Summit County Citizens Voice

Years of advocacy and legal action end with some measure of protection for endangered Colorado wildflowers

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated critical habitat for the Parachute beardtongue (Penstemon debilis). Photo courtesy USFWS.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story included factual errors, confusing legal actions surrounding the Graham’s penstemon with the listing process for the Parachute beardtongue and DeBeque phacelia. The Graham’s penstemon is still under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The original version is posted below the corrected version.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — After a long journey through the maze of the Endangered Species Act review process, two rare Colorado oil-patch plants have some habitat to call their own — or at least to share with energy companies willing to adjust their drilling plans to help protect the Parachute beardtongue and DeBeque phacelia.

In late July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 15,510 acres of critical habitat for the beardtongue, a member of the penstemon family, in Garfield County, Colorado. The beardtongue grows mainly on public lands, with only about 4,200 of the plants known to exist. According to the USFWS, it’s threatened by development, oil shale mine reclamation, road maintenance, and natural events such as fire and drought.

The USFWS has been tracking the beardtongue since 1990, when it was proposed as a candidate species. As energy development intensified along the Roan Plateau escarpment, the agency found that threats to the plant were becoming more imminent. In 2005, the plant moved higher up the priority list, but still didn’t get full protection. In 2008, the agency did get the funding to initiate the proposal to list Penstemon debilis.

The nine known populations of DeBeque phacelia also grow mainly on public lands in Mesa and Garfield counties on barren patches of shrink-swell clay of the Wasatch formation. The USFWS has designated more than 25,000 acres of critical habitat for the phacelia in nine units, all currently occupied by the plant.

As early as 1980, the DeBeque phacelia was identified as a plant with ‘‘sufficient information on hand to support the biological appropriateness of their being listed as Endangered or Threatened species.’’

The plant automatically was listed as a candidate species in 1996 under a regulatory change. Conservation groups petitioned for listing in 2004 and again in 2005. Work on other more high-priority species precluded a listing until 2010, when the USFWS formally proposed listing the phacelia.

The agency emphasized that the designation for the beardtongue and phacelia likely won’t curtail energy development on the Western Slope, with no seasonal development restrictions planned. Many of the energy companies in the region have already adopted voluntary conservation measures. The critical habitat designation will

Instead of curtailing energy development, the agency will work with energy companies to develop mitigation measures where impacts are expected.

“We appreciate and recognize the voluntary conservation efforts underway that will help ensure that these three native plants recover and remain part of the Rocky Mountains’ flora for generations of Americans to appreciate,”  USFSW Mountain-Prairie regional director Steve Guertin said in a prepared statement. “The input we have received, coupled with the work of our conservation partners, has helped us refine a rule that will protect these extremely rare plants from going extinct.”

The critical habitat designation is one of the largest ever for plant species in the Rocky Mountain region, but the West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association doesn’t believe the rule in an of itself will be an impediment to energy development.

“It actually provides clarity,” said WSCOGA director David Ludlam, explaining that land managers and energy companies have long recognized the rarity of the plants and tailored land use decisions and operations based on that knowledge.

“This rule might actually reduce some of the lengthy and expensive consultations,” Ludlam said, referring to a sometimes cumbersome review process required when actions on federal lands may impact endangered species.

“Operators and agencies have proven that the plants can be protected in areas with active energy development,” he said.

Ludlam said one concern is whether, going forward, the designation will be politicized by environmental groups to prevent future leases or renewal of existing leases.

Ludlam said one concern is whether, going forward, the designation will be politicized by environmental groups to prevent future leases or renewal of existing leases.

Conservation advocates were also encouraged by the habitat designation, saying it could help provide long-term protection for the plants by taking into account climate change impacts.

The USFWS decision also designates recovery habitat — areas that are suitable for the beardstongue and phacelia, but were there aren’t strong populations of the plants.

“They got a lot of things right,” said Rocky Mountain Wild conservation biologist Megan Mueller, explaining that some of the energy companies active in the area have already developed impressive conservation measures in advance of the critical habitat designation.

Additionally, Mueller said in many cases the plants grow in areas — particularly steep, rocky slopes, that don’t lend themselves to the placement of drill pads to begin with.

Rocky Mountain Wild conservation director Josh Pollock said that numerous leases have already been issued, and that oil and gas development are already under way in some of the areas affected by the designation. As such, the federal decision likely won’t create a lot extra financial burdens for the energy industry, he added.

Pollock also praised the USFWS for proactively designating recovery areas and considering climate-change impacts.

“It’s an encouraging trend that they did that while not being under legal duress,” he said.

At the same time, the USFWS also designated about 9,600 acres of critical habitat designation for the Pagosa skyrocket in Archuleta County. The delicate skyrocket only grows in a few tiny pockets of land around Pagosa Springs, where habitat fragmentation and drought are among the primary threats. According to the agency, the plan is susceptible to extinction at any time.

Original version:

SUMMIT COUNTY —Just a year after a federal judge blasted federal agencies for refusing to protect three rare Colorado plants, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated about 50,000 acres of critical habitat for the Pagosa skyrocket, Parachute beardtongue and DeBeque phacelia.

