The Woes of the Western Sage Grouse: Is Reform on the Way?

The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a nonprofit, public interest law firm headquartered in Sacramento, California, that advocates on behalf of “private property rights, individual liberty, free enterprise, limited government, and a balanced approach to environmental protection,” has joined with the Heritage Foundation and other key partners to educate lawmakers and the public about the benefits of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This is being done through an initiative titled “Red Tape Rollback.” The Congressional Review Act first went into effect under House Speaker Newt Gingrich in March 1996. The law stipulates that regulatory agencies must send rules to both houses of Congress and the Government Accountability Office before the rule can go into effect. Todd Gaziano, chief of legal policy and strategic research for the Pacific Legal Foundation, argues that the sagebrush land use rules are not lawfully in effect and cannot be lawfully implemented since they were never submitted for congressional review. In April, the public interest firm filed suit against the Interior Department and the Agriculture Department to prevent enforcement of the sage grouse land use rules until they are vetted by Congress. Jonathan Wood, PLF’s lead attorney in the case said in a statement: There is no excuse for bureaucrats—who would throw the book at you if you failed to follow their rules—to ignore the rules that Congress has imposed on them . . . Unelected bureaucrats should not be able to rule us without first submitting those rules to our elected representatives. PLF represents a cattle ranching operation in Oakley, Idaho, that could be subjected to federal restrictions on its grazing operations once the sage grouse rules are fully implemented. According to Wood: Our clients are already experiencing the effects of sage grouse rules—last year the Forest Service sent biologists out to study their allotment and grazing . . . Based on that study, the allotment has been identified as valuable habitat for the sage grouse. Consequently, the Forest Service has warned them that restrictions are coming, although they haven’t been announced yet....MORE