. XXIV, No. 2 Fall 2017

♺ Printed on 100% Post Consumer Waste ♺

© PAT CLAYTON, FISHEYEGUYPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

www.westernwatersheds.org

WWP Suit a Possible Death Blow to Wyoming Science Suppression Law

Victory for Wild Fishes in the East Fork Salmon River of Idaho

Point Reyes National Seashore, not National Barnyard!

Working to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlifethrough education, public policy initiatives and legal advocacy.

Fall 2017.qxp_ColorNewsletter.qxp 10/10/17 3:17 PM

Advisory Board

Dr. John CarterDebra DonahueMartin Flannes

Dr. Steven HermanDr. Don JohnsonLouise Lasley

Jon MarvelDr. Elizabeth Painter Dr. Tom PringleTodd Shuman

Louise Wagenknecht

Western Watersheds Project State and Regional Offices

Main Office ..........................P.O. Box 1770 • Hailey, ID 83333

(208) 788-2290 • [email protected]

Executive Director • [email protected]

Boise ......................................P.O. Box 2863 • Boise, ID 83701


Arizona ....... 738 N. 5th Avenue, Suite 200 • Tucson, AZ 85705


California.................. 2111 Pacheco Blvd • Martinez, CA 94553


Wyoming, UT & CO ........ P.O. Box 1160 • Pinedale, WY 82941


Montana ........................ P.O. Box 1135 • Hamilton, MT 59840


Nevada ............................ P.O. Box 12356 • Reno, NV 89510


WWP’s Fax Number is (208) 475-4702

Western Watersheds Project StaffErik Molvar ....................................................Executive DirectorGreta Anderson ................................................Deputy DirectorMelissa Cain ....................Bighorn Habitat Protection Campaign

CoordinatorScott Lake ..........................................................Idaho DirectorKelly Fuller ..................................Energy Campaign CoordinatorJeremy Greenberg ......................................Operations DirectorKevin Mueller ................................................California DirectorJosh Osher ..........................Montana Director & Policy DirectorJonathan Ratner ................Colorado, Wyoming & Utah DirectorKristin Ruether ....................................................Senior AttorneyPaul Ruprecht ...................................................... Staff AttorneyLaura Welp ................................................Ecosystems Specialist

Board of DirectorsDr. Ralph Maughan ......................................................PresidentGeorge Wuerthner ................................................Vice PresidentKelley Weston................................................Secretary-TreasurerKaren Klitz ....................................................................DirectorKaren Perry ....................................................................DirectorDr. Bruce Hayse ............................................................Director

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Table of Contents

WWP Suit a Possible Death Blow toWyoming Science Suppression Law Greta Anderson The First Amendment will not be trammeled byWyoming’s legislature.

Rose Chilcoat Receives the 2017 SagebrushSentinel Award

Victory for Wild Fishes in the East ForkSalmon River of Idaho! Kristin Ruether WWP’s relentless pressure in central Idaho resultsin the retirement of key allotments.

The Sheep Experiment Continues Melissa Cain A blight on the Centennial Valley wildlife corridor.

Idaho Team Transitions WWP welcomes our new Idaho Director ScottLake.

Sage-grouse Update Josh Osher The fight for grouse continues on a national scale.

Refuges: Where Wildlife Come First? Paul Ruprecht Surprise, cows aren’t a habitat value for native plantsand animals.

Victory for Sage-grouse in Nevada Kristin Ruether The BLM can’t ignore a species in decline.

Point Reyes National Seashore, not NationalBarnyard! Greta Anderson

Western Watersheds ProjectMESSENGER

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WWP extends special thanks to the following supporters, each of whomcontributed $100 or more to our efforts over the last year. This generousassistance helps to preserve and restore habitat for many species.

AnonymousJeff AbelChuck and Marilu AdamsAdvocates for the WestBob and Fraida AlandJohn AlcockGreta Anderson and Steev HiseARIA FoundationJeff ArmstrongMartha ArveyFrances BagenalMark and Martha BaileyJulene BairDennis and Lynn BairdKathryn BakerSteve and Salli BauerLaMar and Wanda BaumDavid BeckerPeter and Carole BeedlowLeo and Rosemary BensonSharon and Bruce BensonJonathan BermanRobert L. Beschta & Charlaine Beschta TrustDoug BeusThe Wayne & Betty Bickley Charitable TrustSharla and Ronald BilchikBrendan BorrellJanice Bowers and Steven McLaughlinSheila BowersGreg and Kathy BoylstonLarry and Gloria BrightThomas and Betty BudlongNancy A BullKaren ByingtonLorie Cahn and Doug BrownFranz CamenzindCarianne CampbellTimothy CampbellJohn and Nancy Cassidy Family FoundationNancy ChaseRadcliffe and Cheryl ChestonTed ChuJames & Barbara Cimino FoundationJohn CloughJim CodaLindy CoganKen ColeTina ColeSusan ColemanBill CollinsCharles ConnCony CorporationEugenie Copp

