Research cited in species decision

Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 1, 2006 at midnight

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Scientific research didn't justify keeping four Colorado wildlife species in the running for endangered species protection, a Bush administration appointee said Tuesday.

"I check scientific citations for the conclusions. I ask questions about statements," said Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary of the Interior. "I'm not saying the science was bad. It's a work in progress, but I'm the second pair of eyes and I care that these documents be right."

MacDonald's review resulted in the Gunnison's prairie dog, the Gunnison sage grouse, the white-tailed prairie dog and the roundtail chub being dropped from the years-long process that selects candidates for an Endangered Species Act listing.

All four species are found in Colorado, but development has diminished their habitat.

Four conservation groups, including the Denver-based Center on Native Ecosystems, said that MacDonald's comments on the species were based on politics, not science.

MacDonald said she reviewed research reports from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the conservation groups that petitioned for the ESA listing.

"I read through them to make sure they make sense," said MacDonald, a civil engineer appointed to the position four years ago.

She said that sometimes the answers to her questions don't change the status of the species reviews, but sometimes her inquiries have led staff biologists to decide that the species wasn't significantly imperiled.

"I'm not saying the science is bad, but they look at a lot of stuff," MacDonald said.

In one case involving a species in another state, the report mischaracterized the study's conclusions, she said.

"They just didn't read it right," she said. "Who knows why? I have no way of knowing why."

MacDonald said there is no proof that she ordered researchers to change their findings and challenged the conservationists to come up with a document that shows she did.

Scientists from the regional office of the Fish and Wildlife Service in Lakewood who helped research the species weren't available for comment.

Diane Katzenberger, spokeswoman for the office, said the groups that advocated ESA listing for the four Colorado species didn't provide enough data.

The information on the Gunnison sage grouse was reviewed by an Idaho researcher who concluded ESA listing wasn't warranted, she said.

Clait Braun, who retired from the Colorado Division of Wildlife and studied the Gunnison sage grouse, said that the Idaho researcher received only information on the population near Gunnison, which is the largest group.

"All the data indicates it should be listed," said Braun, who said the Idaho researcher didn't have access to information about the Gunnison sage grouse disappearing from other areas in Colorado.

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