Our friends at Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership tell us that a ruling is expected this month regarding the sage grouse. The issue at hand is described here by Paul Wilkins, Chief Conservation Officer at TRCP:
The Department of the Interior appears on track to issue a decision in September that listing of the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted. This is the result of unprecedented cooperation between the BLM and 11 Western states in developing good management plans to conserve the bird and its habitat. Some in Congress believe that these management plans are overly restrictive on oil and gas development and grazing in sage brush habitat and have attached riders to the Interior Appropriations bills and the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act to block the BLM from implementing their management plans. TRCP will be working aggressively to strip these riders from both bills before they are signed into law.
To create timely awareness, PBS Nature will be re-airing the beautiful film “The Sagebrush Sea” tomorrow night. But you can watch it right now, above. Click here to watch the trailer. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell even recorded record a promo for it (see below).
Click here for more on the issues facing the sage grouse.
An endangered listing for the sage grouse would have far-reaching consequences in the West.
Photo courtesy USDA