New BLM Solar Plans Seek to Balance Conservation and Renewable Energy Goals

August 30, 2024

Hunting, fishing organizations welcome a responsible approach to solar energy development on public lands

Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published the Final Programmatic EIS and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments that would support an updated siting and permitting framework across 11 western states for management of utility-scale solar energy development on public lands. The plans would allow development near existing and planned transmission lines and on previously disturbed lands, all while avoiding important fish and wildlife habitat, cultural and Tribal resources, and recreational opportunities.

“Trout populations throughout the West face many challenges, not the least of which is climate change and land uses that place additional stress on shrinking native and wild trout habitat. While the plan does not include specific criteria for important fish habitat, we are encouraged that the exclusions would preclude development in areas subject to conservation agreements, such as habitat for many native trout species,” said Tasha Sorensen, Western Energy Lead with Trout Unlimited. “We look forward to working with the BLM to implement this important safeguard appropriately and ensure renewable energy development balanced with the protection and restoration of wild and native trout.”

“As the country grapples with the need to meet energy demands, it’s crucial to approach the development of solar energy with the perspective that wildlife and solar can coexist on the landscape,” said Joel Webster, interim Chief Conservation Officer for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “TRCP appreciates refinements made by the BLM to the Western Solar Plan that will help maintain seasonal habitats that are crucially important for the West’s big game herds.”

“Our nation’s public lands are at the center of our outdoor traditions, providing countless opportunities for sportsmen and women. We thank the BLM for taking into consideration the importance of intact wildlife habitat, including migration corridors, in their final Western Solar Plan,” said Kaden McArthur, Government Relations Manager for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “Doing so will ensure that as our country continues to develop energy, we avoid detriments to treasured public resources like our wildlife.”

“Renewable energy buildout on public lands must be thoughtful, cautious and informed, ensuring that we conserve important wildlife habitat, protect hunting and fishing opportunities, and avoid impacts to cultural and Indigenous resources, as we strive for cleaner energy.” said Bailey Brennan, Public Lands Counsel with the National Wildlife Federation. “The BLM’s improved approach to siting and permitting solar development will help achieve these goals, balancing public lands’ many uses.”

Publication of the proposed final resource management plan amendments initiates a 30-day protest period running through September 30. The BLM anticipates finalizing the plan before the end of the year.

Read the Big Game Guidelines for Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Solar Development by clicking HERE

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by: Jen Leahy

posted in: Press Releases

August 27, 2024

Interior Department Retains Safeguards on 28 Million Acres of Public Lands in Alaska

The department’s decision conserves valuable habitat for salmon, caribou, moose, and Dall sheep

Today, the Interior Department moved to maintain existing conservation safeguards on 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska, including large swaths of intact fish and wildlife habitat that offer world-class hunting and fishing opportunities.

The decision and the associated Public Land Order—which implements the Bureau of Land Management’s preferred action following a robust public process and environmental review—is good news for local subsistence harvesters and non-resident hunters and anglers who value rural Alaska’s undisturbed and unbroken habitat.

“We applaud the Bureau of Land Management and Interior Department’s actions to retain conservation measures that have stood for decades on these public lands in Alaska,” said Jen Leahy, Alaska senior program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Hunters and anglers can continue enjoying these incredible public hunting and fishing grounds without wondering if these lands will be privatized and developed.”

The 28 million acres encompassed in the decision includes important winter range for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of Alaska’s largest caribou herds, and renowned hunting and fishing habitat in other areas of the state, including Bristol Bay—home to the world’s most prolific sockeye salmon fishery—and moose country in the Yukon and Kuskokwim watersheds. Alaska’s “D-1” public lands are also adjacent to many celebrated and remote rivers that anglers and hunters enjoy floating.

Learn more about why these public lands are prized by hunters and anglers in our guest blog by Bjorn Dihle, a lifelong Alaskan and outdoorsman.

by: Josh Metten

posted in: Press Releases

August 23, 2024

TRCP Appreciates Compromise in Rock Springs Final Resource Management Plan

Group acknowledges BLM and State effort to balance development and conservation

Photo credit: Josh Metten

After nearly seven months of analyzing and addressing public comments, the Bureau of Land Management on Thursday published its Rock Springs proposed final Resource Management Plan.

