ShareTrails | Greater Sage-grouse Land Use Plan Amendments in the Western United States

Greater Sage-grouse, or sometimes referred to as a Sagehen is a large type of grouse that lives in the western United States. In 2015 the BLM and Forest service amended many land use plans in order to accommodate the bird. When these 98 management plans were amended to accommodate the species, it was determined that the bird did not need to be listed as an Endangered Species according to the Endangered Species Act.

Data has since been collected from 2015-2019 to amend those plans if needed. Data from the areas showed the greatest threat to the species was not in fact motorized use, but wildfire. Land agencies don’t need to implement anymore restrictions in order to protect the species, they simply need to actively manage the land and pursue vegetation treatments that will prevent catastrophic wildfire. You can read the data from those studies here.

If the land agencies decide further protections need to be implemented through plan amendments we could see greater restrictions for all outdoor access. Add your voice to ours to support active management of public lands and no more layers of ineffective restrictions that cater to the pressures of extreme conservation groups and increase wildfire risk.