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DENVER – The Bureau of Land Management and states with sage-grouse habitat have begun drafting a report responding to Secretarial Order 3353, Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation and Cooperation with Western States, signed in June by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to support partnerships in maintaining sage-grouse populations.  Federal and state resource managers met for two days this week in Denver to identify opportunities for incorporating the expertise of federal and state employees in the field as well as proven state and local approaches to on-the-ground management. 

“The Order directs the BLM to review federal plans and policies for conserving sage-grouse to ensure that they remain effective over the long term while also supporting economic growth and job creation,” said BLM Deputy Director John Ruhs. “Continuing to collaborate closely with our state and local partners across the West is the way to see that both wildlife and local economies thrive.” 

Participants from the BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Service, the Western Governors Association sage-grouse task force, and wildlife and resource managers from six states reviewed current conservation plans and policies for implementing them, measures to limit invasive vegetation and wildland fire, data-collection and scientific research needed to support conservation, and various wildlife management techniques such as predator control, translocation, captive breeding and population targets.  States with sage-grouse management responsibilities provided input through a pre-conference questionnaire and discussions with the BLM at the recent Western Governors Association meeting in Whitefish, Mont.

“States continue to share the goal of continuing to achieve durable conservation of sage-grouse and their habitat to demonstrate that listing under the Endangered Species Act remains unwarranted,” said Bob Budd, co-chair of the Western Governors Association Sage-grouse Task Force.  “Our work at this meeting was in full support of each other and of the review process the BLM is leading.” 

The session in Denver focused on solutions that could be achieved in the immediate term by clarifying or modifying policies, training agency and partner staff to ensure consistent implementation, or entering into memoranda of understanding, as well as longer term amendments to the federal plans.  There was also an effort to identify which issues were common to all states in the sage-grouse’s range and which would be best addressed on a state-specific basis. 

Recommendations from this meeting will form the basis for a report to Secretary Zinke outlining a suite of options that represent the best thinking on how to meet the Order’s direction to improve coordination and collaboration among federal agencies and states in conserving the sage-grouse while building strong local economies in the West.  The review team will submit its report to Secretary Zinke on August 4.  

Beyond the efforts to coordinate with states, the BLM is working to create opportunities for local governments and tribes to participate in evaluating the federal plans, as well as individual stakeholders, industry groups, ranchers, and conservation groups. 

In September 2015, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture finalized greater sage-grouse plans which included amendments and revisions to 98 BLM and U.S. Forest Service land use plans in 11 Western states. The plans were cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a key reason for its decision that the greater sage-grouse did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. 

On June 7, 2017, Secretary Zinke signed Secretarial Order 3353 to improve sage-grouse conservation and strengthen communication and collaboration between state and federal governments as well as ensure economic development and job creation.  The Order established an internal review team to evaluate both federal sage-grouse plans and state plans and programs to ensure they are complementary.