The plan includes many of the conservation safeguards for the wildlife-rich Greater Little Mountain Area that were recommended by the Governor’s Task Force, as well as management direction for the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration that is consistent with the Governor’s Migration Corridor Executive Order.

“The BLM and Wyoming Game and Fish Department are crucial partners in managing the habitat and wildlife cherished by Wyomingites” said Josh Metten, Wyoming field manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Measures in the RMP to maintain migratory habitats and conserve the Greater Little Mountain Area are important for Wyoming sportspeople, and we appreciate changes made to address the feedback of local communities.”

At over 3.6 million acres, BLM lands in the Rock Springs Field Office support uses important to local communities, including wildlife and recreation, grazing, energy development, and mining. The revision, which has been underway since 2011, has been of high interest to conservation and development interests. Following the release of the draft RMP in 2023, the state formed a Task Force facilitated by the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute which developed a set of recommendations for the RMP. Changes to the final proposed RMP reflect the feedback provided to BLM through formal public comments and the Task Force recommendations.

“While sportspeople didn’t get everything we wanted, we’re happy to see conservation of some habitat and special places included in the proposed final plan,” said Metten. “TRCP looks forward to working with the BLM and local stakeholders to implement the plan once it is completed.”

The RMP revision process now enters a 60-day review period by the Governor’s office for consistency with state and local plans. Stakeholders who have previously participated in the process have 30 days to protest areas of the final plan. A record of decision is expected later this year.

by: Ryan Lockwood

posted in: Press Releases

August 7, 2024

Workgroup Established to Consider Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Regulations

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission workgroup will eye precautionary, Bay-specific menhaden fishery management measures to protect predators like ospreys and striped bass

The Menhaden Management Board (MMB) of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted yesterday to establish a workgroup to consider options for precautionary management of the Chesapeake Bay industrial menhaden fishery, including time and area closures, to account for seabird and fish diet needs at critical points in their life cycles. The workgroup will be organized over the coming weeks and will start the process of thinking through what future management measures for the Bay menhaden fishery might look like, to lower the pressure that ospreys and other menhaden predators are facing in one of America’s most important estuaries.

Menhaden are baitfish that play an essential role in marine food webs, providing a vital food source for not only ospreys, but many larger species like striped bass, redfish, whales, dolphins, and seabirds.

The motion to establish a workgroup, which was unanimously supported by the MMB, was put forward by the Maryland ASMFC delegation’s Allison Colden, who is also Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The group should begin to answer some of the questions that conservation groups have had for years about the menhaden fishery’s impact on the Bay ecosystem, and will propose potential sustainable solutions for the ASMFC to deliberate.

“We’re seeing some major ecological red flags in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Allison Colden, CBF Maryland executive director. “From struggling osprey populations to dismal menhaden bait landings, it’s clear that additional precautions are needed.”

Chesapeake Bay residents and scientists have been sounding the alarm about a lack of menhaden in the Bay leading to lower osprey chick-rearing success. This led to the MMB inviting the U.S. Geological Survey to make a presentation on Aug. 6 to inform the Board about the status of osprey in the Chesapeake Bay, and the problems these birds of prey are currently facing. Data shows that ospreys in some parts of the Bay are particularly reliant on oil-rich menhaden as food for their young, especially in the spring and summer months during chick-rearing season when male ospreys must bring in extra food to feed their mate and offspring. In recent years, the numbers have shown that ospreys in parts of the Bay are unsuccessful in raising enough young each year to sustain stable long-term populations, due in part to a lack of food availability for young chicks.

While the Atlantic menhaden fishery is already managed to account for the diet needs of multiple fish predators, such as striped bass and bluefish, to leave enough forage in the water for those fish to eat, osprey are not explicitly included in that management structure despite their clear reliance on menhaden in their diets. Updated stock assessments will be published in fall 2025, which will essentially model how menhaden have been interacting with the Atlantic ecosystem in recent years, and will help managers set appropriate harvest quotas in future fishing seasons. Unfortunately, those assessment calculations are not detailed enough to determine how the menhaden fishery is impacting the ecosystem in specific zones, such as within the Chesapeake Bay region, where harvest is concentrated.

