Jewell advocates for collaboration

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor visited Harney County Monday, March 21.

A member of the president’s cabinet, Jewell heads the Department of Interior, which encompasses the Bureau of Indian Affairs; Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Bureau of Reclamation; Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; National Park Service; Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service (USFWS); and U.S. Geological Survey.

During their visit, Jewell and Connor met with Harney County officials, the High Desert Partnership, the Burns Paiute Tribe, and public land management employees.

They also took questions from the media and members of the public at the Harney County Courthouse that afternoon.

Jewell began the media availability by thanking Harney County Judge Steve Grasty and courthouse staff for their leadership during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. She also complimented Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, referring to him as a “true American hero.”

“I can’t thank the people of Harney County, the sheriff, the judge, the county commissioners [enough] for really being such incredible examples of collaboration and leadership and standing up for what they know is right and what they know is important,” she said.

Addressing the people of Harney County, Jewell added, “You should be tremendously proud of what you represent in terms of the United States of America — how you help feed our country, how you take care of the ecologies of these landscapes. People, of course, come from all over the world because of the incredible ecosystem that has always been here, and that is being shepherded and taken care of by this community.”

Reopening the refuge

Jewell was asked when the refuge will reopen to the public.

She replied that, although the headquarters facilities remain closed for remedial work and regular maintenance, the remainder of the refuge is open, and she invited visitors to come view the migratory birds.

Held in honor of John Scharff, the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival is scheduled for April 8-10. Information regarding the festival can be found online at www.migratorybirdfestival.com

Encouraging collaboration

There was a question concerning the impact that litigation from special interest groups has had on management decisions throughout the West, and Jewell was asked to discuss strategies for “leveling the playing field” for those who live and work in the affected areas.

Jewell, who inherited about 3,500 lawsuits when she was sworn in as secretary, said, “I don’t like operating through litigation, and it certainly is used as a tool, but the best defense against that tool is by doing it right, and not cutting corners, and taking the input that you’re supposed to take in a NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] process and so on, bringing people to the table, which is what you’ve done here with this High Desert Partnership.”

Founded in 2005, the High Desert Partnership (HDP) is a rural, nonprofit, grassroots organization serving Harney County and surrounding southeastern Oregon.

According to its website, the partnership’s mission is “to enhance the ecological sustainability, economic well-being, and social vitality of our communities by using a collaborative decision-making process with all interested stakeholders to solve challenging issues.”

Jewell said collaborative efforts, such as those exemplified by HDP, “reduce any risk of litigation because you’re working the process through in the way it is designed to happen from beginning to end.”

She added, “It’s a lot less expensive to collaborate, than it is to litigate and to fight off those litigants.”

Connor described litigation as “a resource waste,” adding that it’s typically ineffective at resolving issues.

He also encouraged collaboration, stating, “People are recognizing now that they’re making a lot more progress in addressing the issues that they have through the dialogue with the folks that they would typically litigate.”

Connor added that the department needs to highlight the successful collaborations that are happening on the ground.

Recognizing that collaborative efforts often require agency staff to step out and take risks, Jewell said employees need to be assured that their efforts will be supported.

“I think we can all work on creating an environment where we respect and appreciate our federal employees and reward them for taking risks,” she said.

Jewell also acknowledged that turnover, which is common in federal government service, can prevent the deepening of relationships, and she asked, “How can we create more opportunities for people to stay put and build those relationships?”

‘A disaster avoided’

However, Jewell also acknowledged the strength of existing relationships in the Harney County Community, stating that, “Those who occupied the refuge picked the wrong county.”

She said that — because of decades of collaboration among the USFWS, BLM, U.S. Forest Service, ranchers, local county elected officials, and the community at large — the refuge occupation was “a disaster avoided.”

She added that watching Ward and Grasty navigate the situation reminded her of the value of maintaining community partnerships and respecting local points of view.

She also recognized the benefit that seasoned agency employees, such as Refuge Manager Chad Karges, can have in a community, and noted that agency staff reported receiving “a tremendous outpouring of support.”

‘Upping the bar’ for ESA listings

Observing that litigation frequently involves the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Jewell said the department is working to ensure that the act is being interpreted according to its intended purpose.

“We’re upping the bar for those who want to petition species to say, ‘You’ve got to work with the science that’s available out there, including from the states, and basically make a case,’” she said. “That is putting more of the burden back on those who feel there is a concern to show what the science is behind that concern. And, also, it’s much more reasonable for us to actually have something to work on, as opposed to having to do all of that work ourselves through the Fish and Wildlife Service on the front end.”

