Efforts to Help Greater Sage-Grouse to be Restored by Biden Administration
The Bureau of Land Management will respond to recent court decisions with new effort to reinstate plans to help struggling sage grouse populations.
FORT COLLINS, Colo.– The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that it would begin an effort to restore previous plans to conserve Greater Sage-Grouse populations. In 2015, stakeholders from across the West reached an historic agreement to save the sage-grouse—an agreement that the .
“This is a step in the right direction for the future of the Greater Sage-Grouse,” said Brian Rutledge, director of the APP’s Sagebrush Ecosystem Initiative. “A lot has happened since 2015 and we’ve lost important time to restore the health of sage-grouse and the sagebrush landscape.”
In March, the United State Geological Survey issued a groundbreaking report showing that sage-grouse populations have declined 80 percent since 1965, a more dramatic decline than previously thought. There are more than 350 different species of wildlife and plants as well as hunters, ranchers, and whole communities that depend on a
“New science shows alarming range-wide declines for the sage-grouse and its habitat, the sagebrush steppe,” said Rutledge. “These birds are a reliable indicator of how other wildlife and the greater ecosystem are doing. It’s clear that help is needed. Our state and federal leaders must work together and double-down on conservation of the sage-grouse and investin restoration of the sagebrush landscape.”
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Media Contact: Matt Smelser, matt.smelser@audubon.org