J.S. Cox Limited Partnership FundNick CoxCross Family Charitable FoundationConnie CunninghamRichard CurtisH. Tom DavisPaul and Marilyn DavisEugene DeMineLou & Kate DerschNikhil DesaiJack DeWittMichele and Lloyd DorseySusan and David DrownE&H Humbly Bumbly FoundationRonni EganAnne EllisJonathan EpsteinWilliam EverheartF1 Key FoundationRoxanne and Tom FactorBruce and Bonnie FauskeeDaralene and John FinnellBrandon FitzpatrickMartin FlannesTim FordRobbie and Carole FreundColleen FridayMarlene Fritz and John GriffinKevin and Tina FrostadJerome Fulton and Mary Wills FultonJulie Ann Giacobassi and Zach HallMark GillSusan H GillilandMonica GlickmanLeslie and Merrill GlustromJohn C GoetzFred GoodsellThe Good Works InstituteJohn and Vicky GrahamCarol GreenRobert G GreggCj GribbleRobert and Pamela GuthrieWilliam HagdornVirginia S. and Michael J. Halloran Charitable FundSusan and Ken HanawaltJon and Vicki HannaLeonard and Carol HarligCristina HarmonEJ HarphamAnn Harvey and MichaelCampbell

Jim HatchettBruce HayseRoy HebergerHecht 2008 Grantor Charitable Lead Annuity TrustJune HeilmanPatricia HelveyBob HickoxFrederic Hoffman and Linda LangMarv and Emily HoytDaniel and Barbara HurlbuttKen and Anne JacksonGreg JahnKevin JamisonMarilyn JasperDale and Robin JensenRoxane Johnson de LearAndrew JohnsonDon and Suzanne JohnsonFrederick JohnsonJones Family Charitable FoundationRobert and Fay JonesJay KaplanLarry KeeneyJeff KesslerJerry G and Viesia M KirkKaren KlitzKnobloch Family FoundationMike and Lynn KoeppenDaniel KozarskyJoe KrawiecRichard F KrawiecRichard and Karen KrogerKen and Ginna LagergrenAndy and Gusti LaidlawDiana LandisInge-Lise and Jack LaneMark Langner and Lynn InouyeRobert LattanziJill LearyMark LehmkuhleGinger and John LenihanSteven Leuthold Family FoundationCarole J Lewis and Ted WalczakJason and Linda LillegravenDeborah and Peter LipmanBill and Josephine LoweElise LufkinJames MackenzieSuzan R. Mackler FundJon MadsenPam MarcumRon and Cay MarquartPaul Martin

Nicholas MatisseRalph and Jackie MaughanCynthia McAfeeJames D. McClureHi and Ann McComishRyan McDermottAl and Lee McGlinskyJoe and Trina McNealMike McQueenMark MeringChris Merker and Diann De RosierDave MillerDick B and Linda P MillerMalcolm MinasianRebecca MirskyErik MolvarGlenn Monahan and Nancy SchultzDavid MonseesGreg and Isabelle MooreWilliam MooreChristopher MorrisMusicians United for Safe EnergyThe Nalen FoundationNash Family PhilanthropiesChuck NealNemacheck Family FoundationLoren NewmanJodi NorrisBruce NorvellMary O'BrienDon OmanBrian O'ReillyNancy OrrThomas OsoskiPeter and Jean OssorioNoppadol PaothongRonald J ParryGabriele PaulDave PerryKaren and Hank PerryPesky Family FoundationNils Peterson and Krista KramerThe pH FundNuri and John PierceScott PlogerRichard PrangeRachel PriceMike Quigley and Bonnie OlinDaniel ReesKathy and Dave RichmondCarlyn RingLisa and Stephen RobertsonJane and Kevin RobinettFred and Jeanne Rose

Rose EnvironmentalSusan RudnickiRobin RuetherJeff and Judy RuprechtDebra Salstrom and Richard EasterlyCarol SalvatiWayne SalvoSangham FoundationScott SchlossbergCarol and Chuck SchneebeckMichael Schneegas and Nancy SkinnerKen SchneiderClee and Mary SealingKen and Louise SeilerRobert D. and Marsha SellersThe Shapiro Family Charitable FoundationLeon Shaul and Kathleen JensonTorrey ShaweT.R. and Emily ShelbyB.J. SmithDon SmithSomalwar Family FundWill and Karen SomersSperling FoundationRichard SpottsJanice StangerJames G. StewartErik Storlie and Tamara KaiserC&F Stremmel Family TrustStuart Sugarman and O'Ann FeldmanWalter H SykesMeredith and Tory TaylorTemper of the Times FoundationSagebrush Habitat Conservation FundTroy ThomasKim Marie ThorburnDr. Charles TrostTara TroutnerSteve and Amy UnfriedThe Von Der Heyden Family FoundationTodd WeigandPauline WeissnerMartin WilkeJennifer WilliamsDon WrightWyoming Wildlife AdvocatesJohn G. CarterGordon YoungerBen Zuckerman


WWP Suit a PossibleDeath Blow toWyoming ScienceSuppression Law

By Greta Anderson

Officially, Wyomingis “The Equality State,”but its unofficial nick-name– “The CowboyState”– seems to moreaccurately define thestate’s land use agenda.

