Rich Adney's comment suggesting that "Natural gas can be obtained from existing
sources requiring no additional intrusion on habitat" begs a response.
Perhaps it might look that way from an Oregon perspective, but it's not the
case in other parts of the range for Greater Sage-Grouse. Natural gas
extraction has been a major source of sage-grouse habitat fragmentation in the
eastern part of the "sagebrush sea." Here's just one example among many of how
that process has played out in recent years:
https://www.audubon.org/news/the-greater-sage-grouses-most-important-habitat-auction-block
On top of that, natural gas produces greenhouse gas emissions (though "cleaner"
than coal). So it exacerbates global climate change which is impacting birds
and other wildlife worldwide.
Lithium batteries are likely a necessary technology in the effort to slow down
the rate of human-caused climate change. So there's a need for lithium mining,
but it should be done with appropriate environmental safeguards and review of
the impacts of each proposed mine. Lithium is not a rare element in the earth's
crust, so there is no need to rush to permit mining at a particular site, as
the past administration did in this case.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
