The Rim Rock wind farms in Toole and Glacier Counties were fast tracked while ignoring the golden eagles and raptors. Wind farm good, oil bad.
Via KRTV
The future of the sage grouse in Montana could have big impacts on some of the state’s biggest industries.
The legislative Environmental Quality Council heard an update Thursday on how the state can keep the bird from getting listed under the Endangered Species Act, which would put it under federal management.
“And if you think the listing of the wolf as an endangered specie (sic) had an impact on Montana, it would be would nothing compared to what this will be,” said MT State Sen. Brad Hamlett, (D-Cascade), one of the co-chairs of the Montana Greater Sage-grouse Habitat Conservation Advisory Council. “This impacts so much more land and so much what you can do on that land.”
The council, appointed by Governor Steve Bullock, in January unveiled a 73 page proposed strategy to protect sage grouse habitat and keep if off the Endangered Species list, which would subject it to the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – possibly with big restrictions on land use.
The bird’s habitat includes huge areas of eastern Montana, where restrictions could mean interference with agriculture, petroleum development, mining, housing and more.
The recommendation is now in Bullock’s court and Tim Baker, Bullock’s natural resources policy director, said an executive order could be released next month. He said the governor’s office is in a “deliberative process” and continuing to meet with stakeholders.
While the administration will work with the framework of the council’s document, the specifics are not yet certain, he said. He characterized the decision-making as not exactly threading a needle, but “threading many needles that are kind of lined up sequentially.”
That executive order would impact anything in the habitat areas that requires a state permit — including oil development.
“Just about everywhere the oil and gas in Montana is is also land shared by sage grouse,” said Dave Galt, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association.