Northern Goshawk. Photo: USFWS.

The Interior Board of Land Appeals vacated the BLM’s decision authorizing cutting and burning 560,000 acres of mainly pinyon-juniper woodlands and sagebrush habitat in southwest Utah in response to an appeal by Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Wildlands Defense, and Native Ecosystems Council. The Indian Peak project area covered 674,532 acres within Beaver and Iron counties near the Nevada border.

The BLM wanted to log, masticate (grinding), chain, crush, roller mulch, and burn 570,000 acres, in a futile attempt to grow more grass for cows, but most likely the trees would have been replaced by an invasive and highly flammable weed that is native to Russia called cheatgrass as has happened throughout the West.

The BLM stated in their Environmental Assessment that the Indian Peak project area is a priority for protection due to concerns about habitat conditions for greater sage-grouse, upland big game species, and wild horses.

Pinyon Jays 

Pinyon-juniper woodlands provide important habitat for many bird species, such as pinyon jays and bird density increases as woodlands progress into old growth. Since the number of birds in North America has decreased by 30% or 3 billion birds in the last 50 years, mainly due to loss of habitat, the last thing our government should be doing is cut down and burn 560,000 acres of pinyon juniper woodlands right next to a similar project directly to the south on the Forest Service’s Pine Valley Ranger District.

Pinyon Jays, a species whose population is catastrophically plummeting – in significant part due to federal agency projects just like this Indian Peak wildlife habitat destruction and fragmentation project. Pinyon Jays have been petitioned for ESA listing. Pinyon jay populations have declined by over 4 million birds  in the last 50 years, from 5.1 million to just 755,000 in the last 50 years making them the fastest declining bird species in North America.

The pinyon jay is a unique, social, bird that travels in large flocks and plays a significant role in maintaining the biodiversity of the West. The jays facilitate piñon pine tree regeneration by extracting and burying the tree’s seeds, commonly known as pine nuts. The birds do not retrieve all their cached seeds, allowing the seeds to germinate and replenish the woodlands. Without pinyon jays, it’s unclear if the piñon pine trees will continue to persist.

Despite the fact that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently determined the pinyon jays may be warranted for listing as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act as a result of habitat loss the BLM signed a decision authorizing this project which forced us to file an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals to stop it.

Sage Grouse

The greater sage-grouse populations continue to decline. A recent US Geological Survey study found that the greater sage-grouse has declined 80% since 1965 and nearly 40% since 2002 and the downward trend is forecast to continue absent stronger conservation. Yet the Indian Peak project would have chopped up and burned 0ver 431,000 acres of sagebrush habitat.

Northern Goshawk

The Indian Peak project would have also destroyed old growth forests that are critical to Northern Goshawk. The sad fact is that goshawk numbers have plummeted across southern Utah. Given that goshawks are very specifically dependent on mature and old growth forests, which are already severely lacking in southern Utah, the project would only result in even more destruction of critical goshawk habitat.

Plan Would Have Harmed Public Health

The BLM estimates it would have taken many years to complete the project, which means people in southeast Utah would have to suffer through springs and falls of smoke-filled air. According to Dr. Brian Moench of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment: “Prescribed burns have never been shown to reduce the public’s overall exposure to forest fire smoke.  In fact, a recent study found that as many people die from prescribed burn smoke as from wildfire smoke.”

The BLM said they will try again to cut up and burn down the Indian Peak area so we will need to be prepared to fight again to protect this important wildlife habitat again.  Please help us by making a donation to the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and to Counterpunch so they can remain fiercely independent.