HomeMy WebLinkAboutSage Grouse Update
Memorandum
DATE: July 7, 2014
TO: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners (BOCC)
FROM: Peter Gutowsky, Principal Planner
RE: Sage Grouse Update / Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances
Priscilla Johnson, Crook County Soil and Water Conservation District Manager at the BOCC’s July 21 work
session, will be discussing opportunities for Deschutes County landowners, affected by sage grouse
habitat, to voluntarily participate in Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA).
Background
In March 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined that the sage grouse was
warranted for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but was precluded from
listing at that time because there were other higher priority species to be listed first. As a result of this
decision, sage grouse is now an official Candidate Species for ESA listing. A final determination of
whether to list the species will be released in 2015.
Harney County Soil and Water Conservation District established a steering committee in 2011, including
USFWS, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bureau of Land
Management, The Nature Conservancy, landowners, local government, OSU Extension Services, and
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association for the purpose of developing a CCAA. A CCAA is a formal agreement
between USFWS and one or more parties to address the conservation needs of a proposed candidate
species before they become listed as threatened or endangered. Landowner participants (through a
certificate of Inclusion) voluntarily commit to implementing land management practices that will
remove or reduce threats to the species on private land, thereby contributing to stabilizing or restoring
the species so that a listing is unnecessary. As part of the CCAA agreement, USFWS provides assurances
that, in the event the species covered in the agreement is subsequently listed as threatened or
endangered, USFWS will not assert additional restrictions or require additional actions above those that
the property owner has voluntarily committed to in the CCAA.
Recently, Baker, Crook, Grant, Lake, and Malheur Soil and Water Conservation Districts agreed to
coordinate efforts to enter into individual CCAA permit holder agreements with USFWS. The Crook
County SWCD agreed to include Deschutes County sage grouse habitat within their CCAA to save time
and money. As the agreement goes through the review process, the districts are contacting landowners,
holding workshops, and educating the public. The agreement is expected to be signed by December 31,
2014, and then the site specific planning will begin with all interested landowners. Soil and Water
Conservation Districts by signing as the permit holder will commit to 30 years of monitoring and will
begin assisting landowners to find funding to implement restoration projects.