Fortunately, the Tenth Circuit Court ofAppeals hasn’t forgotten about equalrights under the law, and in September,it found two Wyoming laws appliedunevenly, and thus illegally, to peoplecollecting natural resource data on publicland. The two laws, dubbed Jonathan’sLaws, were aimed squarely at the hardwork of our Wyoming Director (JonathanRatner) in gathering water quality data

on public lands and his efforts to gatherwater quality on public lands, by makingit illegal to gather data or even takephotos on public land if you had inad-vertently crossed private property alongthe way. Jonathan Ratner doesn’t seem likemuch of a threat. He’s soft-spoken andgentle, spends much of his free timemeditating or backpacking in remotemountains, and lives simply and off-the-grid in rural Wyoming. But eversince he started sampling water con-tamination on public lands and reportingegregious Clean Water Act violationsto the Wyoming Department of WaterQuality, the livestock industry has lookedfor ways to shut him up, and to shutdown WWP’s work to reform publiclands grazing. In 2014, anti-environmental attorney(and potential Trump pick to lead theBureau of Land Management) KarenBudd-Falen and a group of ranchersfiled a lawsuit claiming Jonathan must

have trespassed on their private propertyin order to gather water quality samplesfrom public lands grazing allotments.Ms. Budd-Falen and her clients got aheads-up about WWP’s submissions toDEQ and, rather than worry about thedisgusting levels of cattle excrement inWyoming’s rivers, they looked at mapsand alleged trespass. She wound up theloser. This frivolous lawsuit was resolvedin 2016 through a settlement agreementthat ultimately penalized the ranchersthrough their legal fees, and WWP agree-ing to follow the same laws it alwaysfollows regarding private lands. In 2015, the Wyoming DEQ decidednot to accept any of WWP's data: “Anysubmission submitted by such organi-zations should not be accepted due totheir inherent bias towards one ofWyoming’s leading economic industries.”If an organization cares about waterquality and native fish habitat more thancows, the data be damned. Alleging inad-equate sampling methods, DEQ simply

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WWP’s Wyoming Director Jonathan Ratner measures stubble height along a cattle-damaged stream in Wyoming.


disregarded the evidence of high levelsof E. coli in the waterways. Also that year, the DEQ decided tojust change the rules about E.coli in 76percent of the waterways in the state –effectively legalizing the extreme pollutionlevels that Jonathan had been documentingby exempting most watercourses fromcompliance with body-contact standards.The rule change, as requested by thelivestock industry, went into effect inFebruary 2017 despite broad oppositionby recreational users and federal landmanagement agencies. Wyoming counties got in on the

obstruction as well. In Lincoln County,for years the public used a county roadto reach the Raymond MountainWilderness Study Area on public lands.In 2013, the county sold a strip of landalong the road to an Idaho rancher andsubsequently made the private portionof the road legally impassable. Accordingto emails revealed in litigation, this wasdone with the specific understandingthat WWP would no longer have access

to a long-troubled grazing allotment. In addition to state agencies andpublic lands grazing permitees thinkingof ways to disqualify WWP’s importantfindings, the Wyoming State Legislaturedecided to take special interests' rightto wreck the environment to anotherlevel by passing legislation making itillegal to cross "open land for the purposeof collecting resource data." WWP andour allies were alarmed by the fact thatthe laws would seek specifically to punishpeople who intend to communicate datato the government; this is a restrictionon free speech and targets a specific

class of citizens (data collectors),which the U.S. Constitution pro-hibits. The outrageousness of thelaw was broadcast widely, with anarticle by Justin Pidot (WWP’s 2016Sagebrush Sentinel recipient) inslate.com showing how the lawscould be used to criminalize a

tourist taking photos in Yellowstoneand submitting them to a government-sponsored photo contest. Of course,WWP and the public knew that the leg-islature’s intent wasn’t to prosecutetourists taking pictures, but somethingmore insidious: blocking citizen watchdogsfrom documenting evidence of envi-ronmental crimes and animal abuse. After the Wyoming legislature mod-ified the laws to redefine “open lands”

where data collection or photographyoccurs to “cross[ing] private land” tocollect data on adjacent public land in2016, Wyoming had our case in DistrictCourt dismissed. But WWP and our co-plaintiffs weren't fooled by the tweaksin language, and we appealed the caseto the Tenth Circuit Court of Appealswhich affirmed in September that a plainreading of the statute demonstrated thatWyoming was seeking to regulate anactivity that occurred on public landand that resource data collection is withinthe definition of the creation of speech– protected under the First Amendmentand essential to public participation innumerous federal environmental statutes,including the Clean Water Act. The lawswent beyond penalizing trespassing andinto extra penalties for certain types oftrespassers, thus creating legal inequalitiesabout different groups of people. Thecase now heads back to the DistrictCourt under orders to consider it incontext of the First Amendment, andWWP expects to prevail in having“Jonathan’s Laws” overturned. While we wait for this next roundof litigation, we hope that Wyoming'snext move is simply to clean up its actand stop letting the livestock industryfoul the state's precious waters.