“Setting specific regulations tailored to regional differences in harvest, based on what we know now, is a way to manage the menhaden fishery in a precautionary manner until the stock assessment science can catch up,” said Jaclyn Higgins, forage fish program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We have a wide range of longstanding seabird data that has been collected for decades, which shows us the ebb and flow of osprey populations along the Atlantic. We know that osprey chicks aren’t getting enough to eat in the Chesapeake, and we know they are reliant on menhaden in that important chick-rearing timeframe.”

Higgins says that establishing regulations that leave more menhaden in the water in the Bay at critical times, based on osprey needs and the needs of other Bay predators, is an ideal way to expand upon the ecosystem-based management framework that the ASMFC already uses to manage this iconic forage fish.

“The TRCP is excited to support this movement towards further refining the ecosystem-based management of the Atlantic menhaden fishery,” Higgins said. “Refining the spatial components of the ASMFC’s menhaden management structure will further improve the sustainability of this fishery, and will allow for more predators to have sufficient access to this critical forage species into the future.”

The workgroup expects to present their findings to the MMB at its October 2024 meeting.

For more information about the key role menhaden and other forage fish play in marine ecosystems, visit TRCP’s forage fish recovery page.

Banner image of osprey with menhaden courtesy Chesapeake Bay Program

by: TRCP Staff

posted in: Press Releases

August 5, 2024

Joel Pedersen Named President and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Pedersen brings over 30 years of leadership experience to the largest coalition of conservation organizations in the country.

The board of directors of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Joel Pedersen as President and CEO. Pedersen is a proven leader in conservation mission delivery, legislative strategy, and nonprofit governance with more than 30 years of experience; he will begin the role on September 1.

“Joel is a proven coalition builder and an inspiring leader who made a lasting impression on the board with his deep knowledge of conservation policy, passion for the American model of conservation, and well-earned respect within the conservation community,” said Alston Watt, chair of the TRCP Board of Directors. “On behalf of the board, I am thrilled to welcome Joel Pedersen as the next president and CEO of TRCP. Our partnership model is the driving force for conservation in America and we have no doubt he will continue advancing America’s legacy of conservation, habitat, and access.”

In his most recent role as president and CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation, Pedersen advanced the nonprofit’s legislative and administrative priorities, increased membership, and revenue, and expanded partnerships with state and federal agencies.

Pedersen’s professional background includes biological administration, hunting access program management, conservation planning, and federal and state legislative strategy. He has served in leadership positions at the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and holds degrees in biology and wildlife and fisheries science. He is also a fellow of the National Conservation Leadership Institute.

“I have worked alongside TRCP for many years and have always admired its mission, reputation, and lasting accomplishments,” said Pedersen. “I am humbled and honored to now have the opportunity to lead the organization into the future. I look forward to working with the excellent staff and board at TRCP to advance Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation legacy, and am excited to learn from, and continue to foster strong relationships with our partners as we lean into challenging conservation issues of the day. We are stronger with a unified voice, and it will take all of us working together to ensure a bright future for hunting and fishing.”

TRCP continues to rise to the challenge originally set forth by its founder, Jim Range—to unite and amplify partners’ voices to advance America’s legacy of conservation, habitat, and access. Since its inception just over 20 years ago, TRCP has become the largest coalition of conservation organizations in the country, representing over 90 partner nonprofit and corporate organizations.

“It is my pleasure to turn over the reins to Joel Pedersen, as the new President and CEO of TRCP,” said Becky Humphries, TRCP interim CEO and board member. “I have worked alongside Joel and know well he is a proven leader and conservation champion whose vision will expand and strengthen TRCP’s work creating durable science-based, common-sense conservation solutions that guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish.”

Founded in 2002, the TRCP is the largest coalition of conservation organizations in the country, uniting and amplifying the voices of sportsmen and women by convening hunting and fishing groups, conservation organizations, and outdoor businesses to a common purpose. Learn more at trcp.org.

The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land and waters access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.