The US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) recently announced that an “unprecedented” conservation effort across the western US has “significantly reduced threats to the greater sage grouse across 90 percent of the species breeding habitat.”
As a result of this effort, FWS has determined that the species does not warrant protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The effort has involved the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (USFS), state agencies and private landowners. According to a press release from FWS, the sage grouse habitat spreads across 173 million acres in 11 states. The agency said that “the bird does not face the risk of extinction now or in the foreseeable future and therefore does not need protection under the ESA.
“This is truly a historic effort – one that represents extraordinary collaboration across the American West,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “It demonstrates that the Endangered Species Act is an effective and flexible tool and a critical catalyst for conservation – ensuring that future generations can enjoy the diversity of wildlife that we do today. The epic conservation effort will benefit westerners and hundreds of species that call this iconic landscape home, while giving states, businesses and communities the certainty they need to plan for sustainable economic development.”
As part of the effort, the BLM and USFS also launched a public comment process associated with their proposal to withdraw some lands that are considered sage-grouse strongholds from future mining claims, FWS said in the press release.
About half of the sage grouse’s habitat is on federal lands, according to FWS, and most of it is managed by the BLM and USFS. “These tend to be drier uplands where the birds mate, nest and spend fall and winter,” the agency noted. “While the federal plans differ in specifics to reflect local landscapes, threats and conservation approaches, their overall goal is to prevent further degradation of the best remaining sage-grouse habitat, minimize disturbance where possible and mitigate unavoidable impacts by protecting and improving similar habitat.”
Another 45 percent of the grouse’s habitat is reportedly on state and private lands, the report added. These areas often include wetter meadows and riparian habitat. Private landowners have done considerable volunteer work to conserve sage grouse habitat.
According to FWS, the greater sage grouse is an “umbrella species.”
