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COOPERATION GIVES WAY TO LITIGATION

Posted on: December 12, 2007

Sage Grouse Become Idaho’s Spotted Owl

(Boise) December 12, 2007-On rare occasions, my husband Shawn and I argue about the best way to do things on the ranch. Even more rarely – to my way of thinking – he’s proven correct. But he’s always humble in victory, and quickly points out that our disagreement was one of “form over substance.”

I appreciate his graciousness, as well as his logic. Substance DOES matter most. Unfortunately, the human frailty of valuing form over substance isn’t limited to occasional domestic squabbles. And it’s far more dangerous when applied to public policy. What’s worse is when policy decisions come in the form of court rulings, and the decisions are more reflective of passionate advocacy than judicial temperance.

The disastrous court decision on sage grouse is the latest in a series of rulings that focus on perceived breaches of process while discarding the substantive outcome. U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred when developing an administrative record concluding that sage grouse did not warrant listing as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

Idaho earlier adopted a State Sage Grouse Management Plan after soliciting comments from a diverse group of interests. The management plan, coupled with efforts by local working groups throughout the state, identifies potential threats to sage grouse habitat, and implements and oversees measures to sustain and increase what now are stable bird populations.

The state plan and local plans represent a landmark collaborative effort to conserve a species. If sage grouse were listed, it would completely undermine such cooperative endeavors and discourage ranchers and landowners from working together in the future.

The litigant in this case – Jon Marvel’s Western Watersheds Project – had every opportunity to participate in those successful efforts. Instead, it chose not to join the other conservation-minded interests represented on the local working group. It chose a strategy amounting to little more than issuing demands and suing when the demands weren’t met. Then again, being part of the solution is never profitable when conflict is how you pay the bills.

The real tragedy in this court decision is the impact that listing sage grouse as threatened or endangered will have on ranching families and rural communities. On-the-ground stewardship efforts will give way to management through litigation and the radical ideology that drives it. The sage grouse – like the spotted owl before it – will be used as a tool to subvert multiple use of our public lands.

For Idaho’s ranching families, caring for the land is more than sound business; it’s a way of life. It’s a legacy received from their parents and grandparents and lovingly preserved and nurtured for the generations to come. Never has it been more apparent that ending our way of life is the life’s work of Jon Marvel and his ilk.

Their handiwork resulted in a court decision that wholly ignored a broad and diverse group of stakeholders working together to stabilize sage grouse populations in Idaho and several other states. The ruling concluded that form is more important than substance. When that happens, the land and the wildlife, as well as the families and the communities that depend on healthy and sustainable lands, are the ones that suffer.

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Jennifer Ellis is a rancher from Blackfoot, Idaho and the 2008 Idaho Cattle Association President.

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About Dave Langston

Outdoor writer Dave Langston resides in Chubbuck. He grew up in the Midwest and south fishing and hunting across the country.

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