BLM’s grouse plan draws acclaim

Conservationists are hailing a federal plan that would limit oil and natural-gas development in prime sage grouse habitat in Wyoming. On Monday, the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming announced that it would modify its sage grouse management plan to more closely align with the state’s “core areas” approach, which severely limits new industrial activities across large areas of the state. For example, the plan would restrict oil and natural-gas development to one well pad per square mile in sage grouse habitat. Further, the state’s core areas plan requires that potential developers demonstrate how any proposed activities would not diminish grouse habitat or bird populations before the activity is permitted. Previously, the BLM has attempted to make changes in sage grouse management retroactively. Conservationists say it’s a long-awaited move by the BLM and a critical step in possibly avoiding a listing of the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act...read more