Historic, Landscape-Level Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation Program Announced for Nevada
August 30 2016 - 3:14PM
Business Wire
The State of Nevada (acting through the Department of Wildlife
(NDOW) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(NDCNR)) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (acting through
the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM)) today announced an agreement with Newmont Mining
Corporation on a sagebrush ecosystem conservation program that will
guide management of more than 1.5 million acres of habitat in
Nevada.
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Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation Program
Signing Ceremony in Carson City, Nevada. (Photo: Business Wire)
A first of its kind in the United States for its scope and
scale, the agreement establishes a mutually-agreed upon framework
governing Newmont’s management of sagebrush habitat under the
company’s stewardship. The company also may partner with the BLM to
implement sagebrush ecosystem enhancement measures on BLM-managed
public lands in Nevada.
“Through this historic agreement, Newmont has committed to
implementing a wide-ranging, landscape-level conservation plan that
includes voluntarily managing certain of its private rangelands and
ranches in Nevada to achieve net conservation gains for sagebrush
species,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. “This good-faith,
public-private partnership represents a significant and meaningful
achievement in the cause of sagebrush habitat and species
protection in the western United States.”
Implementation of the agreement will allow the State of Nevada
to work with federal agencies and a private entity (Newmont) for
the first time to put into practice its Conservation Credit System
(CCS). Under the terms of the agreement, Newmont will seek approval
from signatory agencies for individual habitat conservation
projects for which the company may receive conservation credits
that can later be used to offset impacts related to future
proposals for Newmont’s mining operations in Nevada.
"This agreement reinforces the Department's efforts to partner
throughout the West with the private sector and other stakeholders
to demonstrate the power of collaborative conservation and that
continued economic growth and conservation of our important natural
resource heritage need not be at odds,” said Janice Schneider,
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. “Working
together, the BLM, FWS, NRCS, and Newmont will help protect and
restore habitat for the Greater sage grouse - while continuing
mining operations in Nevada. We appreciate their leadership and
that of the state of Nevada and NDOW in making this success story
possible."
“As the owner of private lands and a steward of a significant
amount of BLM-managed public lands in Nevada, Newmont is uniquely
positioned to work in concert with the BLM and the State of Nevada
to advance and test land and habitat management techniques that
will inform conservation practices going forward,” said BLM
Nevada State Director John Ruhs. ”The BLM looks forward to applying
the habitat conservation methods generated as a result of this
partnership between the agencies and Newmont.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified invasive
annual grasses as the primary threat to the sage-steppe ecosystem
due to the risk they pose in fueling wildfires that destroy
sagebrush habitats. One of the first pilot projects implemented
under the agreement will deploy targeted grazing activities on a
large private land parcel owned by Newmont to improve the health of
desirable plants and manage cheatgrass, with an overall goal of
minimizing wildfire frequency. Other related Newmont activities
will include the testing of other invasive species management
techniques; evaluation of strategic fuels management; changes in
livestock grazing to promote native sagebrush ecosystem health by
increasing the density of deep-rooted perennial grasses; and
implementation of practices to reduce human-induced advantages for
predators of greater sage-grouse.
“Through this planned and coordinated effort to conserve and
restore sagebrush habitat on a landscape level, we will be able to
advance protection for more than 350 different species of animals
and other wildlife and more than 3,500 species of plants that call
this ecosystem home," said Ted Koch, Reno Fish and Wildlife Office
Supervisor. “By joining with land managers, scientists, industry
and other stakeholders across the Great Basin, we can share the
responsibility for enhancing resource management and collectively
learn from our outcomes to create measurable and sustainable
long-term conservation improvements on the ground."
The historic agreement builds upon a longstanding and ongoing
collaboration among a wide variety of other Newmont partners,
including The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Nevada Governor
Sandoval’s Sagebrush Ecosystem Program, USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service and Agricultural Research Service, and the
University of Nevada - Reno.
“Newmont looks forward to embracing this historic opportunity
and building upon our 50 years of responsible mining and
environmental stewardship in Nevada,” said Dr. Elaine Dorward-King,
Newmont’s Executive Vice President for Sustainability and External
Relations. “We appreciate the good-faith demonstrated by all the
parties involved to achieve this historic agreement which will
advance sagebrush habitat management in Nevada while supporting
continued sustainable mining practices over the long term.”
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Governor of Nevada Media
ContactMari St. Martin, 775-684-5670mstmartin@gov.nv.govorDCNR
Media ContactJoAnn Kittrell,
775-684-2712jkittrell@dcnr.nv.govorNDOW
MediaJack Robb, 775-688-1591jrobb@ndow.orgorUSFWS Media ContactDan Hottle,
775-861-6300daniel_hottle@fws.govorUSBLM
Media ContactSteve Clutter,
775-861-6629sclutter@blm.govorNewmont Media
ContactsOmar Jabara (Corporate),
303-837-5114omar.jabara@newmont.comorRhonda Zuraff (Nevada),
775-778-2130rhonda.zuraff@newmont.com
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