Greta Anderson is WWP’s DeputyDirector. She lives in Tucson, AZ.

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The Wyoming State Legislature decid-ed to take special interests' right towreck the environment to anotherlevel by passing legislation makingit illegal to cross "open land for thepurpose of collecting resource data."

The Tetons at sunrise

© PAT CLAYTON, FISHEYEGUYPHOTOGRAPHY.COM


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It is with great pleasure and honor thatwe recognize Rose Chilcoat as the recip-ient of the 2017 Sagebrush SentinelAward! The annual Sagebrush SentinelAward recognizes an outstanding indi-vidual whose commitment to protectingthe environment has earned our gratitude,respect, and emulation. This year, we’rehonoring Rose, a conservation herowhose tenacious spirit is an inspirationto us all. Rose recently retired from her 15-year tenure as Associate Director atGreat Old Broads for Wilderness, whereshe played an instrumental role in invent-ing the “Broadwalk” (the organization’spublic outing program) and the“Broadband,” as local chapters are nowknown. Rose also is a founding BoardMember of both Friends of CedarMesa and Torrey House Press. She’san avid hiker, river runner, camper, andoutspoken advocate for public lands.

She previously had worked for theNational Park Service, so she understandsthe agency lingo and policies, and sheremains a knowledgeable and personableactivist. Many WWPers know Rose’sfirm dislike of the impacts of publiclands livestock grazing and she helpedWWP in many of our grazing-relatedcomments and cases over the years inUtah and Colorado. In 2005, Rose used a camera anda GPS to document a seven-mile illegallyconstructed motorized trail for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) throughRecapture Canyon in southeastern Utah.At first the Bureau of Land Managementignored the illegal trail. But after theancient ruins of the Recapture GreatHouse were looted in 2007 by ATV-riding pot-hunters, the agency finallyenforced its own laws and closed thetrail. In a back-handed compliment to

Rose’s effectiveness, motorized offendersfrom San Juan County then mounteda protracted campaign to harass anddemonize Chilcoat and the Great OldBroads, including thinly-veiled deaththreats on “wanted” posters, mountingHalloween masks on posts to lampoonthe Great Old Broads, and once evenlocking a party of 40 elderly volunteersinto a campsite using a chain and padlock.In 2014, San Juan County CommissionerPhil Lyman staged a “protest ride” onthe closed Recapture Canyon trail thatincluded among its participants RyanBundy of Malheur National WildlifeRefuge infamy. Lyman was convictedand jailed. Rose’s outspoken but polite insis-tence on doing what is right has beenan effective means of advocacy overthe years. But in southern Utah, nogood deed goes unpunished: in 2017,Rose and her husband were accusedof trespass and “attempted wantondestruction of livestock” for allegedlyclosing a gate on public lands. Her effi-cacy as an environmental advocateapparently triggered the cowboy cabalof San Juan County, UT to pursue herwith unfounded criminal charges. Inaddition to the frivolous charges, wecan truly say that Utah picked the wrongBroad to mess with. Rose has the over-whelming support of the conservationcommunity. Thanks for everything,Rose! We stand with you. The Sagebrush Sentinel award was estab-

lished in honor of Jon Marvel, the foundingdirector of Western Watersheds Project, asteadfast and tenacious environmentalist whotruly changed the West by challenging the envi-ronmental exploitation that has been destroyingand degrading the West for centuries. Joninspired many of us to continue on this samepath, and the Sagebrush Sentinels representa cohort of superlative role-models.

Rose Chilcoat Receives the 2017 Sagebrush Sentinel Award

Rose Chilcoat’s notoriety precedes her in San Juan County, Utah.


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Victory for Wild Fishesin the East Fork SalmonRiver of Idaho!

By Kristin Ruether

In 2016, WesternWatersheds Project andAdvocates for the Westfiled a lawsuit aimingto bring improved pro-tections to two largegrazing allotments in

the East Fork Salmon River watershedof central Idaho. This summer, weachieved a settlement that ensured theallotments – long in violation of federallaws – would be rested for two years.Better still, one of the allotments hassince been permanently retired! WWP’s involvement in the Upperand Lower East Fork allotments stretchesback to 2002 and 2004, when we suedthe Forest Service for failing to reducelivestock grazing damage to importantfisheries. At the time, the Forest Servicepromised that careful monitoring wouldadequately protect habitat here and thatmanagement adjustments would be madeso as not to impair the watersheds.However, even after repeated grazingviolations, the agency refused to reducegrazing use or impose any penalties fornon-compliance. In 2012 and 2013 theagency issued new ten-year permits, andits annual authorizations issued everyyear since have failedto meaningfully correctthe problems. In 2016,we decided we neededto intervene again toprotect the Snake River steelhead, Chinooksalmon, and bull trout spawning streamson these allotments. A suite of complex factors affectsalmon and steelhead returns, like oceantemperatures and dam operations. Butanother important factor is the habitatconditions of spawning grounds on our

public lands. Salmon and steelheadrequire cool, clean water with complexhabitat features such as downed wood,shady vegetation, and overhanging banks.If you’ve seen a stream where cattlecongregate, you know that livestockgrazing is a big part of the problem. Wewere determined not to let that gounchecked in the East Fork.

