Conservationists: Sage grouse plan could hurt bird

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Conservationists say a Trump administration proposal to ease restrictions on energy leases and other activities on Western lands could unravel efforts to protect an imperiled bird.

Interior Department officials on Wednesday released draft changes to conservation plans for the greater sage grouse in seven states. The protections were approved in 2015 under former President Barack Obama.

The ground-dwelling, chicken-sized birds are known for an elaborate mating ritual. Their numbers declined sharply in recent decades, due in part to oil and gas drilling that drove them off breeding grounds.

Administration officials say the proposed revisions to the Obama-era plans are aimed at increasing flexibility in the management of lands where the birds reside.

Trump has vowed to increase U.S. energy production and open more public lands to drilling.

Environmental groups earlier this week filed lawsuits alleging the administration already has sold energy leases in violation of the Obama-era plans.

—

BLM news release:

BLM MOVES TO COORDINATE SAGE-GROUSE HABITAT PLANS WITH OREGON PARTNERS

PORTLAND, Oregon – The Bureau of Land Management marked a milestone today in the Administration’s effort to better align plans for managing Greater Sage-Grouse habitat on federal lands with state plans by publishing a draft environmental impact analysis of proposed changes to resource management plans in Oregon.

The BLM developed the proposed changes in collaboration with the Oregon Governor, state wildlife managers and other stakeholders to align federal and state plans in order to pursue the shared goals of healthy sagebrush-steppe habitat that benefits wildlife and recreation while supporting local economies.

“We are committed to being a good neighbor and respect the state’s ability to manage wildlife, while recognizing the tremendous investments of effort into improving Greater Sage-grouse populations and its habitat over the last decade,” said Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt. “We look forward to receiving comments on the draft.”

A number of issues for the State of Oregon have been or will be addressed separately from the current plan amendment process. However, the draft EIS for BLM-managed sagebrush habitat in Oregon addresses the issue of livestock grazing in BLM Research Natural Areas (RNAs). The proposed Management Alignment alternative evaluates the local economic impact of withdrawing RNAs from availability for grazing and examines how livestock grazing impacts the elements and values for which key RNAs were designated.

“Comments from the State during scoping indicated that current BLM plans for managing habitat align well with state plans,” said Jamie E. Connell, BLM state director for Oregon/Washington. “So, we are not throwing out the 2015 plan and are instead proposing a focused plan amendment to more appropriately frame threats to sage-grouse in Oregon and consider economic issues at a local scale.”

The Management Alignment in the Draft EIS for Oregon proposes lifting the 2015 withdrawal of 13 BLM research natural areas (RNAs) from livestock grazing, to make an additional 21,959 acres available. Two RNAs (13,872 acres total) would remain closed to grazing. Connell noted that while the withdrawals were a relatively minor provision in the 2015 plan, they are expected to have significant localized impacts on some grazing permittees without corresponding gains for habitat improvement.

The Oregon draft EIS is one of six that the BLM is publishing today.

The BLM is accepting comments on the draft EIS through Aug. 9, 2018. The most useful comments are specific and contain new information related to the proposed actions. Comments may be submitted by mail: BLM – Greater Sage-Grouse EIS, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon, 97208-2965; or online at https://goo.gl/7wdKmM.

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in any comments, please bear in mind that the entire comment — including personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. The BLM will not consider anonymous comments.

The BLM will hold public meetings during the public comment period. Announcements about these meetings will be made by news releases to the media and posting on the project website listed above. The BLM expects to publish a final EIS and plan amendments by October 2018, one year after publishing the Notice of Intent to begin this planning effort.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $75 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2016–more than any other agency in the Department of the Interior. These activities supported more than 372,000 jobs.