American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2015 - 21

of USFWS on the other claims.
Junell said USFWS failed to properly
analyze the rangewide plan (RWP)
developed by Texas, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and
business groups to address threats to
LPC habitat. According to PBPA, more
than 180 oil and gas, pipeline, electric
transmission and wind energy
companies committed $45.9 million in
enrollment and impact fees under the
RWP.
The judge's decision states PECE
requires USFWS to evaluate all
formalized conservation efforts not yet
fully implemented, weighing how likely
it is that an effort will be implemented
and what the potential impacts will be
on the species' status. Junell agreed
with PBPA's assertion that the service
reviewed the RWP in isolation.
Because PECE is a creature of
USFWS's design under the
Administrative Procedures Act, the
service's interpretation would be
controlling if PECE was ambiguous,
unless the agency's interpretation was
erroneous or inconsistent with the
policy's language, Junell wrote, adding
he found that PECE was unambiguous,
and therefore, USFWS's interpretation
of the policy was irrelevant.
"This ruling serves as vindication of
the unprecedented stakeholder
participation across the LPC range,"
says PBPA President Ben Shepperd.
"Our members' good-faith efforts to
conserve LPC habitat and recover the
species through the rangewide plan
began long before this listing decision
was made, and will continue unabated
now that the court has thrown it out." r

IPAA Part Of Coalition
Asking Fish & Wildlife
To Delist Burying Beetle

WASHINGTON-The Independent
Petroleum Association of America is
co-sponsoring a petition asking the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to delist
the American burying beetle, which the
service listed as endangered in 1989.
According to the petition, the beetle
does not deserve Endangered Species
Act protection because its population is
not declining.
Joining IPAA in the petition are the
American Stewards of Liberty, Texas
Public Policy Foundation, and Dr.
Steven Carothers. Listing the beetle is
causing significant economic harm, the
petitioners contend, citing projects
involving land development,

agriculture, transportation and pipelines
they say are delayed or restricted
because of the beetle's presence.
According to the petition, USFWS
listed the beetle, known as nicrophorus
americanus, because it had disappeared
from 90 percent of its former eastern
North American range. The petition
points out that while anecdotal evidence
may support that claim, there is no
scientific evidence showing the beetle is
in danger of extinction across all or a
significant portion of its contemporary
range.
In addition, the groups say the service
relied on a misunderstanding of the
beetle's range and distribution, and
speculation about unspecified "threats"
that USFWS presumed were causing a
population decline. "At the time of
listing, USFWS had no information at all
about any threats acting on the species
and no credible information on trends in
the nicrophorus americanus population-
let alone any evidence of current or
recent declines," the petition states.
The petition points out the service
fails to provide evidence in the listing
that the American burying beetle has a
low reproductive rate, and provides no
substantiation for its contention that this
presumed reproductive rate is somehow
limiting the beetle's population or
ability to recover from stressors.
The petition concludes, "The known
contemporary range, distribution and
abundance of nicrophorus americanus
actually is expanding with the
application of increased and more
effective survey effort, as well as
multiple captive breeding and
reintroduction efforts." r

Colorado Supreme Court
To Hear COGA Lawsuits
DENVER-The Colorado Supreme
Court will hear two lawsuits filed by
the Colorado Oil & Gas Association
against municipalities' attempts to halt
oil and gas drilling and hydraulic
fracturing, the high court announced in
September.
The Colorado Court of Appeals
certified COGA's lawsuits against the
cities of Longmont and Fort Collins
directly to the Supreme Court in August
without ruling because it found them to
be "test cases for determining whether
county and local government may
regulate or prohibit fracturing and
related activities," and therefore,
"appropriate for the Supreme Court to
decide (AOGR, Sept. 2015, pg. 16)."
The Supreme Court announced Sept.

OCTOBER 2015 21
American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2015

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