(WASHINGTON, D.C.–November 8, 2024) – Leading conservation and sportsmen’s organizations today reacted with cautious optimism to a newly released final draft of a plan by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that outlines how the agency intends to reverse the alarming decline of greater sage-grouse populations across 10 Western states. The BLM first unveiled the proposed amendments last spring to dozens of grouse resource management plans (RMP) as a blueprint for land use and development on public lands that serve as grouse habitat.
Those plans – covering millions of acres across California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming — were initially finalized by the BLM in 2015 after unprecedented collaboration between Western governors, conservationists, hunters and anglers, ranchers and development interests, but were never implemented as intended. Meanwhile, the bird’s populations are in freefall: studies show a drop of 80 percent in sage-grouse populations across its range since 1965, a loss of three percent annually. The West loses more than one million acres of functioning sagebrush habitat each year to wildfires, development, invasive species and other factors.
“It’s taken us years to get here while grouse populations hemorrhage across the West,” said Alison Holloran, executive director of Audubon Rockies. “It’s time to move from talking about the problems to fixing them. These plans are bigger than just the bird and politics. We have a moral obligation to steward these lands that belong to the American public.”
“Sage grouse and sagebrush habitats are facing significant declines across the West,” said Lee Davis of The Nature Conservancy’s Sagebrush Sea Program. “It’s crucial that we work together now to develop a balanced, pragmatic, and durable approach that not only halts habitat loss but also averts the risk of an ESA listing. Without collaboration and compromise, we all stand to lose.”
“Effective conservation of Greater sage-grouse has and always will require collaboration among state, federal, and private partners, regardless of who is in the White House. We’re pleased to see that these plans are consistent with this approach, seeking flexible, durable and scientifically-supported management of the species,” said Bailey Brennan, public lands counsel for the National Wildlife Federation. “With such a balanced approach to conservation, we hope partners rally behind these amendments and focus on coordinated implementation – not more planning – in coming years.”
“With a continued decline of greater sage-grouse coinciding with the sustained loss of sagebrush habitat, the time has never been more urgent for these resource management plans to reflect the best available science,” said Kaden McArthur, government relations manager for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “The collaborative approach reflected in these plans, and now their proper implementation, is critical to ensuring healthy sagebrush ecosystems continue to provide opportunities for sportsmen and women who cherish these public lands and this iconic bird.”
“With grouse populations on the precipice, now is the time for action,” said Bobby McEnaney, director of Land Conservation at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “By issuing these land management plans, the Bureau of Land Management has identified science-based approaches to manage the habitat that the iconic sage-grouse need for survival.”
“Nevada has lost over 70% of our prime sagebrush habitat over the past 20 years. Since the Greater Sage-grouse is an indicator species of our landscape’s health, it is no surprise that this bird is experiencing a steep decline in population as well. Clearly the current management strategy to conserve sage-grouse and its habitat is not working and a change in approach is sorely needed,” said Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “We understand that our public lands are for multiple use and we are pleased to see a more balanced approach that will hopefully reverse the downward trend of the bird and its habitat while preserving access for all stakeholders.”
“Science makes clear that stronger conservation measures are needed to substantively protect this important species and its expansive habitat,” said Marcia Argust, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. conservation program. “And our polling shows that there is strong support among residents of Western counties from across the political spectrum—60% of respondents want the plans to be strengthened. The agency is adopting a variety of management approaches to help stem the declining greater sage-grouse population and help conserve this vast swath of the American West as a place where people and nature can live, and benefit, in concert.”
Before public comment closed on June 13, thousands of Westerners submitted comments to the Bureau on proposed amendments for more than 70 resource management plans (RMPs), covering 67 million acres of BLM-managed grouse habitat. Organizations joined a letter submitted by 19 conservation organizations calling on the BLM to reverse the bird’s steep decline and to choose durable, science-based approaches from among the alternatives proposed.
# # #
Media contacts:
Jason Howe/National Audubon Society: [email protected]; 415-595-9245
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety
