Sage-Grouse Lek Guideline Review Report

Abstract

On April 21, 2011, an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Land Use Committee meeting was convened to support a Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) unofficial request to obtain Land Use Committee comments pertaining to the proposed Sage-Grouse Breeding Habitat Regulations. Two documents were provided from DOE-ID pertaining to the proposed regulations: “Guidelines for INL Site Activities within Sage-grouse Breeding Habitat” and “Guidelines for New Infrastructure Development and Future Activities on the INL Site.” The INL Land Use Committee agreed to conduct this unofficial review in the spirit of collaboration between DOE-ID and the INL Land Use Committee. However, through this cursory review, significant concerns were raised regarding the guidelines, INL financial obligations, and the draft Candidate Conservation Agreement, which was not part of the requested review but is referred to by the guideline. Therefore, it is the position of the INL Land Use Committee, based on the issues raised in its cursory review, that DOE-ID request INL (through contractual channels) to conduct a formal review of the draft Candidate Conservation Agreement and guidelines. A formal review would allow ample time to thoroughly review the extensive draft regulations, identify areas of concern, and establish impacts (e.g., cost and project delays).