March 2010
Wind Energy Development and its Effects on Sage Grouse Habitat
Click here to read the update on USFWS' decision.
On March 5th, 2010, following a one-week extension of the original February 26, 2010 deadline, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will submit the results of its status review of the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The USFWS will determine if protection under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. If the agency finds that protection is justified, the sage grouse will be added as a “Candidate” species for either Threatened or Endangered status. The listing will require that the sage grouse and its habitat be federally protected (Robertson 2009).
Sage grouse are dependent year-round on sagebrush grassland ecosystems throughout the western United States. Sage grouse require specific sagebrush conditions. These conditions are generally scattered over large expanses and provide cover, food, and other necessities (Braun 2002). Over 70 percent of sage grouse habitat is located on public lands managed by federal or state agencies (BLM 2004). Over the past decade, sage grouse numbers have been declining due to loss, degradation, and fragmentation of critical habitat. Because sage grouse have undergone such long-term population declines, they now are absent from almost half of their estimated native range.
Recently, there has been a push for the development of wind energy in the West. For example, 300 new wind turbines were constructed in the state of Wyoming in 2009, and an additional 3,000 turbines are scheduled to be built over the next 5 years (Bleizeffer 2010). Much of the world-class wind resources in this area lie within “core” sage grouse habitat. In 2004, the USFWS used several scientific studies to develop recommendations concerning the potential impacts of wind energy development on sage grouse habitat. Impacts of wind turbines on sage grouse include noise, habitat fragmentation, and increased predator access. Sage grouse generally avoid areas where tall structures, such as wind turbines, are present (USDOE 2009). Generator noise, motion, and height may negatively affect sage grouse (Manville 2004). Sage grouse “leks,” or breeding grounds, are the most important sites for the longevity and permanence of the species. Disturbance to these areas could cause dispersion and mortality (Manville 2004). Due to the large seasonal migratory patterns of sage grouse, population protection recommendations can involve large areas of land. The USFWS suggests a five mile buffer from wind turbines to leks to mitigate sage grouse mortality (Manville 2004).
Energy developers have been working with land owners, state, and federal agencies to mitigate the impacts of wind energy development. If the sage grouse are listed as a Threatened or Endangered species, the spatial and temporal development of future wind farms will likely need to accommodate critical sage grouse habitat. In Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management issued new guidance for sage grouse, which states wind farms will not be allowed in sage grouse core areas (BLM 2009). Even if the sage grouse is not listed, a national guidance protecting crucial habitat is anticipated (McDermott 2010). Trihydro will be providing an update once the official listing decision has occurred.
References
Bleizeffer, Dustin. 2010. Available from:
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_08a3af5c-f8ec-11de-aef3- 001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story
Braun,C. 2002. Sage-Grouse Habitat Needs and Management Issues in the Upper Green River Valley.
Colorado Division of Wildlife. Available from:
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WY/Sage%20Grouse/Sage-Grouse-Impacts-from-Energy-Development-in-Wyoming-s-Upper-Green-River-Valley.pdf
Manville, A.M., II. 2004. Prairie grouse leks and wind turbines: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
justification for a 5-mile buffer from leks; additional grassland songbird recommendations.
Division of Migratory Bird Management, USFWS, Arlington, VA, peer-reviewed briefing paper. 17 pp.
McDermott, M. 2010. Greater Sage Grouse Endangered Species Listing Could Slow Western US Wind
Growth. Science and Technology. Available from:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/greater-sage-grouse-endangered-species-listing-could-slow-wind-power.php
Robertson, E. 2009. The Long Road to Recovery: Sage-grouse and the Endangered Species Act. Center for Native Ecosystems. Available from: http://nativeecosystems.org/wpcontent/uploads/SageGrouseTIMELINE.pdf
USDI. Bureau of Land Management. 2004. Bureau of Land Management National Sage-Grouse Habitat
Conservation Strategy. Available from:
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/Planning_and_Renewable_Resources/fish__wildlife_and.Par.9151.File.dat/Sage-Grouse_Strategy.pdf
USDI. Bureau of Land Management. 2009. Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Management Policy on Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Administered Public Lands including the Federal Mineral Estate. Available from: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/resources/efoia/IMs/2010.Par.61358.File.dat/wy2010-012.pdf
USDI. U.S. Geologic Survey. 2009. Scientific Information for Greater Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Habitats. Available from:
http://sagemap.wr.usgs.gov/Docs/SAGRBriefingPaper1.pdf
USDOE. 2009. Sage-Grouse and Wind Energy: Biology, Habits, and Potential Effects from Development. Available from:
http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/pnnl-18567.pdf
