March 20, 2024 |
Photo – Sage Grouse strutting – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Bureau of Land Management released a draft plan last Thursday to strengthen sage-grouse conservation and management plans for public lands. In Cheyenne, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said the new plan will be “closely scrutinized.”
Last week’s update puts back into place Obama-era protections under the Endangered Species Act that were disrupted during the Trump Administration. In 2019, federal judges overturned the Trump-era changes. The BLM charges that the sage grouse populations are declining even after managing for the bird using the Obama-era rules.
The BLM considered nearly 1,900 comments gathered during an initial public scoping period and information shared by state, local, federal and tribal partners in more than 100 meetings.
Former Wyoming Governor Matt Mead led the effort for Wyoming during the negotiations prior to Trump administration changes.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s office is scrutinizing the new plan, which could have big impacts on Wyoming citizens and industries. Any proposed BLM actions that do not align with the core areas established through Wyoming-led processes will be looked at closely, Gov. Gordon said.
In a statement, the Wyoming governor said, “Our leadership on this matter has shown state-led efforts are effective, as evidenced by Wyoming having more sage-grouse than any other state. Wyoming maintains primary management authority of most wildlife, including sage-grouse, and deference should be given to our management processes, population assessments, identification of core areas, prudent use of no surface occupancy restrictions in mineral and oil and gas development and stewardship areas.”
Gordon said the draft plan was a long-time in the making, and he is concerned about how well the Biden Administration in Washington, D.C., will respect state-led efforts.
Federal officials say sage grouse populations, once in the millions, now number fewer than 800,000. The feds, of course, blame climate change for population declines. Invasive species are also blamed.
According to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey, sage grouse populations have declined by about 80 percent since 1965, and nearly 40 percent since 2002.
Last week’s proposal from the BLM includes six alternative plans to keep the prairie bird off the endangered species list. If the bird is listed, even greater restrictions would be introduced.
The six alternatives are now open for public comment. Each brings some restrictions on commercial activities, with varying amounts of land affected. The agency’s preference is No. 5, a compromise between more restrictive and permissive propositions from previous administrations.
Energy producers have been waiting for the BLM decision with caution.
Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance, an association of independent oil and gas companies, was quoted in the New York Times saying that at first read, it appears the BLM “is trying to find a workable balance.”
The federal battle over the greater sage grouse began when the Obama administration issued a land-use plan to shield the bird’s habitat from mining and energy development. The Obama plan was sharply criticized by the oil and gas industry, and, in 2017, the Trump administration issued a new plan that weakened protections and made it easier for states to approve drilling, pipelines and other activities in sage grouse breeding areas.
A federal court in 2019 blocked the Trump plan from moving forward, and the BLM never put in place any of the proposed management plans.
According to the Bureau, the birds rely on sagebrush to meet their food and reproduction needs, and a local population could need as much as 40 square miles of intact landscape to stay healthy.
The 90-day comment period on the plan opened March 14 and runs through May 14, 2024. According to the posting in the Federal Register, the BLM will hold two virtual public meetings and 11 in-person public meetings throughout the planning area.
