BATTLE MOUNTAIN - A new conservation specialist will be working with the Lander County Conservation District to help prevent the listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species.
"I'm in a new position in Winnemucca," said Steve Weaver, who works for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources under the Nevada Conservation Districts Program. "It's part of the Sagebrush Ecosystem Program and we're dealing specifically in my position with the conservation districts, and it's an effort by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, with the full support of the governor, to see what we can do to head off, among other things, the listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species, which would significantly impact our lifestyle and economy in this state in my opinion and in the opinion of many others."
Weaver's daily duties include finding and writing grants as well as providing technical information, developing projects and on-the-ground information to the Sagebrush Ecosystem Technical Team, which is part of the state's overall strategy to preclude the listing of the sage grouse and to focus on the health and vibrancy of the ecosystem.
The team then supplies input for the environmental documents being prepared by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies.
"We are sitting here trying to work with the conservation districts to get as much ground support projects and publicity going to assist with the overall effort to bring our ecosystem into a functioning manner which will survive scrutiny under the Endangered Species Act," he told Lander County commissioners at their Sept. 5 meeting. " ... I think we've got a challenge ahead of us, but I think it's a challenge we can rise to and hopefully overcome."
He explained that the BLM may come out with its preliminary documents for its EIS as early as next month.
"We're two years this month off of a potential decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service," he said. "The best information I have is there's a feel out there ... that some of the listing may defer to well-crafted state plans. Now, Nevada, as you know, has a state plan for the protection of the sage grouse in the state, and Wyoming and Nevada, in my estimation, are ahead of the pack in this regard but that's it in a nutshell."
He told commissioners that he is willing to help them in any way possible.
"I will come out and look at potential situations that may warrant projects," Weaver said. "It can be any number of things and then I will do my best to reach out and get financing, the grants, whatever it takes.
The more we can do in a fairly short amount of time, the better off we're going to be so I'm here. Any way I can be of assistance, I will. It is a brand new position. I'm the first one in it. I'm tied in with the other counties. I predominantly work in the northwest."
He said he has a counterpart in Elko and that a third position in Ely is going to be filled soon. In addition to the Lander County Conservation District, Weaver also works with the Paradise/Sonoma, the Quinn River, the Vya, the Big Meadows, the Washoe/Storey and the Tonopah conservation districts.
"Obviously, it's driven by the sage grouse issue and the potential, but it's not strictly limited to that," he said. "The state is taking an interest in the conservation districts and the ground-up position."
Weaver, who is originally from Reno, did his undergraduate work there in wildlife management.
"I've worked in five western states and internationally," he said. "I have an international master's degree in wildlife management. I've worked federal, state and private, worked in eastern Nevada for eight years with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as the regional manager for state parks there."
He has worked in Idaho and Nevada, extensively with the federal government as a range and wildlife specialist with the U.S. Forest Service and BLM.
"My private sector, I worked with Silver State Ranches out of Eureka for a couple of years, down there as their range and wildlife guy," Weaver said. "I worked for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for a couple of years in Washington and Alaska as their field director and my most recent incarnation was four years in South Africa as the conservation science director from the International NGO (non-governmental organization) down there, a Christian-based NGO out of the UK, operating in 20 countries so I have an extensive background and Nevada experience and a lot of ownership in this endeavor here because I am taking it personally as a Nevadan."
He added after the commission meeting, "The more good information we can get, and the more viable projects we can develop, the greater the chance for preventing the listing of the species. Although the exact ramifications of listing the species on our day to day lives is uncertain we can be very sure it would be substantial and unwelcome by most residents of rural Nevada."
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