U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’s that the greater sage grouse would not be listed as endangered was a big break for Colorado and 10 other Western states.
And the decision doesn’t mean it’s curtains for the bird, either. In fact, a listing, with its additional burden of prescriptive federal control, would have blunted states’ and private landowners’ incentives to work cooperatively to protect the bird.
The federal decision is in direct response to the work that Colorado and the other states have undertaken to preserve habitat for the bird that lives on 165 million acres of sagebrush land from Colorado to California.
Conservation easements and land purchases have been dedicated to limit development on nearly 350,000 acres of sagebrush land in Colorado, Idaho and Montana alone. Local governments and landowners have tried to help the grouse by removing juniper trees and piñon pine that suck up scarce water and provide perch for predators.
Meanwhile, land burned by wildfire has been replanted with sagebrush. And fire-threatened land has been mitigated.
Oil and gas companies, such as Noble Energy, have reduced industrial operations near lek clearings where grouse mate in the spring.
Jewell acknowledged that the efforts to protect the bird’s habitat have been “smart, science-based, forward-looking steps.”
The work done by governors and stakeholders across the Western states and across political affiliation has been nothing short of remarkable. Even some environmental groups are impressed, with the National Audubon Society calling the various conservation plans “a new lease on life” for the bird.
Work isn’t done. Plans must be put into action. The state must work with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on some of the rules around drilling in critical habitat.
But the spirit of collaboration and all-hands-on-deck approach to wildlife conservation will serve as a model for future efforts.
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