In June 2017,we were pleased toenter into a settle-ment agreement giv-ing the allotments a

significant reprieve. The agreement guar-anteed that there would be no authorizeddomestic livestock grazing on the Upperand Lower East Fork allotments in 2017or 2018. In some pastures, grazingwouldn’t resume until conditions improvedand new environmental analyses were

completed. Subsequently, we learned that thesole permittee of the Upper East Forkallotment decided to take a voluntarybuyout in late August 2017, as authorizedby the 2015 Sawtooth National RecreationArea and Jerry Peak Wilderness AdditionsAct, a wilderness bill for this region thatincluded a beneficial grazing retirementprovision. This means that the UpperEast Fork allotment is now permanentlyclosed! In these uncertain times for steelheadand salmon, they need every assist theycan get, and that includes protectingtheir spawning habitat. Let’s hope thistrend of resting and retiring allotmentscontinues around the West.

Kristin Ruether is WWP’s Senior Attorney.She lives in Boise, ID.

The Upper East Fork allot-ment is now permanentlyclosed!

WWP’s Executive Director Erik Molvar surveys the Upper East Fork allotment

© KAREN PERRY WW

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AGES.COM


Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp

full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's p

own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autu

nature's sources never fail. - John Muir


amp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks

's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their

autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but

© KAREN PERRY WW

W.KARENPERRYIM

AGES.COM

The Upper East Fork Allotment


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The Sheep ExperimentContinuesBy Melissa Cain

The USDAAgricultural ResearchService (ARS) SheepExperiment Station,headquartered in

Dubois, Idaho, spans more than 60,000acres of public land in Idaho andSouthwest Montana. Sheep Stationgrazing pastures sprawl from the lower-elevation sagebrush steppe north ofDubois to the top of the ContinentalDivide and down to Montana’s CentennialValley, a critical corridor for bears, wolver-ines, and lynx. Allotments on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest are also grazedby ARS sheep. Grazing of 3,000-6,500 sheep at thefacility displaces native species and pre-vents their dispersal along the uniqueeast-west corridor, eliminating connectivitybetween wildlife populations in theGreater Yellowstone Ecosystem andthe rugged mountains of central Idaho.Sheep Station use of high-elevation pas-tures prevents the return of once-thrivingbighorn herds to historic habitatatop the Centennial range, as wildsheep risk deadly pneumonia out-breaks should they come in contactwith the domestic sheep grazed atthe facility. Wolves, bears, coyotes,and foxes are trapped or shot fromhelicopters to prevent predation onsheep and lambs. Public access isrestricted year-round on lands usedby the ARS for Sheep Station research,so that hikers, hunters, and wildlifewatchers do not disturb the domesticflocks. Though a government researchfacility in the Rockies dedicated toimproving sheep production efficiencymight have made sense in 1915 whenthe Sheep Station was established, such

a program seems all but irrelevant today.Wool has been replaced in textile man-ufacturing by lighter, more durable syn-thetic fibers, and per capita consumptionof lamb and mutton has plummetedsince World War II, now totaling lessthan a pound per year. At the same time, interest in restoringapex predators like bears and wolves tohistoric habitat in the high Rockies hasgrown, and recovery efforts have led toexpanding populations of large carnivoresin the areas surrounding Yellowstone.The potential for grizzly conflicts withSheep Station activities led the Yellowstone

Interagency Grizzly Bear StudyCommittee (comprised of state and fed-eral wildlife agencies, the Bureau ofLand Management, the U.S. ForestService, the National Park Service, andothers) to send a letter to the ARS in2012, urging the agency to stop grazingsheep in areas critical for the protectionof grizzlies. In the same year the BLMclosed the Bernice allotment, grazed by

the ARS, for the protection of bighornsheep. So when, in 2014, the ObamaAdministration first proposed shuttingdown the Sheep Station and transferringits 14 full-time employees to other ARSstations, the announcement was metwith broad support; reallocating fundsfrom domestic sheep research to otherprograms and opening the Centennialsto recreational use and wildlife seemedlike a clear win-win. However, federal funding for sheepindustry research was retained throughthe last-minute intervention of theHouse Agricultural AppropriationsSubcommittee, after members wereurged by Idaho Representative MikeSimpson to block the proposal.When the Obama Administrationproposed closure a second time in2015, sheep industry lobbying effortswere again successful in convincingRep. Simpson to act to spare the

Sheep Station. The Trump Administration,too, recognized the benefits of closingthe facility with the release of the 2018ARS budget proposal, which would haveredistributed the Sheep Station’s $2.1million annual budget to other programsand shuttered the Station once and forall. Hunters, hikers, and wildlife advocateslauded the proposed closure, cheeringthe potential reopening of the Centennial

Despite support for closure fromadministrations of both politicalparties, a plethora of state andfederal agencies, recreationists andwildlife advocates, the Sheep Stationpersists, impeding and imperilingwildlife.

