Before too long, and after much debate and public input, the Obama administration will issue recommendations for the management of approximately 50 million acres of sagebrush habitat across 10 states. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has now said her agency is “moving full steam ahead” on 14 plans currently under consideration. While the driving force is the future of the charismatic greater sage-grouse, what’s really at stake is a way of life for all of us who call the West our home.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the sage-grouse’s population has declined by 30 percent since 1985 as a result of the loss of about half of its habitat. Scientists pay close attention to the bird’s population, because they consider it an indicator species for the entire regional ecosystem known as “sage-steppe.” That means that its population reflects the ecological health of much of the interior West, an area that also supports elk, mule deer, pronghorn, golden eagles, and hundreds of other wildlife species. If the greater sage-grouse thrives, so too do the other inhabitants of this shared land.
Flourishing wildlife in clean, wide-open spaces appeals to people too. According to a report by ECONorthwest, an economic consulting group, recreation on lands where greater sage-grouse live infuses more than $1 billion into the national economy each year. In 2013, the study found, this money came from people who were camping, hunting, fishing, and enjoying a host of other outdoor recreational activities — and it went directly into local businesses and communities.
Stakeholders need to encourage the BLM to safeguard these key wildlife habitats from the impact of mining, oil and gas development and new roads. The good news is that safeguarding sage-grouse need not impede responsible development. For example, a recent report conducted by Western Ecosystems Technology, an environmental and statistical consulting firm, found that very few energy resources lie within the bird’s range. In fact, the best places for development fall well outside sage-grouse priority areas.
With the BLM engaged in a major planning process to determine how sage grouse habitat on public lands will be managed, 15 leading sage-grouse scientists sent a letter to Jewell to express their “concerns over the lack of consistency and scientific rigor” in the BLM’s preliminary draft management plans. The scientists pointed to “several gaps between best available science regarding sage-grouse conservation findings and the extent these findings are addressed by management prescriptions in the preferred alternatives of draft management plans.” Their interest in having BLM improve its plans was resoundingly echoed by the public, based on a series of polls conducted across the western states where sage-grouse roam.
With final decisions expected this summer, the BLM must not only protect the sage-grouse and other wildlife, but also meet the needs of people who seek recreation, companies that want to develop natural resources, and ranchers who need grazing land. A scientifically credible final plan will allow the greater sage-grouse to thrive, preserving one of the most incredible spectacles of American wildlife, while encouraging valuable outdoor recreation and ensuring the future of responsible energy production.
Ken Rait is the director of the U.S. public lands project at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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