June 5, 2024 |
Photo – Sage grouse – Bigfoot99 file photo
With time running out next week for the public to supply comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s Greater Sage Grouse Draft Management Plan Amendment, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso yesterday called for more time.
In a letter BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Barrasso expressed concerns about the amendment and asked for the comment period to be extended by at least 180 days to allow affected citizens to digest the changes and comments. As it stands now, the comment period closes one week from tomorrow on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
The BLM’s proposed planning area encompasses nearly 121 million acres of federal land across Wyoming and nine other states with sage-grouse habitat. The proposed amendment could affect up to 69 million acres of public land, including land used for grazing, forestry, recreation, and energy production.
In a statement from March of this year, Senator Barrasso stated that “the Bureau’s final plan must allow activities essential to Wyoming’s economy – including energy production and livestock grazing – to thrive.”
In Tuesday’s letter to Stone-Manning, Senator Barrasso noted that “for years, communities and individuals across 10 Western states have worked together to conserve greater sage grouse and ensure the species does not require listing” under the Endangered Species Act.
In yesterday’s letter, the senator notes that “the Bureau of Land Management has not shown that irreparable harm is occurring to Greater Sage-Grouse habitat in Wyoming.”
Senator Barrasso said local stakeholders need more time to review the more than 660 pages in the new draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement to provide accurate assessments.
The Biden Administration’s proposal, released in March, incorporates tough restrictions on oil and gas drilling and other land uses near the bird’s habitat. The “preferred alternative” also includes exemptions for solar and wind development near sage grouse habitat.
