Trump Administration Targets Western Icon
Despite expressed opposition from western stakeholders, the Trump administration has proposed to weaken or eliminate key protections for greater sage-grouse on millions of acres of public lands in six western states. Offered under the guise of “enhanced cooperation,” the new draft plans risk years of progress to conserve grouse and the Sagebrush Sea, a landscape that is vital to fish and wildlife, recreation, western communities, and sustainable economic development in the Intermountain West.
The National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy…
Prompted by a potential listing under the Endangered Species Act, the Obama administration launched the National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy in 2011 to improve management of greater sage-grouse on more than 60 million acres of public lands. The strategy advanced landscape-level planning within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other federal agencies, designating tens of millions of acres of priority habitat to conserve the grouse and more than 350 other species of conservation concern. This unprecedented planning process produced final sage-grouse plans in 2015 that, while not perfect, comprised the most comprehensive management strategy ever produced for sagebrush grasslands.
…now under threat.
The Trump administration directed federal agencies last autumn to revise the 2015 sage-grouse plans to align with weaker state conservation strategies for the species. Like so many other administration initiatives, these amendments are also driven by a political objective to expand oil and gas drilling and other development on western public lands.
In fact, the proposed changes could be detrimental for sage-grouse. Defenders of Wildlife’s comparative review of seven key conservation measures in the draft amendments found that none of the Trump administration’s draft plan amendments would improve conservation for the species and many would substantially decrease protections. The BLM has proposed to eliminate designated habitat areas and downgrade protections against oil and gas development, livestock grazing, and other land use across Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. The agency’s proposed amendments for the Utah plan are the most severe and threaten to upend science-based planning and management of sage-grouse in the state. Notably, BLM plans in states that resisted or declined to request management changes from the Trump administration’s planning process will retain existing and generally more protective sage-grouse conservation measures (Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota).
And if that isn’t enough…
Last week, the Department of the Interior, acting on Secretary of the Interior Zinke’s noted disdain for the concept, revoked the BLM’s “compensatory mitigation” policy that required oil and gas drillers, miners and other resource users to pay for the damage they cause to our public lands. Funds or in-kind contributions were used to restore or acquire habitat elsewhere to mitigate for development disturbance. The Secretary called the policy “un-American.” We call it good business. Importantly, mitigation is a foundational component of the current federal sage-grouse conservation plans. Failing to require developers of all types to mitigate for their activities in sage-grouse habitat will only amplify impacts on the species, especially under the Trump administration’s plan amendments, which would allow for even more development in sage-grouse range.
Opportunity Lost?
The Trump administration’s proposed plans would create greater inconsistency and confusion in conservation of sage-grouse on BLM lands — and at a critical time for the species and its habitat. Invasive species and unnatural wildfire are wreaking havoc on sagebrush grasslands. Land use and development continue to incur on essential habitat areas. Climate change threatens the viability of the ecosystem. Rather than tearing down the National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy, the federal government should be working to strengthen the plans to ensure a future for sage-grouse and other wildlife, and people, in the quintessential Sagebrush Sea.
