Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke ordered a review of sage grouse conservation plans, seeking closer coordination with state governments in conserving the bird and its habitat in the West while allowing for economic activities such as energy development. The Fish and Wildlife Service cited the conservation plans in deciding in 2015 not to list the grouse as a threatened or endangered species.
In its decision, the agency said “an unprecedented conservation partnership” across the western United States significantly reduced threats to the rangeland bird in its sagebrush habitat, so it removed the grouse from its list of candidates for protection. Officials said the greater sage-grouse was relatively abundant despite a long-term decline in numbers.
Under Zinke’s order, an internal review team will evaluate federal and state conservation plans to ensure they are complementary and consider local economic growth and job creation, such as energy development on public lands. In a release, the Interior Department said the team would “focus on addressing the principal threats to rangeland health and sage-grouse habitat—invasive grasses and wildland fire. The team will also consider creative approaches and ideas, including a captive breeding program, setting population targets by state, and opportunities to improve state involvement.”
High Country News said “the 2015 plans now under review took five years to create and were in fact the product of input from an array of stakeholders, including state officials, ranchers, environmentalists, oil and gas representatives, and federal agencies. For many stakeholders, the sweeping conservation effort was a way to avoid listing the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act, which would likely have led to stricter regulations on land use in the bird’s habitat.”
To read Zinke’s order on greater sage-grouse conservation, click here.