USGS Releases New Sage Grouse Conservation Report

A Baseline Environmental Report (BER) newly released by the U.S. Geological Survey will provide a consistent set of information about the Greater Sage-Grouse. The report is one of a suite of documents that will help guide the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in their joint efforts to conserve Greater Sage-Grouse.  "This report summarizes several decades of work on sage-grouse populations and sagebrush habitat. It will serve as a useful tool for land and wildlife managers and provides a needed range-wide perspective," said Suzette Kimball, Acting Director of the USGS. The BLM and the USFS are preparing Environmental Impact Statements to address the effects of implementing proposed Greater Sage-Grouse conservation measures on the lands they manage. The agencies will use the BER in summarizing the effect of their joint planning efforts intended to help conserve the bird and its sagebrush habitat across its range in the western United States. The report, assembled, peer reviewed and published by the USGS, is intended to provide a framework for considering potential implications and management options, and demonstrate a regional context and perspective needed for local planning and decision-making...more