Dive Brief:

• The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a final rule adding the Gunnison sage-grouse to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, a decision which will offer the bird additional protections and could change how electric providers in grouse territory do business, Electric Co-op Today reports.
• Opponents of the decision, including Western cooperative electric utilities, say the new protections are not necessary and will ultimately hurt local economies.
• The FWS determined the most substantial threats to the Gunnison sage-grouse "include habitat decline due to human disturbance," reports Electric Co-op Today. Grouse protections are a common stumbling block listed by power companies in the approval process for new transmission projects and maintenance, Utility Dive has reported.

Dive Insight:

In a holiday gift for environmentalists, the FWS issued its final sage-grouse rule in the Federal Register on Nov. 20. The new protections will go into effect on Dec. 22. Now electric coops in sage-grouse areas are waiting to see what they may have to do to comply.

In studying threats, regulators found  grazing practices inconsistent with local ecological conditions, fences, invasive plants, fire, mineral development, piñon-juniper encroachment, large-scale water development ad other factors related to human disturbance.

"Some existing regulatory mechanisms are in place to conserve Gunnison sage-grouse, but individually or collectively they do not fully address the substantial threats faced by the species, particularly habitat decline, small population size and structure, drought, climate change, and disease," the agency said. 

The rule would allow some exceptions for ongoing activities, which could help electric cooperatives who say the rule could impact their operations.

“While a threatened listing is less problematic than an endangered listing, as the FWS first proposed, it’s the wrong approach and harmful to electric co-ops and local economies in Colorado and Utah,” National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jo Ann Emerson told Electric Co-op Today.