Shutdown could complicate grouse plans

Some conservationists are crying fowl over their difficulty trying to prepare protests of the Bureau of Land Management's proposed greater sage-grouse plan revisions due to intermittent access to agency websites following the partial government shutdown. The Western Watersheds Project says the 30-day period to file protests should be extended beyond their deadline due to the issue. Those deadlines are Jan. 9 in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and Idaho. Wyoming's deadline already was extended to Jan. 23 for the sake of state and local partners, the BLM has said. John Swartout, senior policy adviser to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, said extending the protest periods could lead to new governors in several states, including Colorado, weighing in on the plans, perhaps due to pressure from interest groups. That could complicate efforts by the BLM to finalize plan amendments they've developed while working with states. The Trump administration is working to revise resource management plans that were amended in 2015 to include protections aimed at helping keeping the greater sage-grouse from requiring listing as a threatened or endangered species. The proposed revisions in Colorado would open about 350 square miles to oil and gas leasing in areas where the birds breed, but under provisions barring surface disturbance...MORE