Sage-Grouse

Protections for the greater-sage grouse on federal land in Western states were proposed by the Bureau of Land Management on Friday, but their future is uncertain after the Trump administration takes office in January.

The BLM, part of the Interior Department, issued a final environmental impact statement for greater sage-grouse habitat protections on federal land in 10 Western states. Once finalized, 77 BLM land management plans across the West will be updated to reduce threats to the chicken-like bird.

The BLM will accept official protests to the plan through Dec. 16. The bureau plans to issue a final record of decision after resolving protests it considers valid and consulting with state governors.

“This remarkable species and the people who live, work, and play alongside it deserve management that will sustain sagebrush habitat across the West for years to come,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement.

It’s unclear whether the BLM will follow through on its plan to issue a final decision and what its fate will be after the Trump administration takes office in January.

The Obama administration published state-backed conservation plans for the greater sage-grouse in 2015, but the first Trump administration scaled those back in 2019 to support oil and gas drilling. The new plan is the Biden administration’s attempt to reinstate the safeguards.

The BLM didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Habitat loss, partly from oil and gas drilling and other development, has imperiled the bird, which also faces threats from drought, wildfires, and invasive species. The greater sage-grouse depends on the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem common in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and surrounding states.