Sage Grouse

Some members of the Congressional Western Caucus are not happy with the Administration's proposal to withdraw ten million acres of federal lands via the Endangered Species Act. In a recent letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the lawmakers claim the Administration is using its decision to update the greater sage-grouse land management plans as an excuse to ban development in areas across Ida

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture proposed changes to how it manages greater sage grouse in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah.  The changes, according to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, “strive to improve the clarity, efficiency, and implementation of the current sage grouse plans."  The pro...

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture proposed changes to how it manages greater sage grouse in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah.  The changes, according to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, “strive to improve the clarity, efficiency, and implementation of the current sage grouse plans."  The pro...

Environmental advocates in Oregon have criticized a state plan to kill more than 1,000 ravens to help save the greater sage grouse.  In 2018, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife applied for permits to kill up to 500 ravens per year over a three-year period to reduce the number preying upon greater sage grouse eggs.  A ...

Conservation groups have asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from easing restrictions on energy companies that were intended to protect the sage grouse.   Attorneys for Western Watersheds Project, Prairie Hills Audubon Society and two other groups made the request Wednesday in U.S. D...

Federal officials have dropped plans to conduct a five-year status review of the Greater Sage Grouse.  In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the greater sage grouse was not a threatened or endangered species but pledged to revisit the issue in five years.  US...

A new, 19-page report by the U.S. Forest Service indicates sage grouse have a vast network of mating grounds across the western U.S.  One researcher compared it to interconnected regional airport hubs.  This, the report said, helps the sage grouse maintain genetic diversity across its entire range.  A DNA s...

Conservation groups claim the Bureau of Land Management broke the law when it approved eight large oil and gas lease sales in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.  In response a suit was filed Monday in federal court.  The suit came after the BLM relaxed protections for greater sage grouse habitat.  Laird L...

Public comments are being accepted regarding rules on sage grouse preservation in the U.S.   Ethan Lane, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council said it’s a much needed conversation.   “If you follow the conversations and the good faith negotiations that occurred with the states, as that process unfolded grazing was never intended to be a target of those plans and yet what we’ve seen is tha

Earlier this week, Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the Trump administration would review a plan to protect sage grouse in western states.  Plans to protect sage grouse have met opposition by industry and farm groups along the way, which argue the rules go too far.  Zi...