June 25, 2024 |
Photo – Sage grouse – Bigfoot99 file photo
In a letter to Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland dated June 13, 2024, Governor Mark Gordon gave the secretary a history lesson on the involvement of Wyoming in preserving the sage grouse population in the West.
The governor’s history lesson was his way of pushing back against the contention in Washington, D.C.; that Wyoming is not doing enough to protect sage grouse habitat in the state.
In the letter, the governor provides the secretary of Interior with a primer on how Wyoming has led the way in sage grouse protection. The governor writes, “The State of Wyoming has been a longtime leader in the conservation of this iconic species, beginning in the 1940s and extending to the present. Most recently, we developed a statewide conservation plan in 2001, which led to extensive conservation efforts and ultimately to the creation of the Sage-grouse Implementation Team (SGIT) in 2007, and, in due course, the first Executive Order for the protection of the species in 2008.” The state’s efforts pre-date any federal move to protect the bird.
Noting that Wyoming’s efforts pre-date trendy Democrat environmental polices in Washington, the governor notes that the efforts to protect the bird have been “inclusive, non-partisan, and collaborative in every regard.”
Wyoming’s efforts to protect the sage grouse even pre-date Haaland’s entry into politics in 2012 as the director for Barack Obama’s presidential re-election campaign.
“Wyoming Governors have maintained a commitment to sage-grouse over the past 16 years,” Governor Gordon notes. “Governor Matt Mead was instrumental in the establishment of the national Sage-grouse Working Group, a move which led to landscape-scale conservation efforts of the Bureau of Land Management in 2015. Wyoming has been, and continues to be, an effective pioneer in sage-grouse protection and management.”
Also in his letter, Governor Gordon notes that Wyoming has established state-specific industrial requirements to protect sage grouse habitat. “In addition, we have dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to habitat improvement. There is simply no need to add more designations, restrictions and possible confusion on those landscapes.”
The Governor concludes in his letter that he is optimistic that the BLM will recognize Wyoming’s track record of conservation in regards to the Greater Sage Grouse.
A final environmental impact statement from the Bureau of Land Management is expected this fall, followed by a Record of Decision.
The public comment period ended June 13 of this year.
