SHERIDAN — Monday marks the final day of the Bureau of Land Management’s initial public comment period on greater sage-grouse land use plan amendments. Local birders are in favor of the potential updates to sage-grouse management on BLM lands.
Greater sage-grouse are brown, rotund birds with intricately mottled tail feathers. They are heavily dependent on sagebrush, a wiry shrub native to the American West, acting national BLM sage-grouse coordinator Pat Deibert said. In winter, 100% of the sage-grouse’s diet consists of sagebrush. By spring, Deibert explained sage-grouse use sagebrush to construct nests. Although not all sagebrush provides adequate food or housing for sage-grouse, the bird is never far from the bush.
According to the notice of intent to amend sage-grouse conservation efforts — filed in the Federal Register in November 2021 — the amended plan would update sage-grouse and sagebrush management strategies adopted in 2015 and 2019 for BLM land across the western U.S., including Wyoming. The BLM is specifically seeking public comment on how changes to sage-grouse habitats and management might affect livestock grazing, extraction of mineral resources, development of renewable energy sources and ongoing wildland fire and invasive species management efforts, among many other subjects listed in the register.
Why undertake this sage-grouse protection project now? Previous plans may be inconsistent with new scientific discoveries and environmental characteristics recently altered by climate change, Deibert said. Through this amendment process, Deibert said the BLM may be able to change its management strategies to decrease the impact of extreme weather events caused by climate change — including droughts and wildfires — on sage-grouse populations and habitats while accounting for the needs and wants of local human stakeholders.
Similarly, Deibert said the amendments will allow BLM to incorporate new scientific discoveries into its management strategies. These new findings could help the BLM prepare for the future of sage-grouse and sagebrush in the U.S.
One local supporter of the sage-grouse land use plan amendments is the Bighorn Audubon Society, a Bighorn Mountains-based community dedicated to birds and their habitats.
In a statement earlier this month, the Bighorn Audubon Society expressed their support for BLM’s revision of existing sage-grouse conservation management plans. Although state and national efforts to protect greater sage-grouse were proactive, the society said continued reductions in sage-grouse populations and habitat requires additional action.
“These losses warrant science-based, cooperative and consistent management plan revisions before it’s too late,” the Bighorn Audubon Society said.
The current stage of the project — collecting initial input from stakeholders via online public comment submissions — will allow interested parties to voice their opinions on amending sage-grouse and sagebrush management plans. Deibert said the BLM has also asked several more localized government entities, including county and state governments, to provide additional information about how the amendments might affect their citizens.
After analyzing this input, BLM staff will start to develop alternative action plans to include in a draft environmental impact report, which Deibert said will likely be completed by the end of 2022. The Federal Register indicates the BLM will solicit public comment on first and second drafts before finalizing the environmental impact statement.
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February 08, 2022 at 12:30AM
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Local birders support BLM's intentions to amend greater sage-grouse land use plans - The Sheridan Press
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