Domestic Sheep

© ARLEN BREIHOLZ, COURTESY FLICKR CREATIVE COMM

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Fall 2017 11

range to recreational users, large carnivores,and bighorn sheep, but Rep. Simpsononce again stepped in to block the pro-posal, restoring funding for the SheepStation in the proposed 2018 budget. Western Watersheds Project andothers have successfully challengedSheep Station grazing multiple times inrecent years, citing the USDA’s failureto properly analyze and disclose theeffects of grazing on wildlife. One suchchallenge, in 2007, ultimately forced theUSDA to undertake NEPAEnvironmental Impact analysis of SheepStation grazing, the first such assessmentin the facility’s 100-year history. Anotherchallenge resulted in an agreement thatthe Sheep Station would cease grazingin certain areas until the analysis wascomplete. After more than a decade,the final version of this EnvironmentalImpact Statement was released in Julyof 2017. The proposal: Resume grazing.Change nothing. Despite support for closure fromadministrations of both political parties,a plethora of state and federal agencies,recreationists and wildlife advocates,the Sheep Station persists, impedingand imperiling wildlife for the benefitof an anachronistic industry. But evenas ARS officials wind down anotherseason of sheep grazing in the Centennials,they no doubt see the writing on thewall. One day the Sheep Station willclose forever, and the critical CentennialValley wildlife corridor will be restored.Bighorns will again roam the ruggedpeaks, wolf pups, grizzly cubs, andwolverine kits will be born in the nooksand crevices of the rocky slopes; andthe awe-inspiring wildlife of Yellowstonewill travel through to the wilds of centralIdaho. Until that day comes, our fightisn’t over.

Melissa Cain is WWP’s Bighorn HabitatProtection Campaign Coordinator. She lives

in Ketchum, ID.

Idaho Team Transitions This past summer, we said “bon voyage!” to Ken Cole, who worked forWWP in Idaho since 2008. Ken has been a key part of our team, especiallyas he became Idaho Director in 2015. We can’t blame Buffalo FieldCampaign for recruiting him into its Executive Director position – we knowhe’ll do great work for our allies at BFC – and we’re proud he’s still amember and active participant in WWP. Goodbye, Ken, and many thanks!

The upside of Ken leaving is that we were able to bring in Scott Lakeas Idaho Director. Scott just got started in September in our Boise officeand we’re excited to introduce him to our membership. Scott grew up in central Idaho and spent his childhood exploring Idahopublic lands with his father, a career employee of the US Forest Service.After graduating from high school, Scott earned a degree in English fromthe College of Idaho and spent his summers with the Forest Service as awildland firefighter. He also spent two seasons mapping invasive plantpopulations in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. After abrief, unsuccessful attempt to make a living as a professional guitar player,Scott attended Vermont Law School, where he earned a J.D. and a Master'sin environmental law and policy. He then served one year as a law clerkwith the Alaska state trial courts in Anchorage, and another year as a lawclerk with the Alaska Supreme Court before joining WWP. Scott's pastconservation experience includes working to protect Idaho native fishhabitat from grazing impacts and assisting with litigation against a majorinternational crude oil pipeline project. He is an avid climber, cyclist, hiker, and backpacker. Welcome back toIdaho, Scott, and welcome to our team!


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Sage-grouse UpdateBy Josh Osher

For more than twodecades, WWP hasbeen leading thecharge to protect thegreat sagebrush seaand the hundreds ofwildlife species that

depend on it. As the proverbial canaryin the coal mine for determining thehealth of this vast landscape, the iconicgreater sage-grouse often takes centerstage in our habitat conservation efforts.Following years of legal wrangling, andfor better or for worse, in 2015, theBureau of Land Management and ForestService approved Resource ManagementPlan Amendments (ARMPA) that weresupposed to protect sage-grouse habitatthroughout its range. Now the Trump administration,through Secretary of Interior RyanZinke, is actively working to weakeneven the insufficient ARMPAs by cateringto the insatiable appetite of the livestock

and energy industries. Unfortunately,the shortcomings WWP and our alliesidentified in the ARMPAs and theirbuilt-in flexibility is making it all tooeasy for the administration to get aroundhabitat protections even in the mostsensitive areas for imperiled sage-grousepopulations. Secretary Zinke wasted no time fig-uring out how to gut the ARMPAs toindustry liking. In summer 2017, hissage-grouse review team, none of whomare sage-grouse scientists, released areport that is a carbon copy of industrywish lists: Cut protections immediately

