Biden administration tightens sage grouse protections ahead of second Trump term

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday issued updates aimed at strengthening its proposed protections for the greater sage grouse — an iconic bird that inhabits public lands across the U.S. West.

The updates, which revise a March proposal, would safeguard sage grouse habitats across 10 states by tightening restrictions on oil and gas drilling, mineral mining and clean energy development.

While the BLM announced plans to finalize its plans with relevant states in the coming weeks, the question remains whether President-elect Trump, who has vowed to ramp up domestic fossil fuel production, could reverse these plans.

During his previous administration, Trump sought to revoke the protections of sage grouse on 10 million acres of public lands, but a federal judge ultimately overturned that decision.

Greater sage grouse, known for their unique spiked plumage and chunky, round bodies, have suffered habitat decline due in part to the impacts of climate change, including drought, more frequent wildfires and invasive species, according to the BLM.

These birds — whose population has dwindled from millions to fewer than 800,000 — depend on a shrub called sagebrush and require up to 40 square miles of intact landscape to stay healthy.

Nonetheless, that same landscape also houses a wealth of oil, gas and mineral resources.

The BLM, which manages the largest share of sage grouse habitat in the U.S., maintained that conserving these lands benefits not only the birds, but also more than 350 other wildlife species — such as elk, mule deer, pronghorn and pygmy rabbit.

After considering about 38,000 comments from the public on the previous draft environmental analysis, the BLM issued its final environmental impact statement and proposed resource management plan amendments on Friday.

“Guided by the best available science, we are committed to the continued balance in our multi-use mandate for America’s public lands,” Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

“For too long, a false choice has been presented for land management that aims to pit development against conservation," Haaland continued. "Through collaborative work in local communities, developed over decades, we are presenting science-based and thoughtful proposals to protect the greater sage-grouse and its habitat.” 

The BLM’s draft analysis in March included six alternatives, which built upon plans that the agency adopted in 2015 and revised in 2019. The bureau's preferred choice, the fifth alternative, focused on balancing conservation with public land use: a midpoint between the most restrictive option and the loosest plan in terms of energy and mineral development.

The amendments proposed on Friday would increase protections for greater sage grouse by excluding solar and wind energy development and surface-disturbing oil and gas leases in what's known as priority habitat management areas.

These added measures serve to provide requisite protections for the greater sage-grouse "in light of anticipated development threats and negative impacts from climate change such as drought,” according to the environmental impact statement.

Opposition to the proposed amendments can be submitted until Dec. 9, after which, the BLM said it would issue Records of Decision on each state's habitat management plans.

“This remarkable species and the people who live, work, and play alongside it deserve management that will sustain sagebrush habitat across the West for years to come,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement.

“Our environmental analysis, aided by a wealth of information from our partners, indicates that these proposed updates — which are the result of decades of sustained collaborative efforts — are the best way to ensure the health of these lands and local economies now and into the future," Stone-Manning added.