For Immediate Release:                             Mel Lloyd, BLM 970-244-3097

February 25, 2008

Sage grouse meeting scheduled

MONTROSE, Colo. — The Crawford Gunnison Sage Grouse Working Group has scheduled a meeting for 1 p.m., Thursday, March 6, at the Hotchkiss Annex for Delta County, located at 196 W. Hotchkiss Ave., in Hotchkiss. The Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO) coordinates these meetings to bring together interested parties, including members of the public, to discuss the current status of the Crawford population of the Gunnison sage grouse. The group will also receive updates on potential projects, as well as the North Rim Landscape Strategy.

Throughout the past several years, a number of partners have worked closely with the BLM toward improving habitat and ensuring the future of the Gunnison sage grouse population in the Crawford area. Those partners include: Black Canyon Audubon Society, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Consolidated Woolgrowers Association, Delta County Livestock Association, Delta and Montrose Counties, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area, as well as members of the public.

For more information about the Crawford Sage Grouse Working Group or to be added to the mailing list, contact BLM’s Biological Staff Supervisor Missy Siders at (970) 240-5332 or by e-mail at msiders@blm.gov.

###