Overview
- The Bureau of Land Management on Dec. 22 finalized revisions that ease sage-grouse protections across eight states, affecting federal lands in Utah, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming and California.
- The plan removes an annual population warning system and changes the criteria that trigger restrictive conservation actions, rescinds protections on more than 4 million acres in Utah, and loosens some rights-of-way limits in parts of Nevada.
- Agency leaders say the blueprint will still address key habitats across roughly 65 million acres while expanding access for oil, gas and mineral projects in line with two 2025 executive orders signed by President Donald Trump.
- Environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity denounced the rollbacks as a threat to the imperiled bird and broader sagebrush ecosystem, and they signaled impending lawsuits.
- The blueprint revises Biden administration plans completed in November but not formally approved before the transition, as long-term counts show steep population declines for the species over recent decades.