The latter two species grow in areas rife with energy development; the Pagosa skyrocket only is known to exist on a couple of patches of mostly private land near Pagosa Springs, where it’s threatened by development.

It’s one of the largest critical habitat designations for plant species in the Rocky Mountain region, but it remains to be seen whether the protection will work, since the agency doesn’t plan to limit energy development, relying instead on voluntary conservation measures.

Based on coverage in the Denver Post or the press release from the USFWS, you’d never know there was a political back story to the designation — a story showing how energy politics often trump environmental considerations in land-use decisions.

In June 2011, a federal district court judge ruled that federal land managers acted arbitrarily and capriciously when they denied protection for the plant.

The judge ordered the U.S. Department of Interior to reconsider its decision, review the plant’s status and make a decision on a listing. In the ruling, the court also found the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consider the best available science showing the threat posed by oil and gas development, livestock grazing, and off-road vehicles.

The federal decision to remove the plant from consideration for protection was tainted by politics, according to an investigation by the The Union of Concerned Scientists.

A series of emails obtained by the watchdog group showed that the BLM used a misleading analysis of oil and gas well locations and misrepresented the likelihood of future oil shale development to downplay threats to the plant.

The documents obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists show that even some BLM scientists advocated for protection, highlighting potential threats, including: changes in the landscape due to increases in roads and infrastructure, an influx of invasive weeds, habitat fragmentation, and loss of penstemon pollinators.

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed protection for the Parachute beardtongue under the Endangered Species Act in 2006, after years of advocacy by conservationists.

Worried that this might slow down oil and gas drilling or oil shale mining, the Bureau of Land Management responded by assembling a team specifically aimed at trying to justify a “no-listing” decision — the opposite of how endangered species laws are supposed to work.

The BLM team campaigned against protection. In response, in December 2006, the Fish and Wildlife Service reversed course and announced that threats were no longer present.

Earthjustice filed suit to challenge FWS’s decision on behalf of Center for Native Ecosystems, Utah Native Plant Society, Colorado Native Plant Society, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in 2008.  The Court’s decision yesterday recognizes that the Fish and Wildlife’s about-face was not justified by the facts.

The final rule announced last week excludes lands under lease to OXY USA and Occidental Oil Shale lands from critical habitat because of existing conservation practices and continuing partnerships in place on these private properties.

“We appreciate and recognize the voluntary conservation efforts underway that will help ensure that these three native plants recover and remain part of the Rocky Mountains’ flora for generations of Americans to appreciate,”  USFSW Mountain-Prairie regional director Steve Guertin said in a prepared statement. “The input we have received, coupled with the work of our conservation partners, has helped us refine a rule that will protect these extremely rare plants from going extinct.”

Instead of curtailing energy development, the agency will work with energy companies to develop mitigation measures where impacts are expected.

Additionally, the USFWS does not expect to recommend any timing or seasonal restrictions on development and, based on successful voluntary conservation efforts already underway, does not believe that recommended conservation efforts will lead to a decrease in oil and gas development.

From the USFWS:

Parachute beardtongue, also known as Parachute penstemon, is an extremely rare plant, which only grows in Garfield County, Colorado. Fewer than 4,200 plants are known to exist. Threats to the species and its habitat include development, oil shale mine reclamation, road maintenance, and natural events such as fire and drought. The Service has identified 15,510 acres of critical habitat for Parachute beardtongue in four units with 90 percent of the ownership on Federal lands.

Pagosa skyrocket is a rare short-lived plant known from only two populations near Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County, Colorado. Highly restricted soil requirements and geographic range make it particularly susceptible to extinction at any time due to a range of impacts, including development, habitat fragmentation, and prolonged drought. The Service has identified 9,641 acres as critical habitat for Pagosa skyrocket in four units.

DeBeque phacelia is a rare, very short-lived annual plant that grows on barren patches of shrink-swell clay of the Wasatch Formation. Nine populations are known in Mesa and Garfield Counties, western Colorado. We are designating 25,484 acres of critical habitat for DeBeque phacelia in nine units with 86 percent of the area on Federal lands. All of these nine units are currently occupied.

A copy of the final critical habitat designation, our final economic analysis, our final environmental assessment, and other information about Pagosa skyrocket, Parachute beardtongue, and DeBeque phacelia are available on the internet at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/plants/3ColoradoPlants/index.html, or by contacting the Western Colorado Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 764 Horizon Drive, Building B, Grand Junction, CO 81506-3946, phone 970-243-2778.

The final critical habitat designation will publish in the Federal Register on August 13, 2012. For general information on critical habitat please visit:  http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/critical_habitat.pdf.

Native plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values. Plants play an important role in development of crops that resist disease, insects, and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, and to assist in organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.

Filed under: Colorado, endangered species, energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling Tagged: | Bureau of Land management, Colorado, endangered species, endangered species act, Environment, oil drilling gas drilling, rare plants, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Native Plant Society