IPAA: Federal agency’s ESA prelisting proposal lacks assurances

This story is a corrected version of one posted Nov. 7.

A US Fish and Wildlife Service proposal on voluntary actions to manage species before they are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act falls significantly short, the Independent Petroleum Association of America said.

While the draft policy aims to provide incentives for landowners and others’ voluntary conservation measures, it does not assure them that their efforts will help avoid a listing, Daniel T. Naatz, IPAA’s vice-president of federal resources and political affairs, said as the organization submitted comments on Nov. 6.

“By providing no assurance that a federal listing will be avoided, the [FWS’s] proposed policy fails to guarantee participating landowners that their conservation actions, and the expenses incurred to implement these plans, will not simply impose greater restrictions on them in years to come,” Naatz maintained.

Naatz said the US Department of Interior agency’s recent decision to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened despite stakeholders’ extensive voluntary efforts provides an example that such efforts may not be enough.

“Until the [FWS] can assure stakeholders that voluntary actions will mitigate the likelihood of federal listings, a draft policy to provide incentives for voluntary conservation measures will not hold weight,” he warned.

IPAA also submitted the comments on behalf of the American Exploration & Production Council, Association of Energy Service Companies, American Association of Professional Landmen, International Association of Drilling Contractors, International Association of Geophysical Contractors, National Stripper Well Association, Public Lands Advocacy, US Oil & Gas Association, and 40 state and regional oil and gas associations.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].