Keeping sage grouse off the endangered species list means tougher management approaches on public lands.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last week its finding that the bird is not warranted for protection thanks to the past, ongoing and future plans for sage grouse habitat conservation.

In Wyoming, the species will continue to be managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, but it’s a group effort to keep the bird unlisted.

Nearly half of sage grouse habitat is on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Those agencies are reworking their approaches to conservation with the “BLM and USFS Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Effort” plan and a proposal to withdrawal important sage grouse areas from mineral development.

The agencies issued Records of Decisions finalizing 98 land use plans to help conserve sage grouse habitat and support sustainable economic development on portions of public lands in 10 states across the West. The plans were developed over several years with the states and local partners, guided by input from the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The plan has a targeted multi-tiered approach that prioritizes habitat into the following areas:

• Sage brush focal areas: These areas were identified by the Fish and Wildlife Service as “stronghold” areas for sage grouse survival. The plan seeks to eliminate new surface disturbance and mining within these areas.

• Priority habitat management areas: These include the sage brush focal areas, and the plan seeks to limit or eliminate new habitat disturbance, with exceptions, in these areas. Those exceptions will be determined by federal and state sage grouse biologists and are limited to development that will have no impact, or a positive impact, on sage grouse.

• General habitat management areas: These are lands outside of the priority habitat management areas that require some special management to protect and sustain sage grouse, but allow more flexible management and resource development.

Public comments began Sept. 24 on the BLM’s proposal to withdraw sections of lands that are sage grouse strongholds from future development claims.

The plans mirror Gov. Matt Mead’s core area strategy, said Kristen Lenhardt, BLM’s chief of communications for Wyoming.

“It just takes a deeper look at the impacts to sage grouse and its habitat while managing for other uses as well.”

What’s in store for public lands

Existing rights, including ones for oil and gas development, renewable energy, rights-of-way, locatable minerals and other permitted projects will not be impacted.

As for aspiring developments, about 90 percent of public lands with high to medium potential for development are located outside of federally managed priority habit. Basically, this means the majority of land with oil and gas underneath of it is located far enough away from habitat regions that there won’t be any impact.

“Oil and gas development does not occur on all public lands,” Lenhardt said. “So, in the areas with potential development that is medium to high, 90 percent of that is outside of priority (sage grouse) areas — which is good news for the bird and the oil and gas industry.”

In Wyoming, about 72 percent of federal lands with high and medium oil and gas potential are outside of federally managed priority conservation areas.

Out of the total high and medium oil potential areas in Wyoming, 28.2 million acres, about 3.7 million acres are within priority habitat regions.

And for high to medium gas potential in Wyoming, 20.9 million acres, about 3.09 million acres are within priority habitat regions.

These regions are spread throughout Wyoming and are primarily found in the southwest and southcentral region and connect through the middle and into the Big Horn Basin. To the east and west, habitat management areas are more dispersed and almost completely non-existent in the southeast region.

“These plans will respect valid existing rights, but what we are doing is for future energy development activities will have tighter restrictions to protect the bird and its habitat — particularly in core and focal areas,” Lenhardt said.

As for coal, it is essentially the same deal, she said.

“This is for actions across the board,” Lenhardt said. “Sage grouse will be a big factor in how we make decisions and how they impact activities on the ground. It is similar across the board for anything that will negatively impact the bird and its habitat.”

Grazing will be allowed within sage grouse habitat areas, but grazing permits will be reviewed in consideration with regional sage grouse habitat plans.

“The BLM is going to work with grazing permittees and take a hard look at how grazing impacts the birds’ habitat and what we can do to manage the area,” Lenhardt said.

So far, nearly 500,000 acres of private land in Wyoming sage grouse habitat areas have been enrolled or committed to the BLM’s candidate conservation easements. 

This effort will continue, along with projects such as limiting perching opportunities for birds of prey, Lenhardt said.

Restrictions and limitations also will apply to renewable energy and transmission development proposals near or within sage grouse habitats.

Sage grouse are skittish, and their leks need to be far away from development sites — but distances vary across the range, according to the BLM and Forest Service. The distance for approved developments will be based on local data, landscape features and existing protections during project-specific NEPA processes. This means public comments will be allowed and environmental impacts will continue to be assessed before development begins.

“This really was a team effort; each plan had cooperators with a seat at the table and worked closely with the state to make sure we got those perspectives into there and they were considered, and we plan to keep moving forward,” Lenhardt said. “Not one agency can do it all; this is a landscape scale effort.”

Not everyone is happy

The BLM and Forest Service’s “Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Effort” plan recommends that the secretary of the interior withdraw 10 million acres within sagebrush focal areas from hardrock mining for up to 20 years. That has some groups upset, such as The American Exploration & Mining Association.

The Interior Department is starting a separate, public withdrawal process with temporary two-year prohibitions for new hardrock mining and entry. During the withdrawal process, information provided by states, stakeholders and others on mineral potential will be considered.

The notice of proposed withdrawal was published in the Federal Register on Thursday and has a 90-day public review period.

“It is disappointing that the collective efforts of the Western states were rejected in favor of draconian land use restrictions and mineral withdrawals. The ‘not warranted’ determination is proof that the state and local plans, coupled with private conservation efforts are working,” said Laura Skaer, executive director of the mining association, in a prepared statement.

Although the American Exploration & Mining Association is not happy with the plans for public lands, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming is happy to hear the not warranted determination.

“We are definetly pleased with the decision not to list,” said Esther Wagner, vice president of public lands for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. “The biggest thing for us is it shows the collaborative efforts by the state and agriculture and stake holders who are working to protect the sage grouse in the state.”

The Petroleum Association hadn’t reviewed the plans for public lands yet as of Friday.

“Our understanding is most of the plans follow the state’s grouse plan, which we support, but there may be elements that exceed the state’s plan and the areas where they exceed we don’t support that,” Wagner said.   

During the two-year segregation period, studies and environmental analysis will be conducted to determine which lands to withdraw to protect sage grouse. The public and all types of organizations, including industry, will be able to participate in the process.

According to the BLM’s fact sheet on the proposed withdrawal, neither the segregation nor any withdrawals will prohibit ongoing or future mining exploration operations on valid pre-existing claims.

“These plans take a look at a variety of perspectives and a variety of uses on the land, so what we are trying to do is strike a balance with the need to protect the bird in its habitat while managing for energy development and other uses on the land,” Lenhardt said.

Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the secretary can withdraw the lands for a maximum of 20 years and may extend the period in the future.

“We have long thought this effort was more about ‘stop doing that’ than conserving sage grouse and its habitat. The federal land use plan amendments prove we were right,” said Skaer in a press release.

But, the future of sage grouse depends on the successful implementation of these plans and conservation work on private land as well, according to agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Interior and Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Millions of acres of privately owned land within the sage grouse habitat range have been voluntarily included in protection projects for everything from promoting sage brush growth to wildfire prevention.

A combined effort is necessary because sage grouse habitat is divided nearly in half by federal land and state and private lands.

In a press release, the mining association claims the proposed lek buffers, disturbance caps, travel and land use restrictions and recommended mineral withdrawals will have “a devastating impact on access to public lands, the economies of the western states, and the ability of our nation to produce the strategic and critical minerals required for national defense, manufacturing and economic prosperity.”

Public input from individuals, groups and industries was gathered while creating the plans.

“Everyone had a chance, and the beautiful thing about the NEPA process is there are opportunities for several comments,” Lenhardt said, noting that input is gathered even before that during the scoping process.