Coordination Works | March 3, 2011 | Margaret Byfield --

A year and a half ago, the environmental organization Wild Earth Guardians sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to list the Sonoran Desert Tortoise as an endangered species.  They were met by an unexpected adversary in Arizona:  The Winkelman Natural Resource Conservation District (District).

Last year, we reported on the stealth efforts of this local government who insisted that the petition recommendation be coordinated with their group.  They were the first conservation district in the nation to use the coordination process for a species listing to ensure their position was taken into account.  They did all this without having to go to court and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have their position heard.

The result was a phenomenal victory.  The Service listed the species as a candidate for listing, meaning they felt it was warranted, but precluded because other species have a higher priority for the endangered status.  However, they based their recommendation largely on the poor management of the species in Mexico, not the U.S., since their habitat crosses the international border.

Also, they took into consideration the District’s study which showed that livestock grazing did not negatively impact the tortoise.  The Service accepted the study and ultimately made their finding concluding that grazing was not a threat to the species.

For this reason alone, the District should be applauded.  Just to their northwest lies the habitat of the Mojave Desert Tortoise, a cousin of sorts to the Sonoran Tortoise.  It was listed as endangered in 1994, and upon listing, livestock grazing was identified as a key threat to the species.  The ranching industry has been wiped out in the critical habitat area of the Mojave covering southeastern California, southern Nevada and southern Utah.

Winkelman refused to accept the same fate.  They knew livestock grazing didn’t negatively affect the tortoises, and had the data to prove it.  Two of the District cooperators, Walt and Francie Meyer, had been studying the species, as they related to different livestock grazing systems, for the past 18 years.  Their findings were the “best available science” on the species, so the District made their study the centerpiece of their position, which the Service then had to take into consideration.

Had Winkelman not taken this step and instead simply presented the study as their “comments” to be considered in the public process, the outcome of this story would have been much different. Instead, Winkelman submitted the study as their position, which the Service must take into consideration through the coordination relationship.

In their first coordination meeting with the Service, Winkelman presented the study to Steve Spangle, the State Director.  He promised to give it consideration as they reviewed other studies in making their recommendation.  During their second coordination meeting, the District brought in experts to refute Wild Earth’s position and demonstrated that their data was flawed.  The Service again agreed to take this into consideration.

During the third meeting, the District challenged the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of the materials being considered by the Service under the Information Quality Act (also referred to as the Data Quality Act).  During this meeting they laid the foundation to challenge the Service’s Final Recommendation, demonstrating that a large body of data relied upon by the Service would not meet the standards required under the Act.

As the Service released their candidate recommendation, Winkleman was already in position to challenge the finding.  Although protecting the ranching industry from the impact of a listing would make most shout victory and go home, Winkleman was not satisfied.  Sure they won round one, but their position was that the science demonstrates the species should not even be considered at risk and they are currently preparing to make that challenge.

In the meantime, neighboring counties, conservation districts and towns in Arizona are now invoking coordination for multiple issues like the potential listing of critical habitat for the Jaguar, spikedace and loach minnows, and the construction of transmission lines and highway bypasses.  Winkelman blazed a trail for Arizonan’s and those who watched closely are following their lead.  As of today, ten new local governments in Arizona have begun or are beginning the process.

State Director, Steve Spangle told the Winkleman group during their last coordination meeting that he was pleased to see producers get involved in the process.  As Winkelman proved, when you utilize the coordination process Congress created for local governments, you can protect the productive use of our land.