where possible, and then figure out howto work around the ones we can’t com-pletely cut. Make no mistake: WWP wasn’tthrilled with the original plans either,and our lawsuit to see them strengthenedin accord with the science is still pending.But WWP wanted to see the plansimproved and not overturned; our posi-tion was that the agencies hadn’t gonefar enough creating strict and enforceableplans that would truly save sage-grouseand the habitat they depend on.Importantly, this isn't just about onespecies in the wilderness. As the sage-grouse go, so do mule deer, pronghornantelope, elk, pygmy rabbits, sage thrashers,Brewer’s sparrows and countless otherirreplaceable wildlife populations thatdepend on the same precious habitats.WWP is committed to protecting theentire web of sagebrush-dependentspecies from industry greed. We are saddened and frustrated bythe Trump administration’s short-sightedand callus push to destroy the sagebrushsea for industry profit, but we are notsurprised by it. WWP and our allies aremobilizing the best legal minds andsage-grouse scientists to fight back andfigure out how to regain and improveprotections for sage-grouse and thesagebrush sea.

Josh Osher is WWP’s Montana Directorand Public Policy Coordinator. He lives in

Hamilton, Montana.Male Greater sage-grouse turning

A Sage Grouse soars in the hills of southern Idaho© TATIANA GETTELM

AN, COURTESY FLICKR CREATIVE COMM

ONS

© KEN COLE


Fall 2017 13

Refuges: WhereWildlife Come First?

By Paul Ruprecht

Many people visitnational wildlife refugesfor birding and wildlifewatching, photography,hunting, and otheractivities but most peo-

ple are not familiar with the way refugesare managed. Unlike national forestsand BLM lands, which are subject tomultiple use management for activitieslike mining, grazing, and logging, federallaw mandates that wildlife must comefirst on national wildlife refuges. Thismeans that human uses can only beallowed if they are compatible with thepurpose for which a given refuge wasestablished, for instance, breeding birdhabitat. And economic activities, includinglivestock grazing, can only be authorizedif they serve to further the refuge pur-poses. This is an important requirement,and it is the reason we have several large,cow-free landscapes like Hart Mountainand Sheldon National Antelope Refuges,where livestock caused devastation formany years before grazing was eliminated. But unfortunately in many otherrefuges, instead of disallowing grazing,the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)has performed contortion acts to try toshow that grazing (and often grass hayharvest as well) benefits wildlife. Forexample, at Ruby Lake NWR in Nevadaand Malheur NWR in Oregon, the FWSclaims livestock are “needed” to createlow-cropped areas and openings in veg-etation for waterfowl and other migratorybirds. And recently at Clear Lake refugein northeast California, the Serviceapproved livestock grazing in the onlybreeding area for last remaining sage-grouse populations in the Klamath Basin,supposedly to improve its habitat! The

agency says grazing will prevent firesand reduce cheatgrass, thus benefittingthe bird, despite peer-reviewed sciencethat finds no benefit from this “prescribedgrazing.” In fact, grazing has long beenrecognized as one of the main driversof the establishment and spread ofannual grasses like cheatgrass. Cowsalso compete with sage-grouse, prong-horn, and mule deer for forbs along theshoreline at Clear Lake. In early 2017, WWP filed suit to

challenge the management plan for ClearLake NWR, and we are hopeful that thecase will provide precedent against thenarrative that grazing can improve habitatfor native plants and animals—and helpkeep the Fish and Wildlife Service honestabout its duty to put wildlife first onour national wildlife refuges.

Paul Ruprecht is WWP’s Staff Attorney.He lives in Reno, NV.

© ERIK MOLVAR

© PAUL RUPRECHT

A Greater sage-grouse in the Ruby Valley

The beautiful Ruby Valley in northeast Nevada


14 Messenger

Victory for Sage-grousein NevadaBy Kristin Ruether

This summer,Western WatershedsProject won its appealof a Bureau of LandManagement (BLM)

decision in central Nevada. TheCottonwood and Scotty Meadows allot-ments south of Ely are home to sage-grouse and a unique species ofspring-dwelling fish, the rare Pahrumppoolfish. Grazing is permitted to theSouthern Nevada Water Authority aspart of its scheme to pull water fromrural Nevada into Las Vegas. The WaterAuthority maintains money-losing ranch-ing operations to maintain access towater sources. Both allotments had failedto meet habitat needs for sage-grousebased on lack of plants in the understory– an effect that just might have somethingto do with livestock grazing. WWP challenged the decision in2013, and briefing was completed this

year. In the sharply worded opinion, anAdministrative Law Judge admonished,“BLM’s selection of the proposed actionand final grazing decision with no attemptto seriously consider and incorporateany terms and conditions that couldbenefit sage-grouse habitat was withouta rational basis.” The judge noted thatBLM rejected out of hand common-sense measures to reduce the impactsof grazing, such as reducing grazinglevels to the amounts actually used inrecent years, or adopting utilization stan-dards scientists say sage-grouse need. As WWP members know, BLM promisedthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)and the American public that greatersage-grouse would be protected by the2015 Approved Resource ManagementPlan Amendments, and this promisewas the basis for FWS’s 2015 decisionthat the bird did not need EndangeredSpecies Act protection. The PlanAmendments were supposed to impactall future land-use decisions and providesufficiently protective measures to ensurethe species won’t continue its populationdeclines.

