Grouse Restoration Imperiled by Overgrazing,BLM’s Livestock Mismanagement Tramples Sage-Grouse Comeback Hopes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Thursday, July 25, 2024

Contact: Chandra Rosenthal [PEER] (303) 898-0798, [email protected];  Josh Osher [WWP] 406-220-2883, [email protected]

Sage-Grouse Restoration Imperiled by Overgrazing

Washington, DC — Commercial livestock grazing throughout the West is likely one of the greatest threats going through the higher sage-grouse, which is flirting with being listed as an endangered species, in response to an evaluation of U.S, Bureau of Land Administration (BLM) information by Western Watersheds Undertaking and Public Staff for Environmental Duty (PEER). BLM’s newest proposal for managing sage-grouse habitat fails to redress the injury wreaked by a long time of poorly managed livestock grazing throughout hundreds of thousands of acres of severely degraded sage-grouse habitat.

The higher sage-grouse is a ground-dwelling chicken dependent upon giant tracts of sagebrush with a wholesome understory of grasses and forbs. Its inhabitants has declined precipitously lately throughout its total vary as a result of habitat loss and degradation from livestock grazing, improvement, mining, agriculture, and oil and fuel extraction.

Throughout the 139 million acres of higher sage-grouse habitat spanning eight western states, BLM manages over 10,000 grazing allotments. The teams’ evaluation of BLM information reveals:

·       One quarter of higher sage-grouse habitat protecting greater than 36 million acres (an space equal to Michigan) are in allotments failing to fulfill BLM’s personal rangeland well being commonplace, the minimal necessities for wholesome and functioning ecosystems;

·       Of these, about 23 million acres (roughly the scale of Illinois) inside higher sage-grouse habitat fail BLM’s rangeland well being requirements as a result of livestock overgrazing; and 

·       Nearly 17 million acres (an space bigger than West Virginia) inside higher sage-grouse habitat have by no means been evaluated by BLM because it started conducting these land well being evaluations in 1998, greater than 25 years in the past.

“If it needs to stop the sage-grouse from being listed as an endangered species, the BLM must get critical about stopping livestock overgrazing,” commented PEER Rocky Mountain Director Chandra Rosenthal, noting that such an inventory would impose restrictions on a variety of business exercise in sage-grouse habitat. “As their very own information factors out, BLM’s efforts are falling nicely brief because the sage-grouse is actually dropping floor.”

Even within the face of overwhelming proof of habitat degradation brought on by livestock grazing, most BLM grazing permits in higher sage-grouse habitat are re-approved each ten years with none new ecological assessments or modifications in vary administration. For practically twenty years, BLM has been exploiting a loophole supplied by Congress to deal with the backlog of allow renewals, which was meant as a short-term repair however is now an institutional agency-wide observe. In consequence, many grazing allotments have gone practically 30 years with none overview or administration modifications.

Regardless of commitments within the 2015 land use plans to prioritize the evaluation of grazing allotments in necessary sage-grouse habitat, BLM has dropped the ball. It has used the loophole to resume 6,301 grazing permits protecting 70 million acres (an space roughly the scale of Nevada) in higher sage-grouse habitat with out conducting the promised environmental analyses. These rubber stamped renewals account for greater than two-thirds (68%) of all grazing permits.

At a 2022 Public Lands Council assembly, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning acknowledged that 20-year-old grazing permits are problematic. But, BLM’s most up-to-date sage grouse proposal didn’t prioritize the overview of allow renewals in sage grouse habitat. The backlog has continued to develop.

“For many years the BLM has been hiding behind this insidious loophole to disregard the impacts of grazing on sage-grouse habitat,” mentioned Josh Osher, Public Coverage Director at Western Watersheds Undertaking.  “The result’s an ecosystem on life assist and an iconic species on the point of extinction. We hope BLM will strengthen the brand new sage-grouse plans to deal with the problems.”

###

Learn the 12 teams feedback on the Draft Useful resource Administration Plan Modification