Fences Putting Imperiled Western Birds at Greater Risk


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Michael Bean, 202-572-3312                       
Theodore Toombs, 303-440-4901
                       
(Washington, D.C. – January 27, 2009) Two species of Western birds that are teetering on the edge of being added to the U.S. endangered species list could be helped by improving the fence-building practices of two federal agencies, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The conservation group said today that if the Bureau of Land Management and Natural Resources Conservation Service put inexpensive, easily available reflectors or other markers on wire fences, needless deaths of greater sage grouse and lesser prairie chickens could be avoided.
 
EDF combed through government and academic data looking for ways to help these two birds because both are under active consideration for addition to the federal endangered species list. Together, the two species live in a combined 15 states across the Western United States.
 
EDF is now urging the simple action of equipping government-built or government-funded wire fences with reflective devices made from vinyl siding, cloth flagging, or similar markers. It could be done quickly and the cost would be minor compared to the overall cost of fencing. While adding reflective devices will not eliminate all the potential problems for wildlife caused by fences, the change will reduce one of these animals’ most serious problems.
 
“Listing these birds under the Endangered Species Act is likely to have far-reaching consequences for livestock grazing, oil and gas development, and wind energy development across much of the country,” said Bean. “Reducing the hazard from fencing is a practical step that can be taken now to reduce one of the known threats to these birds.  It could produce immediate benefits for very little money. This is a smart investment, and one we can afford.”
 
Several studies have shown wire fencing to be one main cause of death for sage grouse and lesser prairie chickens. The birds cannot see the thin wires and fly into them. The collisions are often fatal. A study in Oklahoma found that fence collisions caused an astonishing 39.8% of lesser prairie chicken deaths from known causes, and a Utah study attributed nearly one in every six recovered sage grouse carcasses to a fence collision.
 
Two federal government agencies have unwittingly contributed to the loss of these species. Sage grouse live in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, North Dakota and South Dakota. Lesser prairie chickens live in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, and both birds live in Colorado. Thousands of miles of the deadly wire fences have been built in those states in the last three years – either directly by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS).
 
Since 2005, BLM has built 3,150 miles of fencing in the 15 affected states, at a cost of about $10,000 per mile. NCRS funds more than 1,000 miles of fencing each year in the counties where the birds live, at roughly the same cost. For an extra $200 per mile – or a two percent cost increase — all new fencing could be built with reflectors or flagging so the birds could avoid it and survive. EDF has raised the issue with officials of both agencies and is encouraged that they have been receptive to addressing the problem.
 
“It’s not often we have an opportunity to help two struggling species with such a simple action,” said Bean. “We should retrofit government-funded fences and ensure that all new fences are built with visibility enhancements of some sort. This action alone won’t reverse the decline of the birds, but it’s a big step in the right direction.”
 
The Bush Administration decided against adding the greater sage grouse to the list of endangered species a few years ago, but last year a court found that the decision was tainted by political interference and ordered that it be reconsidered. The incoming Obama Administration will take up the matter sometime this year. The lesser prairie chicken was recently moved to near the top of the list of species that are candidates for possible Endangered Species Act protection.
 

EDF has state and county-specific data on BLM and NRCS fencing in each of the 15 states listed above. For that, and other related information, click here.

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