The Public Lands Council (PLC) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
(NCBA) are condemning a move by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S.
Forest Service to implement their restrictive land-use plans after
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said this week that the greater sage
grouse does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA).
"The administration came to the logical decision not to
list the sage grouse, but went ahead and forced through their land use
plans, which are just as concerning as a listing," PLC President Brenda
Richards said. "Secretary Jewell's claim that the ESA is effective and flexible is entirely flawed and misleading. Of
the 1,500 domestic species listed since 1973, less than 2 percent have
ever been deemed recovered. Sage grouse habitat and population are
thriving because of the work of the ranchers across the West and the
states' efforts, not due to the Environmental Impact Statements, which
have yet to even be implemented."
The groups said the species’ rehabilitation has been in large
part due to the efforts of the Sage Grouse Initiative, which was a
partnership between private landowners and the USDA that maintained
working landscapes.
"Wildfire and development are the primary threats to the sage grouse and
their habitat, yet this administration is systematically wiping out
multiple-use and ranching through regulatory overreach,” said NCBA
Federal lands Committee Chairman Robbie LeValley. “It's clear that these
plans are more about managing away from productive uses, rather than
actually protecting the bird." Press Release
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