The problem is that BLM has arguedthat the Plan Amendments don’t applyto decisions currently being adjudicated,and resisted implementing any newrestrictions on grazing in these and othersage-grouse allotments. (Furthermore,the restrictions in the Plan Amendmentsare terribly weak, which is why WWPis challenging their adequacy in court.) BLM claims these pending decisionsare only governed by weaker guidancein effect prior to the Plan Amendments.But the judge here found that BLM’sdecision to largely maintain the statusquo did not even comply with that guid-ance, leaving one to wonder how genuineBLM’s commitments to save the sage-grouse really are. WWP’s appeal victory should requireBLM to go back to the drawing boardand make a decision that accurately con-siders sage-grouse needs on the allotments,but both BLM and the Water Authorityare appealing this decision to a higherlevel. We’ll be defending our victory,and keeping an eye on these allotments.

Kristin Ruether is WWP’s Senior Attorney.She lives in Boise, ID.

© ERIK MOLVAR


Fall 2017 15

Point Reyes NationalSeashore, not National

Barnyard! By Greta Anderson

Point Reyes NationalSeashore is 71,000 acresof stunning centralCalifornia coastline,home to tule elk,

salmon and steelhead, bobcats, elephantand harbor seals, snowy plovers, mountainlions, over 490 resident and migratorybird species, and numerous rare andimperiled plant species. It offers a uniquerecreational experience, with 150 milesof hiking trails and six campgroundsset among breathtaking scenery andarcheological sites. And cow pastures. Don’t forget thecow pastures! When Point Reyes was designatedin 1962, existing dairy ranches withinthe park boundaries were allowed toenter limited leases, extending their useof the park either 25 years or until thelessees died. Over $19 million dollarswas paid to ranch owners to buy outtheir land, but the National Park Servicehas continued to issue Special Use Permitsthat allow numerous agricultural oper-ations to use the public lands within a

28,000-acre “Pastoral Zone.” When, in2014, the National Park Service beganthe development of a “RanchManagement Plan,” WWP and our alliesknew we needed to intervene beforethis outdated land use was furtherentrenched. We filed a lawsuit in 2016 to compelthe National Park Service to govern theSeashore according to a GeneralManagement Plan that would give “max-imum protection” to wildlife and naturalresources, and to be left “unimpaired

for the enjoyment of future generations,”in accordance with the Park Service’sOrganic Act. We wanted the Park Serviceto take a hard look at the impacts fromthe livestock operations including thespread of non-native weeds, tramplingand soil compaction, erosion, pollutionof soil and water from the manure ofseveral thousand cows, endangermentof native species, and losses to archeo-logical and cultural sites, and the effectsto tule elk who are excluded from thePastoral Zone by a tall fence. In 2017, after months of legal wran-gling, the Park Service agreed to settlethe case and set a deadline for completinga new management plan that includesconsideration of no ranching, reduced-ranching, and non-dairy ranching alter-natives and discloses the impacts ofeach on the special resources of PointReyes. We believe that a true and fair hardlook should result in a better plan forthe seashore and the species that livethere.

Greta Anderson is WWP’s DeputyDirector. She lives in Tucson, AZ.

Cattle trashing the Point Reyes National Seashore

Native tule elk in the more pristine area of Point Reyes

© ERIK MOLVAR

© PHOCA2004 COURTESY OF FLICKR CREATIVE COMM

ONS


WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECTP.O. Box 1770Hailey, ID 83333

NON-PROFITORG.

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Boise, IdahoPermit No 220

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Thank You for Your Continued Support!

Every day the public lands, streams and wildlife throughout the West benefit because of the work done by WesternWatersheds Project. The agency management plans we challenge, the allotments we monitor, and the lawsuits we fileall help to protect and restore our western public lands.

• Any size donation is greatly appreciated and makes a difference! Everything WWP does to influence therestoration of western public lands is based on a vision that western North America may be one of the only placeson earth where enough of the native landscape and wildlife still exist to make possible the restoration of a wild naturalworld.• Make a gift of appreciated stock. Talk to your accountant or financial planner about the potential tax benefitsof making this type of donation. • A gift through careful estate planning can make a lasting difference for WWP. A bequest, an arrangementmade in a donor’s will, is a simple and uncomplicated approach to planned giving. Other methods to facilitate aplanned giving donation include: charitable remainder trust, charitable lead trust and gift annuity. It may be wise totalk to your accountant or financial planner to fully understand the potential tax benefits of different giving options. • Help others learn about WWP! Recently, WWP supporters hosted events in Pocatello, Idaho and Berkeley,California to help us spread the word about our important work. You can host an event too and WWP will help. We’llsupply informational materials, send out email/printed invitations combining your guest list with local WWPsupporters, and even have a WWP representative attend a “meet & greet” which can be customized to your area ofinterest or concern.

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Western Watersheds Project ESSENGER...Sharon and Bruce Benson Jonathan Berman Robert L. Beschta &...

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