JACKSON, Wyo. — On Oct. 7, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) and Western Energy Alliance (Alliance) submitted comments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) opposing the proposed listing of the Western Regal Fritillary butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Two months ago, on Aug. 5, the USFWS originally proposed listing both the Eastern Regal Fritillary as endangered and the Western Regal Fritillary as threatened. The Western Regal Fritillary is found in Wyoming, among 14 other native grassland states, and depends on violets, nectar sources and grasslands with tall vegetation for larval growth, breeding and shelter.
The USFWS Species Status Assessment (SSA) report identifies that, while the Western Regal Fritillary is not in immediate danger of full extinction, it is “likely to be in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future” due to habitat loss, grassland conversion resulting from agricultural and urban development, pesticide use, invasive plants, climate change, drought and local and climate events.
The USFWS confirms the SSA is based on the “best available biological information and commercial data,” with the flexibility for it to be updated as needed.
An accompanying 4(d) rule for the western subspecies will also allow for tailored landscape management actions to balance conservation and land management considerations. In other words, the listing will still recognize the “vital role of grazing practices in maintaining grassland ecosystems,” meaning most activities associated with livestock grazing would be exempt from needed approval from the USFWS to continue.
However, PAW argues that the evidence the USFWS has collected for the listing is not enough to exclude oil and natural gas activities from the 4(d) rule. According to their comment, the oil and natural gas industry are requesting to be included as exempt from approval.
“Based on the data provided for the Western Regal Fritillary, it would be just as reasonable for the USFWS to have proposed to list Bigfoot or the Chupacabra.”
Pete Obermueller, president of PAW
“Based on the data provided for the Western Regal Fritillary, it would be just as reasonable for the USFWS to have proposed to list Bigfoot or the Chupacabra,” Pete Obermueller, president of PAW, said in a press release.
The press release requests that the USFWS develop targeted conservation efforts to protect the butterfly species instead of a blanket ESA listing. PAW points out that 85% of oil and gas companies operating in the state of Wyoming are classified as small businesses, and restricting activities could be financially detrimental to the state’s communities.
The public comment period on the proposal ended Oct. 7.
