USDA proposes changes to greater sage grouse management

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service proposed changes to how the agency manages greater sage grouse in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah after hearing concerns from states and land users. The changes strive to improve the clarity, efficiency and implementation of the current sage grouse plans...In the 2019 proposed changes, USDA applied lessons learned and concerns voiced by a diverse set of stakeholders, including grazers and other land users. The 2019 plans have been adapted to take into account site-specific conditions to ensure that ranchers, permittees and industry can adapt to their local conditions rather than be forced to conform to a one-size-fits-all, national approach. The 2019 plans allow for greater flexibility and local control of conservation and management actions related to sage grouse, ensuring that habitat can be conserved while enabling grazers to maintain their livelihood. USDA has revised grazing guidelines to shift from rigid, prescriptive standards to commonsense, locally driven strategies. The 2019 plans align state and federal conservation standards so ranchers and other land users have one set of standards instead of dealing with multiple, complex layers of restrictions. The new changes also align mitigation options with state-based systems so mitigation strategies on how to ensure no net loss of habitat are locally supported instead of one size fits all...MORE