April 17–The fight is not over for area landowners who say they’ve made sacrifices to conserve the lesser prairie chicken population in New Mexico.
These are efforts they feel were undermined when a federal agency listed the bird as threatened on a federal registry of species last month.
More than 60 people joined U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., Wednesday rallying in the basement of the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce to express their concerns about the listing, asking what will happen next.
The decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the rare grouse, native to New Mexico and four other states, has been chastised by landowners for the effects they fear it will have on their operations, including an onslaught of regulations and fees to protect the bird.
Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative employee Kory Webb said the biggest issue resulting from the decision is a violation of property rights and private land.
“If the federal government can control your land, they can control you,” said Webb, who was met by cheers from the audience in the crowded room.
Many of the landowners said they signed some type of voluntary conservation agreement to protect the bird in exchange for their own protection from accidental take, a term defined by the USFWS as killing or harming the chicken and its habitat.
Pearce told the group its important for them to hold USFWS officials accountable for the listing, especially after the compromises they’ve made to prevent it.
“For those who say this is a slap in the face, I think they have a right to express that,” Pearce said. “I think these people who make decisions on your future should be held accountable, too.”
Pearce used previous examples of animal listings to show how much of a negative economic impact they had. One he honed in on was the listing of the spotted owl, which he claimed cost 85 percent of the timber jobs in the nation due to regulations for the owl’s protection.
Pearce said he doesn’t want that result to be repeated in New Mexico and affect not only ag producers, but the energy industry as well.
With wind farms looming as the next wave of energy for eastern New Mexico, farmers are concerned they won’t be able to profit on the trend, fearing they won’t be able to build wind towers.
But Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative employee Antonio Sanchez said the bird’s listing will even affect further electricity development because construction could become costly with fees they’ll have to pay to build structures in areas with high-quality habitat for the bird. Sanchez said those costs would then be passed onto customers.
Many of the attendees suggested different ways to approach fighting the listing, including petitioning to change or do away with the Endangered Species Act, and focusing on predator control to raise chicken population numbers.
Ultimately, Pearce said, the best message to send to USFWS is unity in their stance and to be vocal about their opposition through meetings and rallies.
“You need to get the attention of the agencies,” Pearce said. “When people start speaking up, our government will change.”