Jewell said more than 500 species were petitioned for listing under the ESA when the Obama administration took over, and all of the petitions had deadlines associated with them.

“It’s easy to petition. It’s really hard to do the work to figure out whether that petition should result in a listing,” she explained.

However, Jewell also discussed the effectiveness of the ESA, stating that 99 percent of the species that have been threatened or endangered are not yet extinct.

She added, “This has been a pretty good month in terms of recognizing the recovery of species.”

Although she described farmers and ranchers as conservationists who want to be in harmony with the landscapes, she said, “We’re all learning about how best to do that, and we’re learning that maybe some of the practices that we’ve done over the years weren’t as favorable as they could have been.”

Tools for landowners

Jewell also discussed programs, such as Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs), that can help landowners who would be impacted by an ESA listing.

According to USFWS’s website, CCAAs provide incentives for nonfederal landowners to engage in voluntary conservation activities that can help make listing a species unnecessary. Participating property owners receive permits containing assurances that, if they engage in these activities, they will not be required to implement additional conservation measures if the species is listed.

“Just in the case of the greater sage grouse, $450 million has been spent by the Natural Resources Conservation Service on exactly those kinds of programs, and a lot of that has been right here in Oregon because of the collaborative efforts here in Harney County, in Lake County, and the surrounding areas,” Jewell said.

“Those tools that are now in the toolbox with regard to the Endangered Species Act, I think are based on listening to landowners and providing the kind of assurances so that people don’t feel whipsawed by the process,” she said. “We’re going to continue to look at those creative solutions within the bounds of the law.”

Social and economic analysis 

Jewell also received a question regarding the depth of social and economic analysis in NEPA processes.

“The NEPA process actually does require that we look broadly at social and economic factors, as well as environmental factors,” she replied. “If we’re going to do right by the landscapes, we’ve also got to do right by people, and a lot of that involves education. A NEPA process, when working well, is an educational process. It’s an open process. It’s one where people are invited to come and provide comment. I think we need to make sure, as the federal government, that we are providing those opportunities — not just checking a box.”

Transferring federal lands

When asked to address the rising movement to turn federal lands over to more local control, Jewell said, “I think there’s a lot of misinformation.”

Regarding accusations of a federal land grab, she said, “These have been federal lands since statehood for Oregon.”

She added that, in Harney County, the BLM converted about 117,000 acres from public to private ownership. Grasty explained that the turnover resulted from the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act.

Jewell added that federal public lands are used for multiple purposes, including those that are ecological, economic and social. She added that trusted treaty obligations with the nation’s first people, including the Burns Paiute Tribe, must also be upheld.

Regarding the issue of grazing on federal lands, she said, “Frankly, the grazing fees per animal unit month on federal lands are very low, and they haven’t changed since the 1970s. That is an important part of the economic equation for ranching in this area. It’s not enough to even cover our costs in the BLM offices to do that, and yet we do it year in and year out, working with ranchers to try and accommodate their livelihoods on these landscapes in the context of a healthy ecosystem, as well.”

‘We’re in the forever business’

Jewell was also asked to speak about the appeal of Ammon Bundy’s message and to discuss why the government is having trouble communicating the benefits of collaboration to the public.

She replied, “Fear is easy to sell. Very easy to sell. It’s simple. It oversimplifies the complexity, and I think that we’ve seen a portion of our population that is reacting to simple messages. The reality is, what you’ve done here in the High Desert Partnership is not simple or easy, but it is real life.”

She explained that it can be difficult to communicate the concept of maintaining balance in land management decisions, and she stressed the importance of sharing local success stories.

Jewell pointed to sage grouse management as a recent example of the community’s success with collaboration.

“I think what you’ve shown here is that it’s not ‘us and them.’ It’s all ‘us.’ And we’re all working together for many more common purposes and cross purposes,” she said.

Jewell added, “The federal government is not about marketing and sound bites. We’re in the forever business. People expect us to do our jobs for the benefit, not just of us or for our children, but for generations forward. The ranchers of Harney County want these landscapes to be here so that their children, and their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren can continue to be ranchers if they choose to. And they’d like to see that go forward. And if they are working in harmony with the landscapes, there’s no reason why that can’t happen. That doesn’t lend itself to a sound bite, but fear is easy to peddle, and don’t we see a lot of that being peddled right now? I believe that collaboration and communication with each other and building personal relationships is the key. And I think that will win in the end,” she said.

She concluded, “People love their public lands. They love them for a variety of reasons — their livelihoods, their recreation, the natural beauty. It’s what our country is known for. And I think that you will see those stories emerge. And when we have a crisis, like what happened here, that is also a platform for other sides of the story to be told.”